To go or not to go to gaming events? Our short answer is go, definitely! But why and to which ones?
The importance of brand presence during industry events is rather beyond discussion. For the players, it is a gaming festival, whereas for the people responsible for brand image, it is an excellent opportunity to meet their colleagues and observe the activities of competition. However, the most important is the chance to meet journalists, bloggers, youtubers and sreamers, i.e. the people who test our products and can share interesting opinions on them.
The possibility of giving an interview to a large medium is also worth considering. Such communication is likely to have large reach due to the significance of the event itself, which would otherwise be hard to achieve.
IEM, PGA, WGW?
The list of events in Poland is topped by world finals of Intel Extreme Masters, which have been organized since 2013 in Spodek in Katowice. The first edition in 2013 attracted 40,000 visitors. The 2017 edition – as many as 173,000. And while these figures are indeed impressive, they would be even higher… if Spodek had room for more. IEM is a global phenomenon. People from all over the world attend the event. Its main focus are PC games, but people involved in hardware will also find something of interest there.
The second most important event is Poznań Game Arena. It is a nationwide event of major importance to the industry. In terms of exhibition area, it surpasses even IEM. In 2016, there were 71,000 visitors. At PGA there is a relatively strong focus on game consoles, but PC is also present. In our opinion, it is the most balanced event in this respect.
Warsaw Games Week puts a much stronger emphasis on consoles, whereas PC is rather an addition. Moreover, the event has a slightly different character than the others due to the concept of the stands, which are not open from every side. You cannot see what goes on inside them, and in order to get in, you need to stand in line. At IEM or PGA such solutions are rare. This is going to be only the third edition, but the event already has its prestige, with 33,000 guests in 2017.
There are also events with a slightly smaller reach, which have started only recently, e.g. Good Games Warsaw, GameON or Lets Play Częstochowa.
Perhaps less obvious events?
Last but not least, non-technology events with games and hardware are also worth mentioning, namely Pyrkon (44,000 visitors in 2017) and the International Festival of Comics and Games in Łódź (20,000). These are events which overlap with electronic entertainment, and the number of technology stands increases each year. Worth noting is the fact that such events attract slightly different visitors. At IEM/PGA/WGW there are lots of young people, whereas at Pyrkon the average age is visibly higher.
With lots of attractions and fun character, the events combine work and pleasure. Definitely recommended.
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