The wait is almost over – this year’s Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit (ESGS) happens this weekend, from October 27 – 29, and is shaping up to be one of the most fantastic geek events of the year. The convention centers on different aspects of the gaming community in the Philippines, from casual mobile players to competitive console and PC gamers, and also brings the country’s best developers into the limelight.
Today’s press conference opened with a few choice words from the man behind the event, Joebert Yu. Following Yu, we got to meet several of the event’s notable personalities as they participated in a panel on the event. There was also a Q&A that touched on various topics, from diversity in games to how alternative media like YouTube and game websites factored into company marketing schemes. The panel centered mostly on what the companies would be showcasing on the con floor, and they did not disappoint.
Playbook will be hosting a bevy of fighting game tournaments, including those for Tekken 7, Street Fighter V, Guilty Gear and other anime fighting games. Playbook is also set to host the NBA 2k tourney Asia qualifiers for the Philippines later this year.
Mobile game Heroes Evolved is set to release their first IP Hero Bruce Lee(?!) soon, and they’ll be giving away codes to redeem him at the event. R2 will also be having a community event for Heroes Evolved and will be holding the Asian championship tournament on the 29th (sunday).
The PlayStation booth is set to have several upcoming games playable, including Call of Duty WWII, the Final Fantasy XV fishing VR game Monsters of the Deep, and Dragonball Fighter Z. PlayStation representative, Willyam Sanusi, also spoiled us of an upcoming game bundle featuring notable PlayStation titles including Horizon Zero Dawn and the God of War games.
MSI will be showcasing some of their latest hardware including the MSI GeForce GTX 1080 TI GAMING X Trio, the MSI Z370 motherboard series, and the MSI Optix G27C. MSI’s range of netbooks will also be available for attendees to see and try themselves.
The Secret6 game Project Xandata will be playable at their booth, with the game’s open beta launching later this year on Steam. The game was announced at last year’s ESGS, and S6’s Gene Gacho describes it as a competitive multiplayer shooter set in a sci-fi world based on Philippine folklore. S6 will also be holding a tournament for Xandata from the 28th to the 29th (Sat-Sun).
Last Regiment, a turn based strategy game by Boomzap, will be playable at the event, with the developers on standby for player feedback. Boomzap is one of the country’s top employers of local game dev talent, boasting more than 50 games released, and they’ve been known to stream the game development process on Twitch from time to time. I even got to preview the game with Chris Natsuume as he walked us through the game’s motions, while talking about the industry from an Asian developer’s perspective.
Indiearena is set to bring 48 indie, professional and tabletop game groups to the convention. Notable international titles like Mobile Legends and sleeper hit The Letter will be at the show, alongside memetic card game Hugot and Switch title Ultra Hyperball. Various other student and indie projects will be there, including some from iAcademy and from the alumni of the DLSU-College of St Benilde.
ESGS 2017 will be at the SM Mall of Asia SMX Convention Center from October 27 to 29.
All photos taken by Roxanne Co.
