EGE 2015 - Impressions and thoughts

[DieGrootHammer]

And so Cape Town got its own electronics and gaming expo, EGE for short, this weekend, and we were there to see what’s what.
It was just over a month ago that general communication of this particular event went out into the world, which didn’t seem to be enough time to get enough people to EGE 2015 and make it a success. There was also lots of questions with regards to the exhibitions themselves and whether EGE can live up to the high standards set by expos like rAge.
Well, I for one think that it was a success. It’s a small start, but a good start.

Exhibitions:
There were only a handful of exhibitions from local gaming companies which included some SA born gaming developers as well as hardware sales stands. Sony also showed off some PS4 action, and Xbox One’s delivered many league gaming and esport events. There were also an abundance of table top games up for sale, a large comic book stand and various gaming related arts and craft exhibitions. A few other stands including 3D rendering solutions made for the rest of the exhibitors. Overall, it would’ve been nicer to have seen more exhibitions, and hopefully in years to come bigger companies embrace EGE. 6/10

Gaming:
There was a lack of gaming exhibitions at EGE, and I was a bit disappointed at that. Normal stalwart games like Forza 5, GT6, Fifa 15, Battlefield 4 and various Lego titles were present, and a few hardware stalls showed off The Witcher 3 running on their hardware. What was nice to see was the presence of plenty of South African gaming developers, and games like Gloobies Lab, Desktop Dungeons, Vietnam ’65 and Broforce all were present. I especially loved Gloobies Lab, a mobile game, and have been playing it ever since getting back home. Overall, a lack of games would’ve probably disappointed a few people. 4/10'

Electronics and other:
MSI had a great range of laptops on show, Frontosa showed off some PC components, and Intel had a big developer’s area, where they showed off a new processor that can be used to build micro PC’s to rival the RasberryPI. The table top gaming area had a metric ton of board games of all shapes and sizes available, with quite a few of them open for demoing at one of the tabled. I liked these exhibitions, and I likes the art, comics and cosplay presence the event garnered. 7/10

There was only one real show stopper at EGE, which was the Oculus Rift. Unfortunately they only had one unit on display for the public, which meant that the queue got ridiculously long in a really short amount of time.

Overall, the start of what can be Cape Town’s answer to rAge got the ball rolling on a good note. Sure, there weren’t that many exhibitions or games, but what was shown was interesting and fun, and it proved that the mother city has a big appetite for such an expo. I’m sure that EGE will grow each year as more sponsors and exhibitor’s gets on board.

I enjoyed my time tremendously and I look forward to next year’s EGE.

And now, click here to see some photos of the event

[Blazzok]

My impressions were that I couldn't be there

Maybe I should try and attend rAge this year

[Crzwaco]

That looks pretty dam awesome.

[blaaislaai]

I pretty much agree with you on all those points along with the ratings given, it was not a bad first expo.
However, i think the majority of us went with the mindset of expecting something big, in the region of rAGE.

I Kinda left disappointed, it became very crowded and the expo room was not "big enough" for all of us. However there were some MOER MOOI girls there

The VR headset was the only reason why I actually wanted to go, but the queue was ridiculously long and decided to skip it.

On a side note, was pleased to meet a few mygaming members there

[TechThief]

[MENTION=9789]DieGrootHammer[/MENTION], You spelt my name wrong in the 6th picture.....

I think It was very fun, I believe that for the first time for eGe it was very well done, yes it was small, but I think from a business standpoint It was a smart move, test the waters before you get in. Now next year they can go bigger, as they have seen that there is a lot of interest, now they just need to capitalize on that.

All in all, very fun, even thought it was small, I think that was a good start for it's first time, now they can build of it and bring it back next year, even bigger and better.

[MalicE]

I wish I had more money

so many board games!

[Wyvern]

Ok so I went with a slightly different mindset to Hammer, I was not expecting anything on rAge levels.

Exhibitions:
There was some decent stalls, my favourite was the local devs. Yes it would have been awesome to see some big names with huge stalls, but considering this was a tester so to speak, I was happy. There could have been more stuff for sale at decent prices, as well as just more interactive stalls, that draws people in - this is were the SA devs stood out for me, they interacted with people, drew you in to test their stuff out. The bigger stuff - (ok I will admit PS4 and Xbox isnt my cup of tea so I didnt spend that much time with them). 7/10 (and that is mainly the sa guys who won me over)

Gaming:
I am not gonna say much here because I felt that Hammer covered it well. Ster kinekor - you could have done a lot better than just show us trailers we have been watching on youtube. . . . 4/10' I will add that that I will give the SA devs 8/10 what I loved the most was even at their busiest about lunch time, they still chatted to everyone, listened to what we had to say about their games.

Electronics and other:
With this I will stick to hammer's review 7/10
Altho the tabletop gaming was so much fun, and I really wish I had cash with me to buy EVERYTHING! Plus it was awesome fun just picking a game at random (We played two rounds of King of Tokyo) and it was so much fun, with people walking by, watching, commenting. Oh and if the dude who taught us the game reads this - thanks it was so much fun!

And yes the Oculus Rift was the big draw for most. But I have to admit, the atmosphere, the people, seeing a fair few friends and oogling at all the shinies (that includes the cosplay girls for the boys - where is the hot cosplay boys for the girls dammit). I only got some coffee at the event, decently priced, some of the food stands seemed a bit expensive.

Also I have to admit the LAN section was lacking . . . But I suspect that is just the fact that the advertisement for this event didnt take off as much and people had trouble believing it will happen due to some of the epic fails we have had in the past.

Overall for me, it was exactly what I expected. I was very happy and cannot wait to see what next year holds for us.

[mottamort]

( where is the hot cosplay boys for the girks dammit).

Girks are a VERY niche market, it might take a few more years before we start catering to them. You cant keep everyone happy all of the time, the girks will just need to accept this.

[Wyvern]

Girks are a VERY niche market, it might take a few more years before we start catering to them. You cant keep everyone happy all of the time, the girks will just need to accept this.

And fixed thanks, I was in study mode where I have just my subjects on my mind

[mottamort]

And fixed thanks, I was in study mode where I have just my subjects on my mind

Its not as funny if you fix it