PhilGA or the Philippine Gaming Association recently held its first major event the Gaming Convention 2016. The Gaming Convention 2016 is an event that was packed with people and it hosted a variety of tournaments that included games like Tekken Tag, NBA2K, Monster Hunter, Pokemon Sun and Moon and so much more. I got invited to cover the whole event and was able to get a chance to interview their Founding President, Jay Perillo. Let’s find out what this group is all about.
Leif: Let us start this off with your name and your position within PhilGA.
Jay: I am Jay Perillo and I am the president of PhilGA, Philippine Gaming Association.
Leif: Hello Jay, so how did PhilGA begin, can you tell us more about how this group came about?
Jay: We started this one with a goal, with a dream actually, with a dream of having all of the gamers in one place without any discrimination. Without having no pros, no noobs, everybody is at the same level. So that is what we were dreaming of before and we had this one session that we were hanging out and if I remember correctly it was around June this year. And we discussed it and we never were able to sleep just thinking about it. It’s something for us that is too big for us to pass up on. It’s not just about the games, it’s not just about the attendees, it’s not just about the fame that you get out from it but it’s the passion about gaming. I mean everybody here I’m sure we all share the same thing.
Leif: Yeah, I agree. So this is the first gaming event that you’ve hosted?
Jay: It’s actually the second . The first that we had was a teaser for this one. It’s like a preparation for the gamers that there is something bigger coming this December. So we were planning to end the year with a bang and hopefully we delivered.
Leif: Yeah I do believe that this event successful.
Jay: Yeah we are very happy about it! We were not actually expecting that many attendees because we had an online registration for tournaments and all and we were expecting around 100 to 120 people to arrive. The walk-ins that arrived though were more than we expected. So, all in all, we were really really happy about it. With the result, the support of the people, the gamers, we are really happy about it. And we would really like to thank them.
Leif: Do you think that you will be holding the same event next year?
Jay: I don’t want to think. I want to say that we WILL hold the same event next year. Yes (laughs) I would want to do that. We would want to do that. Everybody, the whole community would want to do that. If you can speak to the whole team (PhilGA). Everyone is really passionate about it. We stayed up late at night preparing for this event and you won’t see a single person complaining that they are tired. No, everybody is still smiling.
Leif: That’s great to hear. So how many original members did you start with?
Jay: We actually have what we call the core members. We have 9 core members. That is what we started with and that’s how we began all this.
Leif: So how were you guys able to find each other and form the group?
Jay: We are actually friends. We are a group of friends formed online by games. The thing that we had in common before was games and now we figured out that we are all passionate about it. So instead of wasting our time, I know that we could make a difference and we all agreed to put up all of this.
Leif: That is really cool! So what does it take to be part of your group. Are you still accepting members or applicants?
Jay: As of the moment, we are accepting members but if you are asking me if we are accepting applicants for a position in our core group in PhilGA, we are happy with what we have right now. The team is complete but we are accepting members. We actually had a registration area earlier for the attendees to get PhilGA ID’s. We have two types of membership: the PhilGA Associate Member and the PhilGA Preferred Seller. One of the goals of PhilGA is to help people find a good deal online without having the fear of being scammed. If we were going to back-up a seller, we know that that seller is legit. That person is not going to do anything and they are not going to scam you. That is one thing that we can offer our members.
Leif: Oh so you are also allowing members to sell their products or games on your group?
Jay: Yes, we are actually encouraging our associate members to purchase their items or games from the PhilGA preferred sellers. So for example, if you are a seller and you want to sell your games with PhilGA backing you up, you would get the PhilGA Preferred Seller membership.
Leif: And you have a page on Facebook for your members right?
Jay: Yes, definitely! You can look us up at www.facebook.com/PhilGAOfficial
Leif: And I think that’s it! I think we’ve covered everything for now. Any final thoughts?
Jay: Thank you so much for showing your support. We are deeply humbled and flattered.
And that’s it. If you are in the Philippines, especially in the Manila area and you want to check out PhilGA and be part of their community look them up at www.facebook.com/PhilGAOfficial. I personally thank PhilGA and their president for giving us the honor of covering their event and hopefully we get to see more of them in the years to come.
