For this month’s featured video, we selected the following from BlizzCon that took place this past November 2017. As always, Blizzard has a ton of great games that have expansions and other news kicking off each year. Have a look at what’s coming up in 2018:
Unity Technologies and The Game Developers Conference Partner to Unveil the Unity Student Scholarship, Sending Next Wave of Innovators to GDC 2018 (Press Release)
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Unity Technologies (https://unity3d.com/), creator of the world’s most popular creation engine that reaches nearly three billion devices worldwide, announced it has partnered with the Game Developers Conference (GDC) on the Unity Student Scholarship, which will give 50 students with outstanding projects made with Unity All Access passes to GDC 2018. The scholarship is now open, there is no application cost and students can enter here.
“Unity is thrilled to be able to offer students who are doing outstanding work in Unity the opportunity to attend the premier professional conference for the games industry,” said Jessica Lindl, Global Head of Education at Unity Technologies. “Democratizing development and enabling success are two of Unity’s driving forces and we’re happy to be able to channel these values to students through the Unity Student Scholarship.”
The Unity Student Scholarship was created to provide learning and networking opportunities for up and coming developers. Those selected for the scholarship will receive an all-access pass for GDC 2018, which also includes access to a pre-show kickoff, hosted by GDC on-site before the week begins. The entry deadline is December 31st, 2017 and the winners, which will be determined by Unity and GDC experts, will be notified in January 2018.
“As the world’s largest professional game industry event, we are proud to partner with Unity Technologies to provide the Unity Student Scholarship to 50 students,” said Katie Stern, General Manager at GDC. “With over 26,000+ attendees and over 500 lectures, panels, tutorials and other discussions, GDC is the perfect event for burgeoning developers to learn the skills necessary to continue to flourish in the game development space.”
More information about the guidelines and rules for entering the contest are available at the official entry page. For more information about GDC 2018, including the GDC Conference, Summits, Expo, VRDC@GDC and attendee pass options, please visit http://www.gdconf.com/ or follow @Official_GDC on Twitter.
SIGGRAPH Asia 2017 Honors Top Talent in Computer Graphics and Digital Imaging (Press Release)
BANGKOK, Thailand, 5 December 2017 – SIGGRAPH Asia 2017 wrapped its 10th edition on a high note. This year’s edition brought together some of the biggest names and organizations in the computer graphics and interactive techniques industry. Held from 27 to 30 November 2017 at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC), Asia’s premier graphics, animation, art and technology event drew 6,526 computer graphics professionals, researchers, enthusiasts and trade visitors from 58 countries and regions under one roof.
Close to 600 speakers presented at the conference, discussing the latest industry developments and future of the computer graphics and interactive techniques industry. The exciting line-up featured distinguished keynote speakers and panellists such as Albert Yu-Min Lin, Research Scientist & Explorer, California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology @ UC San Diego, National Geographic Society; Michael Cohen, Director of the Computational Photography Group, Facebook; Mark Oftedal, Co-Director of “Piggy”, a Google Spotlight Story; Chris Harvey, VFX Supervisor, Oats Studio and Mathieu Muller, Film Engineer, Unity.
The production teams from Pixar (Coco), Industrial Light & Magic (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Disney (Moana), Marvel Studios (Thor: Ragnarok) and Framestore (Blade Runner 2049) also took to the stage to showcase their ground-breaking digital work in these films.
Virtual and augmented reality was also featured strongly at SIGGRAPH Asia 2017. One of the highlights was the featured sessions’ panel, Towards Stronger Human Connections in AR/VR, which featured a mixed reality setup with one panellist speaking remotely in VR, a first-time showcase in the region. Industry pioneers, James Fong, CEO, Jaunt China; Ido Banai, CEO and Founder, Plenoptic Cognition and Jake Kahana, Co-Founder, Caveday, discussed the production challenges and lessons from making story-driven VR films. Other well-attended sessions include Artificial Intelligence Meets Virtual And Augmented Realities and Before And After AR/VR: Empowering The Paradigm Shifts In Education, where panellists discussed the synergies between virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and its impact on education.
The VR Showcase Program immersed visitors into virtual and augmented worlds to convey how virtual reality can be applied to fields such as healthcare and entertainment, as well as influence human interactivity and engagement. The content rich program also featured specially curated interactive sections that included live painting sessions with local and regional transmedia artists, as well as a VR Dailies Theater.
SIGGRAPH Asia’s exhibition show-floor featured the latest hardware, software, technologies and innovations from around the world. The exhibition featured a total of 73 exhibitors from over 15 countries. Of these, 53 are first-time exhibitors, including companies such as ArtFX, Epic Games, IKEA Communications, Luxion Inc, NewOlderVFX Co. Ltd, Ringling College of Art and Design, SOFA Framework, Unity Technologies and Yannix (Thailand) Co. Ltd.
Click here for the press release on the announcement of the Computer Animation Festival Award Winners.
Next year’s edition, SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 will be held at the Tokyo International Forum in Japan from 4 – 7 December 2018.
“Following 10 years of success at SIGGRAPH Asia, I believe that SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 will be a unique event where there will be a huge variety of crossovers between people, cultures, companies, industries, entertainment, art and digital technologies. In this sense, Tokyo is the best city for the attendees to experience and feel the crossovers between anime and 3DCG; digital and traditional cultures; and be at the cutting edge of digital media and new industries,” said Ken Anjyo, Conference Chair of SIGGRAPH Asia 2018.
Visit the website for more details: http://sa2018.siggraph.org/.
GetGeeked San Francisco 2017: Gadgets for Gamers
GetGeeked is a technology and lifestyle products showcase that rolls through several key cities in the United States. The event serves as a matchmaking event for high-tech gadget ‘n’ gear companies and the media and consumers who crave their wares.
San Francisco happened to be the most recent stop for the GetGeeked road show. Over twenty brands were represented at the showcase, among them several gamer-friendly products and services. We’re going to take a quick look at several of thee companies and what they were presenting that gamers might take an interest in for the holidays and beyond.
Creative Labs
A gaming technology and accessories stalwart with deep roots in the Bay area, Creative Labs is has a history going back thirty-six years and counting. The company began in earnest with the Sound Blaster line of sound cards and have grown and diversified their hardware a lot since then. But this glance at their products is all about their “Sound Blaster X” products.
The Sound BlasterX Katana is one of those gadgets for which it seems named for how it looks. The Katana is a 75 watt RMS thumper of a soundbar for PCs with widescreen and multi-screen monitor set-ups, featuring Dolby 5:1 and 24-bit Digital Audio Conversion (DAC), and a user-controlled tri-color set-up. The speaker system in its narrow but long profile comes packed with 2 up-firing midbass drivers and 2 tweeters. For bass-lovers, an external subwoofer is path of the package too. USB (for Sony PlayStation 4 too), headphone and Bluetooth is part of the connectivity options. The Katana lists at $299.99.
No self-respecting PC gaming accessories manufacturer comes to the table without a mouse and a keyboard. Creative Labs is no exception. The Sound BlasterX-branded Siege MX04 and Vanguard K08, respectively, cover those essential offerings for PC gamers.
Featured at the event, the Siege MX04 is Creative Labs’ first mouse — a “gaming grade” mouse at that. I didn’t spend a lot of time with the mouse, but it is solid, large enough to fit my palm comfortably and is oriented for right-handers. That works for me, but of course a left-hander might prefer an ambidextrous mouse. The main buttons are large and accessible and also programmable. To top it off, the mouse offered a fully customizable LED lighting system, like the other products shown from the Sound BlasterX line. The MX04 mouse MSRPs for $64.99.
The Vanguard K08 keyboard shares the sporty lighting system and “gaming grade” designation from the Sound BlasterX line. 109 mechanical keys with a matte finish, A USB 2.0 pass-through connection allows users to wire in, say, a mouse or USB peripheral. The keyboard offers durable OMRON switches (nope, not MX switches this time), which on paper, should be good for 70 million keystrokes. That feature should keep gamers able to play years of PUBG and write a novel with plenty of durability to spare. The Vanguard K08 keyboard retails for $139.99.
Lastly, while you don’t hear as much about their sound cards in the PC gaming community, Creative Labs is still very much in that business. Specifically, the hardware OEM showed the Sound Blaster X AE-5, which serves as a nerve center for discrete headphone amplification, a 32-bit PCIe DAC with 5.1 discrete surround sound, and the signature LED body lighting too. Whereas the older Sound Blaster cards helped render music through their synthesizer chipsets, this card is designed to clarify and amplify the music and sound originating from different media, including games. The AE-5 is priced at $149.99
To be a master of lights, in this case the Creative Labs LED lights, it takes the Sound Blaster Connect application, through which, apparently, the lights can be modded to perform ambient-matching and functional life bar tricks.
Cobra
“Cobra?” you might ask. “Why them?” How does a company known for automotive radar detection products and the like score a spot in a gaming product round-up?
The answers is cobra’s WASPcam 9941 camera. The WASPCam fits neatly in the middle of their action camera product line, but still features 4K video at 30 FPS and 16 MB pictures. Because the 9941 also features WiFi streaming, this camera could be a useful tool for influencers, journalists and possibly tech-savvy, budget-conscious livestreamers. The WASPcam clocks in at $129.99.
MikMe
I’ve been following MikMe, an Indiegogo-funded startup building a high-quality mobile microphone solution, for a couple years. Their product is reaching a state where it’s almost ready for the fast-growing livestreaming and eSports markets.
The MikMe weighs in at $499 MSRP and about 1/3 of a pound, this device is designed to store compressed MP4 or uncompressed WAV digital audio at long duration (360 hours) or at high quality (up to 96 kHz). With the aid of a 1″ gold-plated cardioid condenser capsule in the basic and solid enclosure, quality or quantity in audio recording should be doable. Also inside the MikMe, you’d find a rechargeable 3.5 hour battery, which for many will define the limit of the audio they’d record. On the outside, a 1/8″ audio output jack for a headphones and the option to mount MikMe on a stand or a DSLR tripod is part of the feature set.
Audio is distributed via Bluetooth wirelessly, with the help of an iOS app. The app enables users to record, mix, & share the audio they’ve captured. The MikMe can also work through a USB cable with Mac/Win PCs, but wireless capability is right now only for iOS devices. When wireless ability is extended to Android devices, MikMe will have its major mobile platform boxes ticked.
It seems to me that it will be only a matter of time before MikMe mics are seen on Twitch streamers desks and at eSports events.
December 2017 Game Industry Events Calendar
It’s nearly the end of the year! To help you discover upcoming game industry conferences, conventions, festivals and other events, we post a consolidated list of events for each month. View the complete December event list below!
Click here for the main calendar view.
December 7-8: VRX Conference Expo (San Francisco, USA)
9-10: Games Gathering (Montreal, Canada)
9-10: PlayStation Experience (Anaheim, USA)
11-13: MIGS (Montreal, Canada)
This list is obtained from the main calendar. Did we miss an event? Let us know!
The 3RD Annual VRX Conference and Expo Unveils Final Agenda Featuring Leaders in the AR/VR and Mixed Reality Space (press release)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Nov. 28, 2017 – VRX, a leading executive-focused B2B event for VR & AR, will feature expert talks and discussion to an exclusive audience of senior-level execs. Over the course of two days, Dec. 7-8, executives from 26 different countries will be attending the event along with an incredible line-up of c-level and senior executive speakers. VRX is the perfect place to make the vital connections needed to supercharge a business’ growth in the virtual technology industry.
Top-tier business leaders over the two days include representatives from Google, HTC, Oculus, Sony, Microsoft, Framestore, Magic Leap, HP, Ubisoft, Samsung, Walmart, Nestle, Ford, BMW, Intel, Epic Games, LG, Unity, Gensler, Wayfair, NVIDIA, Nickelodeon, Paramount, ExxonMobil, Activision, EA, Accenture, Apple, and hundreds more.
A number of special events are also scheduled to take place during the two day program, including the following highlights:
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Behind the Lens session: Exclusive 1-to-1 interviews with senior VR execs at Oculus, HTC and Google
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The latest VR & AR demos: Including LuckyHammers’ APE-X, Minority’s Chaos Jump, OptiTrack’s collaboration with HP, alongside Intel, Unreal Engine, StarVR + many more
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Enterprise VR & AR case studies: From Ford, Walmart, Nestle, Gensler, Vans, Audi, Wayfair, Honda, CDM Smith, Accenture, Gulfstream Aerospace + more
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The future of gaming, film, TV & entertainment: With speakers from Paramount, Survios, Nickelodeon, Cloudhead, Discovery, Epic, Kite & Lightning, Unity, Sky, REWIND, Sony Pictures + more
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Senior-level networking events: Do business with 600+ VR/AR execs – C-level, Director, VP, SVP, Heads of Dept from across gaming, film, enterprise, TV, healthcare, education and beyond
Full information on VRX 2017, including registration, list of speakers, and roundtables can be found at http://events.vr-intelligence.
NVIDIA GTC 2018 Registration Now Open
NVIDIA’s GPU Technology Conference (GTC) is now open for business — the business of registering attendees for their 2018 flagship event. GTC explores and expands upon the company’s ever-broadening silicon and software ecosystem around deep learning, artificial intelligence and raw compute power.
Following the game development-centered conference mainstay GDC 2018 by a few days, GTC will take place from March 26-29, 2018, in San Jose, California.
While gamers and game developers have seemed to become less of a focus if only because NVIDIA’s vision has expanded, gaming remains a key part of their business. In fact, the gaming market for NVIDIA has seen a 25% year-over-year growth in revenue from Q3 2016 to 2017. Gaming remains their single largest market vertical at $1,561 million revenue in this quarter. That data tidbit should suggest there will be plenty to see at GTC 2018, even if much of the spotlight shines on enterprise-level AI and deep learning.
Early bird registration for the GPU Technology Conference is on the table until February 16th, 2018, with a range of attendance options from expo-only to conference and training.
Bonus: while the window to submit talks and labs for GTC 2018 is now closed, the call for poster sessions remains open until January 12, 2018. In the meantime, check out the official GPU Conference Technology site for more info and news about NVIDIA and GTC.
AT&T Developer Summit Takes New Shape
The clock has stopped for the annual AT&T Developer Summit.
After ten years of hosting the AT&T-centric developer fest in Las Vegas, the telecommunications giant has cashed in its chips and moved on to a new approach to their events.
Over the years at this event, AT&T has featured content tracks with developers in mind and hackathon coupled with giveaways, plus celebrity keynotes, parties and a concert. All of these ingredients together likely helped amplify the amplify the draw of the event in the shadow of the much larger Consumer Electronics Show. Recently, virtual reality, augmented reality, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence took the front stage at the AT&T Developer Summit, keeping up with the times.
Then, in 2016, AT&T kicked off their first SHAPE: AT&T Tech Expo, with a developer and technology enthusiast focus at — where else? — AT&T Park in San Francisco. With that shared focus on developers in mind, their 2017 developer summit followed less than six months later, just over four hundred miles away in Las Vegas. This year, SHAPE was hosted in Los Angeles, with no word heading into autumn about the AT&T Developer Summit.
Following an inquiry about the status of the Developer Summit that Events for Gamers made via Twitter earlier in November, AT&T Developer (@attdeveloper) replied in direct message:
“Thank you for your participation in our annual Developer Summit over the years.
This past summer, we hosted AT&T SHAPE in Los Angeles at Warner Bros. Studios. SHAPE will now be our annual signature event for developers and creators looking to explore the convergence of technology and entertainment. This shift will help us to better reflect AT&T’s evolution into an integrated media company. With SHAPE as our new focus, we will no longer host the AT&T Developer Summit in Las Vegas.”
The statement clearly suggests that AT&T has shuttered and replaced their Developer Summit, at least for now. In the meantime, however the telecom giant’s developer team is leveraging SHAPE event and their content creation-driven hackathons to lead their new developer messaging and outreach.
Below, through the magic of Twitter, you can get a very small taste of the past AT&T Developer Summit experience:
Final Summit Hackathon challenges, themes, and prizes revealed. Check it out: https://t.co/GhF23284N0 #ATTDevSummit pic.twitter.com/haFAgh3tWt
— AT&T Dev Program (@attdeveloper) December 26, 2015
Our sponsors will give away over $80K in swag at our #ATTDevSummit Welcome Party. Join us from 6-9PM TONIGHT! https://t.co/bfzSLTzerW pic.twitter.com/zb08h0BXGT
— AT&T Dev Program (@attdeveloper) January 3, 2017
Backstage passes to blink 182 concert. Not going to lie, it’s pretty nice up here. #ATTDevSummit pic.twitter.com/ZZsesL2K6Y
— Michael H (@Xiii_0ch0) January 5, 2017
GameTheory Wins VR Brain Jam and Shares Insights
From Gamesforchange.org: The GameTheory team was lucky enough to spend the last weekend of July doing what we love most: solving problems with games in entirely new ways.
We were asked to join Games for Change’s first ever Neuroscience VR Game Jam, or #BrainJam. And yes, that’s a quite a bit to fit into one title, but the event was outstanding, delivering on all those seemingly disconnected pieces to create one truly inspiring experience.
To understand this event, and what made it such a great weekend for the team, let’s break that title down. First it was a Game Jam. For those who don’t know, a Game Jam is similar to a hackathon, only where a product is the main goal of a hackathon, learning is much more important in a Game Jam. You take 24-48 hours and have to make a game from scratch around a specific theme. A bunch of people participate and you all tackle this same challenge together. At the end of the given time you see what you all managed to make.
In this case, neuroscience was our topic for the jam. While we like to think over here at GameTheory that we’re pretty wily, we certainly aren’t neuroscientists, so we had some provided for us in mint condition. We had Leanne Chukoskie from University of California San Diego and Patrick Beukema from the University of Pittsburgh who were amazing additions to the team.
Read more at Gamesforchange.org
Casual Connect USA coming to California’s Disneyland® Hotel this January
Over 2,000 games industry professionals expected to gather for conference January 16-18
Join us at the whimsical Disneyland® Hotel as experts and innovators dive into everything that makes games magical.
Casual Connect USA 2018
Location: Disneyland ® Hotel, California, USA
Date: 16 - 18 January 2018
Attendees: 2,000 gaming professionals
Speakers: 200 executives and experts
Indie Prize Showcase Teams: 75
Website: http://usa.casualconnect.org/
At Casual Connect USA 2018, you’ll be able to use our exclusive Pitch and Match meeting system to network with games industry professionals like yourself. You’ll also get access to three days worth of lectures, three large networking parties, and 75 of the world’s best independent games with their innovative developers. The venue will also feature a large expo area where you can talk one-on-one with industry-leading companies like Appodeal, Insomniac Games, Kochava, Vungle, and Consumer Acquisition.
You will be able to learn from panels and presentations – featuring experts from Disney Consumer Products & Interactive Media, Netmarble US, Glu, Kongregate, Fox, Trigger, Mattel, Oculus VR, Double Fine, Insomniac Games, Kayak, Twitch, Atari S.A., DoubleDown Interactive, FunPlus, Product Madness, HitPoint Studios, Microsoft Xbox, GSN Games, and more – across our 14 tracks: Industry & Leadership, Licensing, Emerging Tech & Entertainment, CoreDump by Insomniac, Business of Games, Market Navigation, Kids & Family, Esports, Casino, Audio, LiveOps Connect by PlayFab, United in Diversity, United in Education: Workshop Series, and the IGDA Mentorship Summit.
FOR INDIE DEVELOPERS
Submit your game for the international Indie Prize USA 2018 scholarship program before November 15 at http://bit.ly/2hazMK8
Casual Connect brings together the most talented and knowledgeable experts in the gaming field to further the industry with the best learning and networking opportunities for gaming professionals since 2005 four times every year. See the full schedule of Casual Connect events for 2018 at http://casualconnect.org/events.html
You can register for your conference pass before prices go up on December 18 here:
http://usa.casualconnect.org/joinus.html
For any questions please contact Yuliya Moshkaryova at yuliya@cga.global or on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/yuliya.moshkaryova
The 2017 NOW TV Esports Industry Awards Winners Announced (Press Release)
London, Tuesday November 14th – Last night saw guests from the world of gaming, entertainment and sport come together to celebrate the second annual NOW TV Esports Industry Awards. With over 600,000 votes cast in total this year, the awards recognise outstanding achievements in Esports over the last year, in an industry that continues to grow in strength and appeal.
A stellar quartet of hosting talent – Julia Hardy, Nicki Shields, OJ Borg and Adam Savage presented the winners with their well-deserved awards. Leading the field were winners Megan “RheingoldRiver” Cutrofello as Unsung Hero of the Year, and Belgian television presenter, reporter, Esports player Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere as Personality of the Year. A shining achievement for both, and the first women to scoop NOW TV Esports Industry Awards.
Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing emerged victorious as NOW TV Esports player of the year in association with L’Oreal Men Expert. He is currently also Fifa World champion; the first UK player to take the crown since 2005.
Here’s a full breakdown of the awards and winners:
Esports Breakthrough Game of the Year – PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Esports Commercial Partner of the Year in association with Gamesindustry.biz – G-FUEL
Esports Coverage Website of the Year in association with Sizzle – ESPN Esports
Esports Game of the Year in association with Twitch – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Esports Journalist of the Year – Duncan “Thorin” Shields
Esports Photographer of the Year in association with Snugg – Joe Brady
Esports Publisher of the Year – Riot Games
Esports Hardware Provider of the Year – Intel
Esports Videographer of the Year – Davis ”OpTic Hitch” Edwards
Streamer of the Year – Dr.Disrespect
Streaming Platform of the Year – Twitch
Esports Broadcaster of the Year – Alex ‘Machine’ Richardson
Esports Console Player of the Year in association with Scuf Gaming – Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper
Esports Live Event of the Year in association with Thomas Lyte – League of Legends World Championship (RIOT)
Esports PC Player of the Year – Amer ‘Miracle-‘ Barqawi
Esports Personality of the Year in association with NOW TV – Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere
Esports Rookie of the Year (Console) in association with Simba – Victor ‘Punk’ Woodley
Esports Rookie of the Year (PC) in association with Simba – Abay ‘HObbit’ Khassenov
Esports Team of the Year – OpTic Gaming
Esports Unsung Hero of the Year – Megan “RheingoldRiver” Cutrofello
UK Esports Player of the Year in association with L’Oreal Men Expert – Spencer “Gorilla” Ealing
Esports Play of the Year – Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper
David Turner, Retail Marketing Controller at headline partner NOW TV, commented: “Last night was more than just a recognition of those who have made major contributions to the world of Esports; it demonstrated the passion and dedication that all those involved in the sector have and why Esports will continue its meteoric growth and appeal.”
Tom Mercey, Director and Co-Founder of the EIA said: “Global recognition and awareness of Esports has absolutely exploded over the last twelve months and that has been reflected in the amazing support we’ve had for our awards this year.” He went on to add “We created the awards to celebrate everyone who contributes to making Esports such a global phenomenon and we’re thrilled to have been joined by so many leading lights of the industry this year as well as celebrities from the world of music, film and TV”
About Esports Industry Awards
Founded in 2015, the NOW TV Esports Industry Awards had an 18-month journey to its inaugural event. The NOW TV Esports Industry Awards is dedicated to showcasing top class performance and innovation from, amongst others, the players, teams, media, hardware providers, games, events, and personalities within the scene. Giving credibility to this process was fundamental for all involved and the integrity of every step was closely monitored by our NOW TV Esports Industry Awards committee. We work closely with our headline, category and event partners to bring the very best annual event which puts those at the heart of the industry in the limelight.
The NOW TV Esports Industry Awards returned to celebrate the ‘best of the best’ in the industry, on November 13th 2017, at the Brewery – London.
About the hosts
JULIA HARDY: Hardy has been signed for a second year for Radio 1’s monthly video games show and has a great deal of experience in hosting TV shows and events. Her CV includes presenting duties for the BAFTA Games Awards for Challenge TV, hosting the Worldwide Minecraft Convention, presenting Videogame Nation and reporting on gaming and technology news for Sky. Julia continues to partner with mainstream brands such as her long term collaboration with Very.co.uk and has a new series launching soon on AOL, as well many TV shows in development with various networks.
NICKI SHEILDS: Nicki has been the host presenter and pit-lane reporter for the FIA Formula E Championship since 2014 – the all electric racing championship on city street circuits round the world. Nicki is a huge Esports fan and hosts the e-racing series at Formula E race weekends, plus the Visa Vegas e-race which had the biggest prize fund in e-racing history of 1 million dollars. She is also the anchor for CNN series ‘Supercharged’, a technology and motor show, and also CNN’s ‘Going Green’ eco show, along with commentating on Formula 1 on ESPN. Nicki is a familiar face hosting live events, credits include The Gadget Show Live, Goodwood TV, Confex 2014 & 2015, ICE Totally Gaming, VitaFoods, Marketing Week Live, Autosport International Show, ITV’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, Revival after going green and the Bounce children’s festival.
OJ BORG: OJ Borg is a broadcaster, filmmaker and owner of an original Amstrad CPC-464. With a Colour screen. Having realised early on that he was no good at proper jobs OJ has worked on numerous TV and Radio shows over the years. From extreme gadget testing for Gizmodo on BBC America to hosting shows for ESL, OJ lists his major achievements as having not mortally offended anyone in the Esports world yet & never having been beaten on Speedball 2.
ADAM SAVAGE: Adam has spent the last 12months hosting the Activision UK games blog, producing and writing Endemol Shine’s Legends of Gaming Live, hosting and producing Dan TDM’s Live show at Multiplay’s Insomnia Gaming Festival as well as making a return to TV screens in Sky’s The First Hour on GINXEsportsTV. However, Adam has also brought his presenting experience to the forefront of major Esports events and championships as a Main Stage Host and player interviewer.
Working alongside commentators and analysts, Adam has worked with Gfinity on the Halo World Championship Qualifiers Series Live from Wembley Stadium as well as ESL UK across their Premiership CS:GO & League of Legends campaigns and Halo Fall Season Finals. He also brought viewers at home the very latest from the Call Of Duty World League Finals at COD XP on behalf of Activision in LA last summer and has recently worked with London MCM ComicCon across the ESL UK Premiership Hearthstone Finals.
TEKKEN World Tour Finals: Interview with Mark Religioso
The finals for the globetrotting TEKKEN World Tour tournament are on their way to autumnal San Francisco on November 12th. Sixteen of the world’s top TEKKEN 7 players will be in competition for the Tekken World Champion title, with $50,000 in prize money on the line.
One of the key people to make this competitive fighting game tournament happen is Mark Religioso, the Brand Manager for TEKKEN 7 at BANDAI-NAMCO. Before the action kicks in to high gear, we’ve had the chance to query him on some of the ins and outs of this tournament and the game behind it.
Events for Gamers: What is your involvement and role with the TEKKEN 7 tournament, as it has (pardon the pun) played out?
Mark Religioso: As the TEKKEN 7 Brand Manager, I not only lead the marketing efforts, but also built up the BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment global eSports strategy for the title. Over the course of the past two years, I’ve been able to embed myself in the community and get to know a lot of passionate fans and people in the space. The FGC TOs, commentators, and production crews are the real MVP! It’s been a pleasure working with them on this year’s TEKKEN World Tour.
E4G: Looking back, what are a few of the more memorable moments that you can recall from this year’s tournament?
MR: This is a really tough question since there have been countless highlights. Looking back at this year I would have to say my favorite event on the TEKKEN World Tour would have to be Rev Major 2017 which took place back in July in the Philippines. The community out there gave me goosebumps through the stream and I ended up staying up really late to watch. They have a passionate fanbase and the players have the skills to back it up too. The venue was intimate but you could sense the electricity flowing through the crowd as they cheered on the competitors. I’m not going to lie, I’m Filipino as well, but I was extremely happy to see the community come out in droves to support the event and celebrate the franchise. In addition, a monumental handshake took place between two South Korean feuding players, JDCR & Knee. The crowd reaction to that was EPIC and it showcased the great sportsmanship within the community.
E4G: Why are the TEKKEN tournament finals being hosted in San Francisco this year rather than in Japan, as in year’s past?
MR: Historically the King of Iron Fist was always held in Japan. In speaking with the global teams, we recognized that we had fans from all over the world. As a part of the inaugural TWT year, we had collectively decided to have the World Finals event move year-to-year to celebrate competitive play across the globe. With SF being right in BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America’s backyard and a strong Northern Californian community, it was the perfect fit.
E4G: What features or qualities in TEKKEN 7 might be considered attractive for the hardcore fighter gamer or competitive gamer?
MR: Historically TEKKEN has had a rich history of true fighting gameplay mechanics focused on fine-tuned play creating a fierce competitive yet balanced experience. This is no different in TEKKEN 7 and with the added mechanics, TEKKEN 7 is now more accessible to a wider audience. The addition of power crushes, rage arts, and rage drives are familiar tools to all fighting game fans. In addition, the elephant in the room is Street Fighter’s Akuma! The team has done an amazing job transitioning him into the 3D space so any Street Fighter fan will feel at home playing TEKKEN 7 for the first time.
E4G: How much do you feel the slow-motion and Rage Arts add to TEKKEN 7 tournament play from the spectator perspective? Are more features being considered to create more engaging spectator moments in the tournaments?
MR: Both of these features really make TEKKEN 7 shine in that they added that “ooh” and “ahh” element that didn’t exist in the franchise before. The Rage Art system really opened-up a new chapter in TEKKEN gameplay as it added a comeback mechanic to each and every round. In addition, these moves are cinematic, so it also provides a visually stunning animation to spectators and fans as well. The epic slow mo’s are one of my favorite additions to the game. These build up so much tension and hype that I literally jump out of my seat every time I see it activate. Overall these two features make the game equally fun to play as it is to watch.
E4G: You’ve spoken out before about ways to attract more gender diversity into eSports. Have steps been taken to introduce more gender diversity with the players in the TEKKEN 7 tournament?
MR: I’m big fans of Tanukana from Japan and Cuddle Core from the US. As we continue to evolve and grow our eSports strategy, I’m extremely excited to see more diversity in the player base. As it sits now, TWT is open to anyone and everyone to compete and I’d like to see special format tournaments introduced as time goes on. I’m always encouraging more female players to actively compete!
E4G: Beyond the Geese Howard DLC character introduction, what other changes might players expect to see going forward in TEKKEN 7 development, especially in competitive play?
MR: Geese is going to be an absolute beast! In addition to Geese, we’ve also announced that there will be an additional guest character joining the TEKKEN 7 roster. Stay tuned for more details!
E4G: Lastly, for fun, what’s character are you best at playing in TEKKEN 7? On the flipside, which character do you wish you were better at playing?
MR: Since TEKKEN 2 I was a “casual” Paul player, so I naturally gravitated towards him as the TEKKEN 7 campaign kicked off. I just love that a well-timed death fist could change the course of a match in the blink of an eye. More recently I’ve picked up Jack-7 and have moved to him as my main go-to character with much greater success. I find that his toolset really allows you to dictate the action and force competitors to play your style.
I don’t play against this character often, but I really admire the gimmicks and shenanigans of Yoshimitsu. I hope to find some time to really learn the character as he looks amazingly fun.
E4G: Mark, thanks for taking the time to share your insights about TEKKEN 7 and the World Tour finals with us!
The TEKKEN World Tour Finals tournament goes down in San Francisco on November 12th, with the cost to attend about the same as a large latte. The aforementioned Geese Howard will be playable at demo kiosks and BANDAI NAMCO’s DRAGON BALL FighterZ will be showcased in an Exhibition Match.
Read up on the link above to find out more info, and check in with Events for Gamers for more information from the event itself!
