The inaugural GameStart Asia hasn’t even started, but the slew of announcements being delivered for the event are – I’m not putting this lightly – pretty darn awesome. From new upcoming games to game tournaments to retro gaming there’s tons for all types of gamers out there. With the event less than a month away – Oct 25 and 26 at Suntec Convention Centre – things are finally falling into place. Read on for more details – there’s going to be a lot to cover.
GAMES, GAMES, GAMES
Main exhibitor Sony will play (hardee harhar) a major part in the exhibition, taking up 250sqm of space to showcase almost 30 titles for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The games will include some coming out next year – like Bloodborne, The Order 1886, Until Dawn and Guilty Gear Xrd. I’ve tried The Order 1886 at E3 this year, and the steampunk shooter had some pretty cool ideas up its sleeve and will be worth a shot.
Sony will also fly in Bloodborne producer Masaki Yamagiwa, and Freedom Wars producer Junichi Yohizawa to meet fans and and speak at panels. Customers at the Sony booth will get the new Sony Xperia Z3, special Toro PS4 HDD cases and PlayStation T-shirts (limited to the first three customers, 10 customers a day and 50 customers a day), while there will be special offers for PS4 and Vita games. Got an old console you don’t want any more? Bring it in and trade it in for a PS4 at S$100 off.
Japanese developers Namco Bandai games will showcase their own games, like Tales Of Hearts R, God Eater 2 Rage Burst, Godzilla and Project CARS, while Sword Art Online producer Yousuke Futami will be in town to make an announcement at the show. Yes, an announcement in Singapore (*glittery eyes*).
But perhaps the most exciting is that 2K Games is bringing their ultra-fun 4v1 asymmetric shooter Evolve to the show. One of my early contenders for game of the year (until it got delayed to Feb next year), Evolve will be on 10 computers at the event, allowing two games to run concurrently. Queues for the game at E3 this year were extremely long – so do come early for this. WWE 2K15 and NBA 2K15 will also be there.
And not to be left out is Blizzard who will be showing off Hearthstone, Diablo III: Reaper Of Souls – oh, and World Of Warcraft: Warlords Of Draenor. You’ll get your chance to pick up Warlords beta keys and Hearthstone card packs at the event, while stocks last. Oddly … No Heroes Of The Storm? (Speaking of missing things, there’s no official Xbox presence. Maybe it’s partially to do with Sony, but one sometimes wonders how much Xbox cares about gamers in the region.)
MADE IN SINGAPORE
With the convention held here, local developers and artists will get to feature their work. The GameStart Founders Base will have local game developers like Witching Hours Studios – of Romans In My Carpet fame – and Boomzap Entertainment.
On the art side, Inzen Studio and Liongeeks Studios will be showcasing their work, while Kinetiquettes will be there to display their licensed Capcom figures, and local T-shirt design company Xmashed Gear will be debuting some very cool designs.
If looking at figurines of other people isn’t your thing – why not try making your own at the Cadaq booth. Cadaq is a social enterprise that provides skills training to those with disabilities – so get something there if you can, cos it’ll be pretty impressive. I’ve done one, which you can see above.
READY, FIGHT
Gaming company Razer will be bringing the finals of the Capcom Pro Tour Asia to the event, and some of the world’s top players – including Singapore’s own Evo world champion RZR Xian – will be at the event to battle it out. Namco Bandai will also be holding tournament finals at the event, and the qualifiers for games such as Naruto and Soul Calibur will take place in the two weeks before the event. FIFA fans aren’t left out – Xtr3me3.NKSG (Mohamed Phirkhan) will be there to conduct a FIFA workshop and tournament.
RETROGEEK-ON
This should warm the heart of any longtime gamer: Versus City, a shop specialising in retro game consoles, will also be there with Retro DNA – where you can revisit your childhood (or my childhood, depending how old you are) and get your hands on old consoles like the Sega Dreamcast and the Atari 2600 – and even arcade titles. Games such as Super Contra, Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting, Mega Bomberman, Final Fight, Alien VS Predator, Jackie Chan’s Stuntmaster, and others will be there.
GET YOUR TICKETS
Tickets are now on sale here, and cost S$8.50 for a one day pass, and S$15 for both days. Got a ticket? Then you’ve qualified for a lucky draw! Do head down early for the event – there’s goodie bags for the first 300 gamers each day. SingTel and Aftershock PC are also teaming up if you need some deals on gaming laptops.
All in all, this is promising to be an amazing first year for GameStart Asia. It’s less than a month away – will you be there?
List of games to be showcased at GameStart 2014:
1. Bloodborne
2. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
3. Danganronpa 2: goodbye Despair
4. Diablo® III: Reaper of Souls™ – Ultimate Evil Edition™
5. DRIVECLUB™
6. Dragon Ball Xenoverse
7. EVOLVE
8. Far Cry 4
9. Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
10. FIFA 15
11. Freedom Wars™
12. Guilty Gear Xrd –SIGN-
13. God Eater 2
14. Godzilla
15. Hatsune Miku – Project DIVA F 2nd
16. Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™
17. Just Dance 2015
18. Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix
19. LittleBigPlanet™ 3
20. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
21. Minecraft
22. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
23. NBA 2K15
24. Project CARS
25. Resident Evil Revelations 2
26. Sleeping Dogs HD
27. Tales of Hearts R
28. The Evil Within™
29. The Last of Us Remastered
30. THE LEGEND OF HEROES SEN NO KISEKI I
31. The Order 1886
32. Until Dawn
33. Ultra Street Fighter 4
34. Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate
35. World of Warcraft®: Warlords of Draenor
36. Winning Eleven 2015
37. WWE 2K15
