Newsbriefs for February 8, 2008

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GET A SWEET HOTEL DEAL FOR GTS
Looking for an amazing hotel room at GTS? Then get your room at Bally’s through the GTS room block! Right now, the GTS room rate beats the Bally’s web “hot deal” rate by $60 for April 17-19 -- and it’s the same as their best rate for the rest of the show!

Arrive early, play hard, then enjoy GTS -- make the trip part business, part pleasure!

Make your GTS hotel reservations today with this handy link: https://www.harrahs.com/CheckGroupAvailability.do?propCode=BLV&groupCode=SBGMA8

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SHOW YOUR GAME TO BUYERS AND MEDIA AT TOY FAIR, FEB. 17-20!
Promote your games to the 20,000+ retailers, media, and industry professionals who attend Toy Fair through GAMA’s Show and Sell program!

GAMA’s Show and Sell program puts your products in front of motivated experts who buy, sell, and recommend games. Through the program, you can put your games and literature in the GAMA booth at Toy Fair. Our booth staff works with buyers and media to tell them about our industry’s products. Make sure they see your games there!

** Q&A **
Q: How much does this cost?
A: It’s free for GAMA members. Non-members pay $50 per game. You also need to provide one copy of each game you want to display, plus 250 copies of the literature you want to distribute.

Q: How many games can each company put into the booth?
A: As many as they want! For each game that you put into the booth, you must supply two things: a demonstration copy of the game and 250 pieces of supporting literature. Non-members must also pay a $50 display fee per game.

Q: What’s the deadline to get games into the booth?
A: Your games and literature must arrive in the GAMA office by February 15, 2008. Non-members must also pay their participation fee by that date.

** Putting your product in GAMA’s Show and Sell booth **
1. Reserve your space by contacting Trey Reilly (programs@gama.org or 614-255-4500 x103)! Due to space considerations, participation is limited.

2. After Trey confirms your space in the booth, gather your games and literature (one demonstration copy of each game and 250 copies of your literature) and send them to the GAMA office. Games and literature (and non-member payments) must ARRIVE in the GAMA office by Friday, February 15.

GAMA
c/o Trey Reilly
280 N. High Street
Suite 230
Columbus, OH 43215

Non-GAMA members: Please include your $50 per game payment with the product and literature shipment. Non-member shipments MUST INCLUDE payment to be displayed at the show.

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ORIGINS EVENT SUBMISSIONS UP 50% IN 2008
It’s going to be a hot year for events at Origins! As of February 1, Origins game masters submitted more than 1,500 events for the schedule. That’s up from 920 at the same point during 2007. Register for Origins 2008 today at https://www.originsgamefair.com/2008/register!

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GAMA ON THE ROAD
Your GAMA staff hits the road quite a lot in the coming couple of months, promoting the industry products, supporting our members, and connecting with game players everywhere! Watch for GAMA at these events around the country:

Feb 17-20 – ToyFair (New York, NY)

Feb 18-22 – Game Developers Conference (San Francisco, CA)

Feb 28- Mar 2 - The D&D Experience (Arlington, VA)

Feb 29-Mar 2 – Intercon H (Chelmsford, MA)

Mar 7-9 – Cold Wars (Lancaster, PA)

Mar 8-11 - Western States Toy & Hobby Show (Pomona, CA)

Mar 14-17 – Wizard World West (Los Angeles, CA)

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REGISTER FOR GTS TODAY (AND SAVE ON YOUR HOTEL ROOM!)
Beat the annual rush by getting your GTS badge and making your 2008 hotel reservations now!

Lock in the special GTS rate of just $127/night, good from April 17 (Thursday) through April 24 (Thursday). Make the trip part business, part pleasure!

For show registration, visit www.gama.org/gts/shop-online.
For hotel information, visit www.gama.org/shows-and-events/gts/travel.

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RETAILERS: DID YOUR INVITATION TO THE GTS BANDAI BREAKFAST ARRIVE IN THE MAIL?
Check your postal mail -- did you get a Bandai Breakfast postcard? If you didn’t, then you need to update your mailing address in the GAMA database!

To update your store’s information, send your store name, contact name, and mailing address to Jodie Ramsey (ops@gama.org). Don’t miss anything else!!

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HEAR THE BEST OF GTS 2007 SEMINARS AT PULP GAMER
Relive the best of both the retailer and publisher seminar track from GTS 2007 thanks to the folks at the Pulp Gamer podcast. Hear the seminars for free at these links:

Retailer seminars: http://www.pulpgamer.com/category/gama-trade-show-retail-seminars/

Publisher seminars: http://www.pulpgamer.com/category/gama-trade-show-publisher-seminars/

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BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH KNOWLEDGE AND CONNECTIONS!
Expand your network of professional retailers and game industry experts through GAMA’s forums: the Game Industry Network and the GAMA Retail Division forum, both on Delphi Forums.

* The GAME INDUSTRY NETWORK (GIN) hosts an industry-only discussion on all aspects of games, from creation through sales. Game professionals use the forum to discuss issues, make announcements, look for and give advice, and more.

To join the conversation, send your request to Anthony Gallela (ed@gama.org). Please include the following:
* your first and last name
* preferred email address
* for retailers: name, location, and your title of your store
* for other industry pros: name of your company and your title

* The GAMA RETAIL DIVISION FORUM gives GRD members a place to discuss GAMA-related topics (the organization itself, things that members want GAMA to do, and such) with fellow members and GAMA staff.

To join the GRD forum, please send your contact information to Trey Reilly (programs@gama.org).