As a resident of the UK, I often find myself reading about events like E3, TGS and Games Convention in a kind of yearning, melancholy fashion wondering why the UK seems to get short changed in terms of conventions.

The good news is that this seems to be ready to change, and in fact that has already begun. Inspired by the phenomenal success of international conventions, organisations in the UK are getting a little braver and more confident that there is an industry in this country to show off and there is a market that is more than happy to join in.

Today GameCity 3, an independent games festival held in Nottingham was announced for October 30th to November 1st. This is the third year running that the event has been held (hence the 3). The event has seen notable success in the past, with appearances from SCEE, Free Radical Design (of Haze fame), Travellers Tales and Keita Takahashi. Details for this year’s show are being kept under lock and key for now.

With some of the most anticipated games of this year (LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm 2 and Haze) coming from UK based studios, it seems strange to me that the UK doesn’t beat the drum for its games industry more. Hopefully GameCity will continue to go from strength to strength and if Play.com Live continues to develop and become an annual event then the UK could have a bit of more a vibrant videogaming calendar to look forward to.