Between gaming enthusiasts and the Gamescom stands - Part 1
We often hear about the big gaming exhibition in our neighbouring country, but what's really going on? For the first time in my life, I'm able to take part directly for professional purposes and get a personal impression. I'm delighted to share my impressions.
We start towards the "Business Area" and pass the first small hall (as shortcuts), filled to the brim with merchandising stands. With all the cuddly toys, colourful wigs and Nintendo NES controller-shaped boxes piled up, I can barely see the salespeople. Whatever. We want to play a bit before the big halls get overcrowded and our meetings start. I'll definitely be back.
Great is an understatement. Perhaps, I should have taken a pedometer to be able to give the size of these halls in figures. Seriously, the exhibition space at the Cologne expo is huge. We (my boss and I) walk to one end of hall 5 and find ourselves in the first queue in front of the Star Wars Battlefront II stand. Here's our first 10 minutes spent waiting to be impressed by what lurks behind this super lock.
"Please do not take photos or video of the new trailer". So we follow these instructions and put on the headphones. After the trailer, we still have the chance to play Battlefront II. It seems that all the members of the opposing team have learnt the first version of the game by heart and are even applying it directly to the new instalment. We're losing, even after giving it our all with my 1:1 kill/death ratio. In any case, it's enough to take a photo with the Shadow Troopers.
I look at my watch. Time does seem to fly by faster at Gamescom. As we pass into the next hall, we suddenly feel ourselves being watched by stern-looking men in suits. We can only vaguely surmise the gender and assume it's Angela Merkel's opening speech and we're right.
In the next hall, long queues are already waiting for us, often hidden behind curtains or huge stands. Firstly to only show games with age limits to people who are old enough and, secondly, to give people the impression that the queue isn't long. They know how to do it.
We really like the Xbox stand; no wonder it's nominated for the award for most beautiful exhibition stand. We spend a lot of time playing indie games and deliver a PES 2018 football match. This time, neither of us loses. The game ends in a 1-1 draw, even though I scored both goals. After a morning of games, a few meetings await us this afternoon.
As expected, people in fancy dress are scarce on the first day. So I'm looking forward to Day 2 and perhaps have a little surprise in store for our customers in Bern. Stay tuned.
The digital world already had me firmly in its grip back in the day when I was training to be a computer engineer. So it goes without saying that I was also soon exposed to the web and social media – two things that are now very much part of my daily life. My face tan is one thing that has nothing to do with PC or smartphone screens. It’s a tell-tale sign of my love for the mountains and paragliding: #offline.