GamerCon 2017: A great promise that left many upset

The ground floor had quite a lot to offer, Naoise O’Hare had a corner full of Retro game consoles set up with some real gems ready to play. It was great to see so many young kids getting a chance to play games that they may never had a chance to play before. There was also a range of computers and consoles set up with many different games to suit every type of gamer.

Gamestop had a stand set up offering 20% off along with a few smaller stalls as well. There was about 3 metres of space between the stalls, which is plenty if all the foot traffic keeps moving, but many people were there to stop and browse so getting anywhere near the stalls required patience.

Microsoft Ireland was present with several Xbox One S consoles and PCs sporting a range of games like Halo Wars 2, Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3 and Minecraft: Xbox One Edition to name a few.

They had staff members walking around the stand handing out Xbox branded swag such as controller skins, snap packs and lots of other goodies which I thought was pretty cool.

Sony had a range of Playstation 4 Pro consoles set up playing Horizon Zero Dawn, they also had a section of PlayStation VR headsets with a selection of different games for people to try out.

There didn’t seem to be anyone on hand to talk to and nobody handing out promotional items which is Sony’s forté at events such as these.

HP was also there with their new Omen PC. The new chassis above is designed for enhanced airflow and extreme performance. The panel above the motherboard can be easily taken off making upgrades a simple process. The led trimming around the front four panels can be individually set with a range of colours. Alternatively, they can be set up to reflect the CPU, Memory, GPU and PSU usage. Each panel reflects the current load of its assigned function, the led is blue at 0% and gradually turns red the higher the load.

HP also have a new range of monitors that are hitting the shelves shortly and had a few of them on display. We hope to have a review of the new HP Omen X 35 in the next coming weeks. The curved monitor has UWQHD (3440×1440) resolution, 100Hz refresh rate, and a 1,800R curvature. The 21:9 display offers 34 percent more screen real estate than a 16:9 display. The display uses an AMVA+ w/LED backlight panel and is HPs first monitor with Nvidia G-Sync support.

Working together Soundblaster and Viewsonic had an impressive setup. Soundblaster by Creative make top of the line audio products. They aren’t a brand you would think of when you hear “Gaming” but with their new line, they will be bringing something special to the scene.

I had a chance to check out the Soundblaster Katana which boasts 7.1 surround sound a very impressive subwoofer. It comes with its own configurable led lighting and sits right underneath your monitor for optimal audio. I also got to check out the Sound BlasterX H3, H5 and H7 — Pro-gaming level headsets designed for the most immersive gaming experience.

Trust Gaming had a pretty slick setup of PCs showing off their gaming peripherals. I had a look at the new PS4 GXT 353 Illuminated Bass Vibration Headset which seemed pretty cool. The vibration feature means that you feel the haptic feedback through the headset the same way you would feel it with a controller. They also had a range of mice and keyboards that boasted great quality at a low price point.

Finally, there was the Razer Bus which was kitted out with the latest in Razer goodness. I was hoping to see Project Valerie (You know, that laptop with the three 4k screens that someone walked away with at CES in January?).

That aside, the setup was pretty cool, they did a lot with the small confinements. The bus was kitted out with green led lights flooding the entire area in a green glow which looked aesthetically pleasing but probably wasn’t easy on the eyes after a while.

Overall I really enjoyed Gamercon. There were a lot of big names there as well as lots to do. The main comments to come out of the event are the queues and if the event is to run at all next year the management needs to seriously re-evaluate the issues they encountered this year. After the backlash from Saturday, the organisers got together to make sure the same thing didn’t happen on Sunday. The queue time to get into the building was only around 60 minutes which isn’t unusual for an event of its size but the queues to meet some of the YouTube stars were as long as 5 hours. It got to the point where they closed off access to the top floors around 4 pm angering any people.

Ferdis Twitter account currently remains inactive and the @GamerCon_Europe accounts last update was 1:07 pm on Sunday, however, the Facebook page is being updated with announcements about refunds including a message from the event founder Ferdi Roberts himself.

https://www.facebook.com/GamerconEurope/posts/1359110364170759

It’s quite clear that the event has left a bad taste in most attendees mouths and other Irish event organisers have come forward to clarify that this shouldn’t reflect on how other events are run. The organisers of Dublin Comic Con made an announcement assuring fans that this is not how an event is supposed to be run and that they want to make sure that everyone has a good time.

It’s great to see the Irish gaming community showing so much passion for the scene here in Ireland and to defend the events that received backlash because of how GamerCon was run. I hope we see GamerCon again next year but not if the experience will be the same.

Did you attend GamerCon this year? Do you know anyone affected by the venue capacity? Let us know in the comments!