RPS Asks: Are You Going To Gamescom?

I used to read games sites each June and dream of going to E3, excited by the prospect of seeing and playing games before they were out. Now I'm old and excited by the prospect of going to bed. Times have changed in other ways, too: there's now a big, European games show which is open to the public and at which you can see and play games before they're out.

Gamescom happens each year in Cologne and takes place next week, August 18th-21st. We'll be sending a crack team (Adam), but I was curious: are any of you planning on going as a member of the public?

I've been to E3 and Gamescom a number of times, and Gamescom is better. It's bigger - 300,000 people sweat their way across its showfloor each year - and often hotter in Germany in August than it is in LA in June. But it's also got a more interesting spread of games, attracting more smaller publishers from across Europe and Asia alongside the larger publishers.

Also Cologne is lovely, easy to travel around using public transport, and has umpteen delightful bars alongside the river. LA, meanwhile, is an armpit.

But I say all this as i) someone who doesn't have to buy a ticket and ii) someone who gets to skip some of the queues.

So are you going to Gamescom this year? Have you been to Gamescom before? And what prompts you to make the journey?