Gaming geeks, it’s that time of the year again. This year’s Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit 2018 (ESGS 2018) brought a whole host of offerings to adventurers and gamers who made their way to the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Exhibitors, gaming icons, developers, and special guests wasted no time starting the event in high gear, courtesy of demonstrations, displays, and other festivities.

Friday turned out to be quite the straightforward day for ESGS 2018. Fans, enthusiasts, and geeks used this day to get the “groove” of the overall event, as with a lot of first days in three-day conventions. However, their efforts paid off thanks to fulfilling visits to booths, despite the rather overwhelming nature of all the festivities in these exhibit areas.

What exactly should you look forward to? Exactly what booths should you go to? What festivities await adventurers who plan on going this year? Here’s the What’s A Geek! recap of the first day of this year’s ESGS 2018:

ESGS 2018 Day 1: “Chill” But Not So Much

First timers like staffer Rhenn entered and left the convention center in awe. And not to kiss-a, either. The feeling might be slightly attributed to the fact that all items present fall well beyond his financial reach. However, much of it has to do with quite the depth the event expressed.

“It’s a pretty chill event, but there are a lot of things for you to do,” a friend said prior to the convention.

“It’s just one place, but there’s so much to do that it’s so fun,” another said. “After you’re done with one, you’re like, ‘So where’s the next one?'”

Exhibitors

Fans can explore more than 40 booths and exhibitors all over the convention hall. Aside from merchandisers, artists, and developers, these exhibitors have their own offerings in their own booths. It appears the push towards eSports the past few years placed particular focus on gaming peripherals and having users try out hardware on different games. Many booths involved registering for chances to win various prizes and freebies as well.

Exhibitors and presenters packed the convention halls with booths of various sizes. Moreover, technology and gaming enthusiasts will find no space wasted by these brands, as it appeared that a lot of them will have a lot of offerings in store in their respective booths. Not only that, but showcases from these brands filled the schedule of the three-day event. These include:

• Logitech
• ASUS ROG
• Ludus
• Gumi
• Predator
• OMEN by HP
• Secret 6
• Square Enix
• Gameclub
• Gravity
• Synergy88 Digital
• MSI

Tabletop Corner

ESGS 2018 touts itself as one of the biggest gaming conventions out there, and “gaming” isn’t limited to just videogames. The convention halls dedicated a section exclusively for tabletop gaming. Moreover, aside from presentations from various known and indie tabletop developers, some GMs will also be gaming in their own tables this ESGS 2018. Speaking of indie…

Indie Fiesta

If you find yourself tired of waiting for usual big-name brands and their releases, ESGS 2018 has an indie corner that might be to your fancy. See independent developers present new concepts, ideas, and properties prior to public releases. Moreover, ESGS attendees shouldn’t miss the opportunity to get to know any of their upcoming titles. These include:

Another Indie, which will be bringing:

• Yuppie Psycho by Baroque Delay
• NAIRI Tower of Shirin by HomeBearStudio
• Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption by DARK STAR
• Shots Fired by Chryse

Yangyang Mobile, which will be bringing:

• The Letter
• Love Esquire

Chryse, which will be bringing:

• Street Feud
• Data Breach

The Epic Gaming Regiment, which will be bringing:

• Berlin Magsaysay’s Combatron
• RefrigeRaiders

Other games, and their developers and publishers, include:

• Tadhana: Bungka (by Project Tadhana)
• Puti (by Balangay Entertainment’s Nico Valdez)
• Pawikan Patrol (by Tabletop Traveler)
• Academia School Simulator (by Squeaky Wheel Studios)
• Tattletale (by Dead Beat Bunny)
• Sorcery vs. Savagery: Magical Action Arcade Game (by Cereal Box Creations)
• Haloes/Basketball (by Taptap Games)
• Rapids (by Cyrell Aspiras)
• The Bread Adventures of Butter (by Team Blue Orange)
• The Crop Circle Warriors (by Top Peg Studios)
• Once Upon A TIme In Jinag Hu (by Tobie Abad)
• 9tives (by Prome Works)
• Jump Squad (by Tap Tales)
• Lunar Manor (by StellaCreative Labs)
• Excessive: The Trilogy (by DagitabSoft)
• Brawl Quest (by ThinkBIT Solutions)
• BLAMBOX (by Heavenwards Games)
• TESSERACT, by Team Theta
• Over Easy, Egg Jump! (by Takty Studios)
• Pollie Pots (by Of Dragon Science)
• Ma. (by Gwen Foster)
• Duloga (by Javi Almirante)
• BamBoozle
• Love Struck
• Good Knight
• Invert.io
• DEADLINE/
• Max and the Invasion of Avaraze
• DatExtravaganza

Tournaments And Arenas

Returning gamers like Rhenn might be surprised at the sheer depth and scope of the things to try out. Almost every corner of the convention hall will have either an announcer or a game being played. What’s perhaps interesting might be the continued thrust towards introducing and immersing crowds in multiplayer experiences.

Players and teams duked it out for supremacy in various tournaments today. Some highlights include:

• Team TNC Predator dominating in the WESG Philippines SEA Qualifier
• Vixen and TNC. Caracute dueling for the WESG Hearthstone SEA Qualifier
• Godlike Gaming and Arkangel competing for a spot for the WESG CS:GO SEA Qualifiers!
• Quid Pro Quo dominating Davao’s Pride for DoTA 2 in Road To The Nationals

The Road to Nationals, WESG, and Playbook eSports have given the first day of ESGS the kind of “formal” eSports push that may attract local gamers. Despite the 40-million-strong gaming population in the country, there indeed lacks a sense of a “unified” eSports presence that’s needed in a global market where gaming has become a staple.

Thanks to the aforementioned tournaments being hosted by events like ESGS, perhaps the exposure will afford more organizers and gamers the opportunity to expose and immerse themselves into these gatherings. The schedule for other tournaments and arenas include:

Playbook Esports

Playbook Esports will host a series of fighting game tournaments as well. Participants can register as early as 10 AM on Saturday and Sunday to participate. Moreover, fighting game enthusiasts will likely enjoy the number of games they can join in ESGS 2018. These include:

• Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (Oct. 27)
• Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite (Oct. 27)
• Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 (Oct. 27)
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Oct. 27)
• Soul Calibur 6 (Oct 27)
• Tekken 7 (Oct. 28)
• BlazBlue Central Fiction (Oct. 28)
• Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 (Oct. 28)
• BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle (Oct. 28)
• Dragon Ball FighterZ (Oct. 28)

The Mobile eSports Arena (MeSA)

MeSA will be hosting another series of tournaments for popular mobile games in the market today. Moreover, players can register as early as 10 AM on each day of ESGS 2018. Games in this tournament series include:

• Mobile Legends (MOBA)
• Vainglory (MOBA)
• Hearthstone (CCG)

Cosplayers!

What’s a convention without cosplayers? Players and adventurers interested in going as their favorite characters can go to ESGS 2018 donning their best costumes. Moreover, there’s a dedicated cosplay corner for fans and enthusiasts to gather around, interact, and take pictures.

Cosplayers can participate in a competition this Oct. 27 as well. Meanwhile, judges Tessa, Kang, and Loki Heart will decide which among the best cosplayers can win as much as PHP 20,000 in prizes.

Art and Merchandise!

Artists and merchandisers are back as convention staples in ESGS 2018. Con-goers, adventurers, and gamers now have an opportunity to bring back souvenirs from the event thanks to these providers. Moreover, enthusiasts and fans can meet some of their favorite artists to get some much-acclaimed commissions.

About ESGS 2018

Gamers and adventurers interested in joining the fun can still enjoy two (2) more awesome days of Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit 2018 (ESGS 2018). This year’s ESGS will be held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Oct. 26 to 28, 2018. You ought to stay tuned for more updates on our comprehensive What’s A Geek! coverage on this year’s festivities!