For the last few years, I've always been meaning to go the Esports and Gaming Summit but there was always something cropping up, whether it was work or whatever else, so I'm extra glad I was able to find some time and actually drop by this time. And I'm extremely happy that I did. As someone who grew up during a time when gaming was considered a hobby for no-life losers, seeing how the Philippine gaming community is thriving kinda gets me right in the feels.
Massive Participation
I love me some gaming consumer tech, and all the biggest and best brands were all present for ESGS, with giveaways and sales and prizes. I even won an NZXT shirt, which was pretty hype.
The HP Omen booth had a bunch of computers - people were lining up to play some PUBG. They even had a virtual reality booth, which was pretty dope.
I'm a Logitech fanboy, I admit, but I wasn't able to get a snapback, which kinda sucks for me.
MSI brought its A game, with a PC modder competition showcase.
Shiny New Tech
We got to experience some brand new tech, too.
We got to play around with the ASUS ROG Phone, which was pretty cool. By the way, it's up for pre-order. It's a little pricey, with the 512GB model going for Php61,995, but that's the price for having the best and the brightest.
I got to touch and smell and feel an RTX 2080.
Out of all of the modded PC cases MSI was showing off, this was my pick to win it all.
Demos
In partnership with Datablitz, Capcom treated us to Resident Evil 2 remake and Devil May Cry 5 demos, which I didn't get to try because the line was way too long. I'll play 'em when they're out.
Also on full display at the event were the numerous independent game developers from the Philippines. Xandata even had a tournament ongoing. That game is in my Steam Wishlist, by the way.
I got to play around with Bayani a little bit, which I thought was pretty fun. It's still under development so some characters were unfinished, but it's showing some pretty good potential.
Cosplay and Merch
No con would be complete without amazing cosplay and some pretty wicked merch. I bought myself a Boku no Hero UA shirt bwahahaha!
Esports Hype
I didn't get to watch F Champ play but the matches I did get to see were pretty amazing. Too bad I didn't stick around long enough for the Tekken tournament.
There were all kinds of Esports competitions happening around the venue. I caught the tailend of the CS:GO finals. And I even heard the DOTA 2 tournament lasted all the way until 1:30AM the next day. Wild!
Brands Taking Notice
Besides the big sponsors Cignal and Smart, there were non-gaming related brands out there making their presence felt. RCBC was there, too!
Awesome Event, Guys!
All in all, it was a spectacular event. I just want to extend my congratulations to the men and women who put it together. You guys did an amazing job! I'm really looking forward to next year!