PC Game On is off

Two months ago, the CMP Game Group--organizers of the Game Developers Conference--announced PC Game On. The open-to-the-public show was scheduled for September 8 and 9 at the Austin Convention Center, immediately following the Austin Game Developers Conference.

Today CMP canceled what would have been its first consumer-level event "due to time and planning constraints." The company gave no further elaboration, but thanked the sponsors and partners involved in the aborted launch.

While PC Game On won't happen as planned, CMP said it is "committed to learning more on how best to serve the PC game market." The organizers invited people to leave their feedback through the event's Web site.

CMP's effort faltered, but consumer-level PC gaming conventions are by no means dead; they just seem to be game- or company-specific. This weekend alone, there are three concurrent events centered on PC games: Blizzard's BlizzCon, id's QuakeCon, and Sony Online Entertainment's Fan Faire.