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The “Computer” exhibition of Lausanne. Part 5: When video games are no event.

par Pierre-Yves Hurel


Context : This paper is part of a dossier about the “Computer” exhibition, taking place in Lausanne 1978-2004.  

  • In the first part (link), I presented my methodological choices, the media corpus, and the main periods of  the “Computer” exhibition.
  • In the second part (link), I have shown to what extent the show became part of a regional rivalry.
  • In the third part (link), I listed the companies attending the “Computer” fair and showed its clientele.
  • In the fourth part (link), I showed the deep ambivalence of the targeted audience and the slow intrusion of cultural aspects in the exhibition.
  • In this fifth part, I will be studying the place that video games occupied at the fair.

As we’ve seen in my previous articles, video games were not exactly in the focus of attention of the “Computer” exhibition in Lausanne. At a first cursory glance, you might even think they were missing completely. And yet, on closer inspection the show does seem to have been, somewhat despite itself, a moment of dissemination for video games in French-speaking Switzerland. Continue reading The “Computer” exhibition of Lausanne. Part 5: When video games are no event.

The “Computer” exhibition of Lausanne. Part 3: American giants and local users

by Pierre-Yves Hurel


Context : This paper is part of a dossier about “Computer” exhibition.  

  • In the first part (link), I detailed my methodological choices, presented the corpus of newpsaper sources and a chronology of the “Computer” exhibition.
  • In the second part (link), I have shown to what extent show was integrated into a context of regional rivalry
  • In this third part, I will list the companies attending “Computer” and introduce the clientele.
  • More articles will be published over the coming weeks

At Lausanne’s “Computer” trade show, international “giants” peacefully coexist with local actors. There were the as well large local companies (private or public) who come to showcase their projects linked to the computerisation of French-speaking Switzerland as also young developers who presented their own software. It is likely that the “Computer” exhibition (like other fairs) played an especially important networking role for the actors involved in the exhibition – a function explained in this article in “Le Temps” from 2001. Continue reading The “Computer” exhibition of Lausanne. Part 3: American giants and local users