Do you fantasize about the World of Warcraft? Do you often pick spending a day with your gaming console over hanging out with friends? Do you suffer from severe carpal tunnel, but don’t give a damn and continue to game as much as you can? Well, then here are some events and festivals where you as a hardcore gamer can find your purpose.
The video game frenzy has only increased in the past few years with new technology being developed everyday, making games appear more and more realistic. The wide assortment of graphics cards for PCs with mind boggling capabilities and the advent of 4K gaming, the barrage of game titles for the Playstations, the XBOXs, the Nintendos and the latest trend of virtual reality integrated gaming have pushed the barriers of what was thought possible in the gaming world. Gaming is no longer strictly constricted to entertainment and leisure as people make their careers by winning huge cash prizes at international gaming conventions and be crowned the best gamers. While there are a lot of conventions held, we have specifically picked out the best gaming festivals in the world which celebrate the game culture whether it be for creators or the players.
1. Insomnia57, UK
Founded in 1999, for over 14 years the Insomnia Gaming Festival has been a place for gamers of all backgrounds to gather and have videogame-related fun. Insomnia is a unique gaming event combining LAN Gaming Halls, a huge Exhibition Hall, Special Guests doing cool interactive content, large-scale Esports Tournaments, and a whole host of fun activities tailored to gamers of all ages. It’s all of the social enjoyment of gaming as a hobby in a live environment; a weekend’s worth of gaming action suitable for gamers both casual and hardcore.
2. Stunfest, France
The Stunfest takes place in the city of Rennes for gamers and also for curious people who enjoy games and want to discover a whole new way to approach video games. Stunfest features Arcade machines, retrogaming, indie games, concerts, conferences, and one of the biggest fighting games competition in Europe. Players come from all over the world to participate and play at the Stunfest. Since 2005, Stunfest has aimed to show video games in relevance to the present : which is not only entertainment, but a whole culture.
3. Norwich Gaming Festival, UK
Organized by The Forum, the Norwich Gaming Festival is a completely free, family friendly celebration of video games. In 2015, the festival welcomed over 45,000 visitors to The Forum where they held talks by industry speakers and offered a wide range of gaming experiences. At the festival, you can learn how video games are made, acquire new skills and meet the developers who make the games. Covering many aspects of games development, such as art, design, programming and business, all of the workshops are free and run by industry professionals.
4. Gameacon, USA
Gameacon is an event specifically about and for independent game developers and fans of all ages. The festival aims to create a an atmosphere to help artists in game creation thrive by providing a space to showcase their work, the opportunity to reach an audience who craves to see their games, and a forum to learn from each other. Gameacon (Game Arts Conference) was designed as a grassroots event with affordable hotel rooms, parking and food.
5. Video Game Fest, India
Video Game Fest is a first of its kind event in India, circled around gamers – from competitions, tournaments, gaming exhibits, game service exhibits, game demos, cosplays to game retailing. The festival aims to create an arena which will elevate the gaming space in India.
6.Classic Game Fest, USA
Now in its 8th year, the Classic Game Fest has become one of the largest retro video game conventions in the USA. The last event in 2015 featured more than 25,000 square feet of retro gaming awesomeness and attracted over 5,000 enthusiastic attendees from all over Texas and around the world. The biggest retro video game festival in Texas celebrates with exciting classic video games, retro game tournaments, costume contests, live video game music, and more.
7. Game City Festival, UK
In 2006 the GameCity festival, which takes place all across the City of Nottingham, was created. The aim was to set out to try and make a new kind of video game event that would invite different kinds of people into the amazing interactive digital world. Since the start, the festival has welcomed guests from all over the world, broken three world records and delighted tens of thousands of visitors.