After attracting more than 18,000 visitors and experiencing 100% growth this year, the organisers of Middle East Games Con at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) Informa Exhibitions announced their plans to reward fans with a mini Games Con at Middle East Film & Comic Con, which will run at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 11-13 next year. An extended Middle East Games Con will then return to ADNEC from October 24-26, with more halls added to accommodate the drastic growth of the event.
“Having nearly doubled the visitor numbers this year, Middle East Games Con has confirmed its authority as the leading regional gaming event,” said Suzy Pallett, EVP of Informa’s Consumer Division. “We’ve seen interest from every sort of gamer from all over the region. The event has cemented itself as Middle East’s premier platform for the industry to come together and has developed into a real family-friendly weekend packed with something for everyone – from online game tournaments, to table top gaming. With such strong demand for this unique success story, Informa is looking forward to continuing Middle East Games Con’s impressive growth in years to come.”
This year’s stunning 100,000 square feet event at ADNEC boasted a packed bill of exciting gaming tournaments, competitions and new game reveals from some of the world’s biggest software developers, console providers and PC manufacturers.
Highlights included three different DELL Gaming Fortnite contests, the chance to challenge the senses at a Sony PlayStation VR experience, dozens of opportunities to try new games, watch never-seen-before Arabised Anime films, and a new zone dedicated to Japanese art and culture, ANIFEST.
Middle East Games Con offered veteran and newbie gamers alike the chance to try global gaming giant Bandai Namco’s upcoming game portfolio – Soulcalibur VI; Jump Force; Dead or Alive 6; One Piece: World Seeker and The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan. Redvault, the gamer’s reward app, offered visitors the chance to test out Destiny 2: Forsaken and the unreleased Spyro Reignited Trilogy.
“We chose Middle East Games Con to introduce very new and unreleased games, as it’s such a fantastic event in terms of quality, security and atmosphere,” said Rashed Mokaad, spokesman for Bandai Namco. “We brought out the big guns for this incredible gaming convention and there’s been massive interest in Jump Force, which brings together all your favourite manga heroes in an epic all-out battle.”
The event included the first official regional presence from legacy brand Nintendo Switch which was brought to the event by Active Gulf, featuring thrilling Mario Kart Switch battles on the big screen. Nintendo used Middle East Games Con to help raise the profile of the hybrid Switch console, the brand’s seventh foray into gaming hardware.
Stay tuned to www.me-gamescon.com for next year’s Middle East Games Con events at Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
