Back in October 2009 the Plus XP team was starting to get to its feet, we had the opportunity to hit the Eurogamer Expo in London to get some experience, and the guys at Eurogamer were nice enough to give us press passes. It was from then on we gave some pretty hefty expo coverage, got a few videos in and even met with some key game developers.
It has almost been a year on and we have grown. Of course we will be attending the show this year and getting all the coverage we can. So as we eagerly await the expo, the Plus XP team thought it would be a great idea to have a chat with the man behind the Eurogamer Expo, Tom Champion. So we emailed him, he took some time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions, so sit back and read what the man behind Eurogamer has to say about himself and the expo itself.
Garvaos: Of all the games coming out in the Christmas period and 2011, what would you love to see at the expo in an ideal world?
Well I’m a big FIFA fan so fingers crossed that’ll be at the show. Not that I actually get to play any games during the expo. 
Garvaos: The Eurogamer expo has been running for a few years, what is your fondest memory from past expos?
A couple of things stick in my mind from last year. First was travelling up to Leeds. Pretty much the whole company flew up and there was a great atmosphere. I think we were all really keen to get up there and get started.
GuitarGirl24: In the past it has been known for the expo to attract a number of gaming celebrity guests. For example last year we were all excited to see that Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario walking the Eurogamer halls. Who, if you could invite them to this years Expo would be your own personal ideal mystery guest, living or fictitious?
Charles turning up to the expo was amazing! He was a great sport and everyone was delighted to see him.
GuitarGirl24: We are all looking forward to seeing how the Expo looks in its new larger venue. Due to the increase in venue size, can you tell us if there are any new features we can look forward to at this years event?
New for this year will be our ‘challenge area’. This will be a part of the show where attendees can come up and post a score on a particular game. At the end of the day the person with the highest score will win a prize. We’re still working on the details for this at the moment but I think it’ll add something slightly different to this year’s show.
We’ve improved the developer sessions area as well so the presentations will look even better this year. The increased venue size means we can address some of the issues people had last year. More seating, for example, and more room for things like the Indie Arcade and GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair.
Leon: The Eurogamer expo has become a huge event for gamers, but how did you get started in the industry? Were you a fan of gaming beforehand, or was it more a business thing?
I’ve been a massive fan of games from about the age of 7 and once I got started I knew that I wanted to be part of the industry if possible. My route into games was a bit of an unusual one. I started out working as a recruiter for games companies and did that for 4 or 5 years. The guy who hired me did so on the basis that my CV said I’d taken part in a PES tournament. Then in 2009 I was lucky enough to be offered a job at Eurogamer working on the expo.
Leon: Eurogamer this year has become bigger than ever, due to the increasing interest in upcoming video games. Do you see the expo expanding even further in future?
Yeah I think we’ve done a good job of steadily growing the size of the show. From a few thousand attendees in the first year, to around 12,000 last year and 20,000 this year. We’ll have to see what the future holds but if we keep doing a good job then I’m sure both gamers and those in the industry will continue to support the show and if anything demand for it to grow will increase.
That Bloke In The Beanie: We’ve seen a large move towards movement technology from Microsoft and Sony to compete with the Wii. What sort of new technology would you like to see for the future of gaming?
I’m intrigued by what each of the platform holders are planning with both movement tech and 3D etc. Sony seem to be keen to get the hardcore on board with Move and it’ll be interesting to see if Kinect can live up to that early promise it showed.
Ultimately I think we all want Star Trek style holodecks. Sadly, I think this might be some way off.
That Bloke In The Beanie: Are there any old gaming characters you’d like to see back in gaming?
Some of my best gaming memories are from the early nineties when I owned an Amiga and then a Saturn, so I’d like to see some of the characters back from that era. Maybe someone like Rick Dangerous. Actually this is a bit of a random thought, but I’d really love to see Alan Green do commentary on a football game again. His commentary on Olympic Soccer on the PS1 was very funny.
Jokesound: Is it a help or a hindrance to you securing companies with MCM around the same time?
I’m not sure it’s either to be honest. I have a lot of respect for the MCM guys but I think we have pretty different audiences. They have a pretty heavy focus on comics and anime and I think that’s reflected in the games they have at the event which are often related to that area. We’re entirely dedicated to games so we tend to have games from right across the gaming spectrum.
We’re both part of the London Games Festival and I believe the 2 shows compliment each other well.
Jokesound: How demanding are the companies in terms of size or their presence and what they want to showcase?
Great question! Well every company wants to show their games in the best light possible and I think that’s entirely understandable.
Jokesound: Finally if it wasn’t for the expo I wouldn’t be with Plus XP, so thank you for the expo
Excellent! It’s like I’m still working in recruitment. 
2009 show floor
The Plus XP team would again like to thank Tom for taking some time out to answer our questions. We are certainly looking forward to this years expo, and of course what other games will be announced in the upcoming weeks leading up to it.
Garv
