Licence2Play returned to Singapore, this time in a new location: Suntec City Convention Center. Held the weekend before last, on the same weekend as Spore-con, Licence2Play aimed to attract both the digital and analog gamer with many various games – and the Book Fair just next to it in adjoining halls, there really was something for everyone.
I only managed to hit L2P on Sunday, and it was pretty relaxed compared to something like the PC Show. A little crowd choke ups were present here and there, but otherwise for someone lugging huge bags around it was pretty smooth sailing.
We start off with the ubiquitous booth babes – even in an event like this cameras surround the booth babes. What’s interesting to note is how much older the cameramen are compared to the average age of the gamers.
Also available throughout the competition were cosplayers – especially since L2P had a East-vs-West competition. Just by taking a quick overview of the place, I’m quite sure the east won…
But moving on to the real meat of the convention – digital gaming. The highlight for many of the attendees was really the competitions, and at points things would get very heated. If you were at L2P and heard a banshee-seque scream, no, it wasn’t a booth babe getting accosted – someone was just probably getting stalked on Counter-Strike.
Another thing L2P publicised on their advertising – the “ultimate tabletop gaming competition” which was held in a small area tucked away at the side of the hall. If you were there all you could see were card gamers, and while I can’t be certain, I believe they were playing Yugi-Oh!. I didn’t really see anybody getting very “ultimate” or whatever – maybe those folks made it to Spore-con?
Back to digital gaming… MapleSEA had a huge booth and was one of the more crowded ones,
Here’s a man agonizing after his Vega (aka M. Bison) lost to Ryu,
The good old tap-your-fingers-off-in-the-arcade game,
Sony Playstation had an ultra-wide presentation of Gran Turismo (imagine if your car was that big), and no mention of the PSN here, of course,
Taiko drums are a great way to bond,
And some folks got crazy by playing Audition through a mirror – though it would have been cool if their eyes had actually been closed.
Near the front of the hall was a Dance Central area – strangely each time I walked past one of 3 guys would be dancing away. They were really, really addicted.
And finally we have good old G&B Comics having their booth again this year.
And right next to them, The Falcon’s Hangar.
And I mentioned “bookier” in the title as the Singapore Book Fair was held in conjuction with L2P – which meant anybody seeking more analog pursuits could just walk right across to it. Sadly the crowds weren’t there, but it was nice to see parents with their kids checking some books out.
I think holding the 2 events side by side is a pretty interesting idea – but I can’t say it was a huge success. Nonetheless, it looks like Suntec and the exhbitors really brought L2p up by a notch this year – I wonder how they’ll expand next year!
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