CII Indian Gaming Show 2017 :: A gamer’s perspective

So it’s The Indian Gaming Show the biggest and baddest of all gaming convention held in India. It was a very tidy and proper affair with companies from all walks coming together under one roof to serve and woo their fans in India. Hosted by the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), in Hall 18 of Pragati Maidan from 2-5 Feb 2017. IGS 2017 promised to be the first government backed acknowledgement of the rising gaming movement in India.

The first look inside the camp left me ecstatic with sights of playing-counters and Japanese manga displays along with really cool exhibits. I felt like I was taken back in time to my kiddie years when I visited fairs or amusement parks for the first time and was fascinated by every ride and activity present on floor.

The Presence

There was a good presence of gaming companies like Sega, Konami, Square Enix,  among others. Even game hardware manufactures like Samsung, LG, Sony and Predator all had there camps equipped with best set ups for the gaming fans to play and relish throughout the convention . All in all there was no lack of effort by the representatives of all brands to let the consumer view the best they had to offer and experience true top notch gaming.

There were curved LCD HD monitors with pumped up predator PCs; Sony PS4 Pro; R.O.G and LXG; HTC VIVE; New Sony Playstation VR; There was even a prototype console TV by LG for direct Plug n play features. The hardware was complimented with a large number of new and upcoming games all waiting to bested by the Indian gamers. Games like Tomb Raider, Piercing Blow, Nier Automata graced the show floor with many more unreleased games on various platforms.

Sega, Square Enix and Konami lived up to their reputations with each camp bringing their A-Game to the show. Square Enix had titles like Tomb Raider, Hitman and also Nier-Automata which is to be launched next month. Sega played the nostalgic card with the classic Sonic the HEDGEHOG games. The only thing lacking was the no setup for PC games like Total War:Warhammer which is one of the best Sega creations. Konami showcased their PES 2017 along with their myClub capabilities while exPress once again showed their muscle with demos of their most popular games including Resident Evil, Hitman, WWE 2K17 and many more.

The Competitions

Various number of competitions were held at the Indian Gaming Show as well. Konami was giving away a free copy of PES 2017 for the PS4 if you end up winning a match at their booth.There was death-match CS GO competition at the Samsung stall and the PlayStation stall was having its own competitions in FIFA, Street Figther V and WWE 2K17.

CS:GO and DOTA 2 of course occupied the center stage of the show and had the best e-sports teams in India slugging it out with accompanying commentary and the matches shown on Titan-tron screen for interested viewers. I myself sat for a good time to watch the matches between teams on huge flatiron and a equally huge gaming spectators to feel matches like watching a cricket match in India.

Organizers did a great job in creating a good feel for a proper gaming show making it a must go event for any gaming fan. Cool part was the crowd gathered inside the show which consisted of all kinds of young gamers ready to take part in the first ever proper gaming show held in India.

Most heart warming place in the exhibition for me was the anime stand which had various animes cosplays and stands telling tales about all the History and growth of Japanese anime mangas . I met with a few Japanese manga representatives and cosplayers and felt nice as it showed that the anime makers in Japan recognized its Indian Fans and is working in the direction of feeding there appetite. There were many cosplays to be seen with even a cosplay costume making stand. I met Chewbacca and Mr.Pool(Deadpool) along with Zero from Lelouch (Anime). There were even performances by Japanese artists.

PC Vs. Consoles

Now comes the talking point Pc Master race vs Console Peasants . Not taking any sides there major PC systems manufacturers like Republic of Gamers and Predrator all showing their liquid powered super powered GPU loaded a sick dream machine hell it was running Doom and Arkham Knight in 120 FPS on full 4K screen like simple melody a.k.a FLAWLESS.

But Console Peasants did what its best at ……..arrived in numbers. The console setups outnumbered the PC setup by a margin. Sony brought all its Play Station gears like the PS4, PS4 Slim, PS4 Pro, PS-VR gadget to screens and visitors with possibly the most crowded stall in the entire show. While the only major console present was PS4 there were assortments of other consoles and gadgets like new Vive VR from HTC and few Indian manufactures mobile game developers with games on Salman Khan and the Master Blaster to draw crowds.

Samsung still opted for a all PC line up however, with its cool new curved monitors which took the gaming experience to next level.

Parting Words

All in all it was very tidy and encouraging affair for the indian gaming community as it shows how it has been recognized as one of the biggest potential market with estimated $801 million by 2022. It showed how companies are releasing the Indian gaming scene as they had a good interactive exhibits for user activity.

Guys even in the auto expo they don’t let you test drive the rides here atleast you get a chance to drive at its maximum capacity before making a opinion about it . It was fun and new experience for me with a day well spent among the people with the same flair as me.