Brandon Norred, left, Tristan Herrera, and Brian Hwu, play “Call of Champions” as a team using iPads at South by Southwest Gaming held at the Palmer Events Center on March 13. Credit: Efren Salinas / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Before it became SXSW Gaming, the video game portion of South by Southwest Interactive was known as “Screenburn” and for years it was held in the Austin Convention Center. But in the last few years, it’s flourished in the Palmer Events Center as a free, open-to-the-public event, attracting 55,000 guests and industry professionals to this year’s event.
But big changes are in store for the next one: on Tuesday, SXSW announced it is moving SXSW Gaming back to the Austin Convention Center and moving it from the first weekend of SXSW where it usually runs to the weekend when SXSW Music will take place. The new dates for SXSW Gaming are Thursday, March 17-Saturday March 19. SXSW Interactive runs March 11-15, but that endpoint may be evaporating as well.
The festival said it's also adding a virtual reality / augmented reality track to SXSW Interactive open to festival badgeholders, but that will take place March 16-March 17, sticking it squarely between SXSW Interactive proper and SXSW Gaming.
Why all the changes? SXSW Interactive spokeswoman Kelly Krause said in an email that despite good attendance at Palmer Events Center, "Palmer was great for consumers, but not so much for the various industry sectors who attended SXSW. Moving it closer and into the ACC allows for so many more industry folks to connect via the Expo. And, industry-focused connections is what SXSW is all about."
SXSW Gaming will remain free and open to the public with a guest pass, but with SXSW Music taking over downtown at the same time, gamers may find it tougher to get in and out than they’re used to. Gaming will still include a SXSW Gaming Awards ceremony, to be held on March 19, an expo floor, tournament area and panels.
And what about Palmer? It’ll still be used by SXSW as the home for SXSWCreate, which will take over the spot that Gaming occupied.
The festival is still taking ideas for gaming sessions at the PanelPicker and is also accepting entries for the SXSW Gaming and Gamer's Voice Awards.
