Video gaming has usurped film and music as the world’s most popular form of entertainment and it is now a real economic juggernaut. Revenue grew 18% to $43 billion in 2018, and it is tipped to shoot up to $300 billion by 2025 due to the growth of mobile gaming, cloud-based streaming and improvements VR technology.
It is therefore easy to see why gaming conventions are soaring in popularity. They provide passionate communities of gamers with the opportunity to network and bond over a shared love of gaming. They are also increasingly important for gaming studios, as they provide a platform to announce new titles, release demos and gain feedback from fans. These are the five biggest gaming conventions in the world:
E3
The Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, widely known as E3, is the world’s most important gaming convention and it typically attracts all the biggest companies in the world. More than 65,000 visitors packed into the LA Convention Center to join in the fun this year, and they were treated to a raft of exciting content.
Microsoft announced details of Project Scarlett, the codename for its next-gen console, while gamers were dazzled by previews of Google’s cloud-based streaming service, Stadia. Perhaps the highlight of the event was a surprise appearance from Hollywood superstar Keanu Reeves, who stormed onto the stage to promote Cyberpunk 2077.
The audience went ballistic and one visitor yelled: “You’re breath-taking!” The Matrix and John Wick star responded by telling the audience “you’re all breath-taking” and he was widely adjudged to have stolen E3.
The event was inaugurated all the way back in 1995 and it has grown in importance with every passing year. It was historically a trade show, but it was opened up to the public for the first time in 2017, and that gave its footprint a tremendous boost. Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft, EA, Bethesda Softworks and Square Enix are among the major names that have exhibited their wares on a regular basis at the show, while the press conferences held there are among the biggest events of the year.
Tokyo Game Show
This expo is held each year at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture. The first two days are the preserve of industry insiders and press representatives, and then the doors open to the masses on days three and four. It is enormous in scale and ambition, bringing all the leading publishers, console makers, mobile developers and more to Tokyo for a celebration of great gaming.
You will also find exciting indie developers rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in the business, creating a dynamic atmosphere. It has been running since 1996 and it regularly attracts more than 200,000 visitors over the course of the four days.
It no longer quite competes with the gargantuan that is E3, but it still sees a number of trailers dropped, release dates revealed and announcements made.
Many of the visitors come from Japan, but it also attracts a significant international crowd. An fans of Japanese RPGs and obscure titles will find a wealth of excitement in its bustling halls, while big international companies like Microsoft have a consistent presence there too.
PAX
This is a series of festivals held around the world to celebrate gaming culture, including video gaming, tabletop and arcade. Each year PAX – formerly known as the Penny Arcade Expo – is held in Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia and Melbourne in Australia.
The event is the brainchild of two comic writers, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, who wanted to attend a show focused exclusively on gaming. It was initially held in Seattle in 2004, before it expanded across the US and Down Under.
You are unlikely to see massive reveals, but these events offer a unique opportunity to try out a number of unreleased games. AAA developers attend, but you will also find a number of quirky independent studios showing off some intriguing games.
DreamHack
A group of Swedish friends first hosted DreamHack in the basement of an elementary school in the early 1990s and it has gone on to become the world’s largest digital festival. It has long since branched out of its Swedish heartland, hosting events in France, Spain, the UK, Germany, Romania, the US, Canada, Brazil and India, yet the biggest meetings still take place in Jönköping.
It features an expo, live music and some very prestigious esports tournaments. It hosted the first ever CS:GO major in Jönköping back in 2013, when Swedish team Fnatic beat compatriots Ninjas in Pyjamas in the Grand Final.
It hosted another major at the DreamHack Open in Cluj, Romania, two years later, and it continues to include major competitive gaming events. Every year, DreamHack events attract more than 300,000 esports enthusiasts, and millions more stream the action from their homes and wager on the action at Unikrn.
BlizzCon
This is an epic celebration of Blizzard Entertainment’s greatest games. It takes place each year at the Anaheim Convention Center in California and it regularly attracts more than 25,000 diehard Blizzard fans. Visitor numbers have been steadily increasing in recent years and the next Blizzcon is likely to set a new record.
They come to learn more about franchises like StarCraft, Warcraft, Overwatch and Hearthstone, which are among the most world’s most popular esports. Metallica, Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Muse, Linkin Park, Ozzy Osborne and Tenacious D are among the big name acts that have performed in the closing ceremony.
Attendees can learn more about Blizzard’s plans for its much-loved franchises, share their passion for the games with like-minded gamers and enjoy all manner of interactive displays. It is a must-attend event for any fans of these games, and it always results in a barrage of big news stories.