Blog
Reporting in, live from the event, our bloggers are going to be patrolling i33, posting as it happens.
They’ll be checking out and feeding back on everything you need to know, from which clans are dominating the big-money tournaments and first looks at brand new hardware and software, to the entertainment and buzz from the crowd. Day 1 @ i33 - Setup - EAUK_Baker011
When we turned up we were left slightly speachless at the sight of our stand. To say it was large would be an understatement. We had only seen mock up images of it before today so it was amazing to see it and be able to touch it!
We spent all of Thursday just setting up the stand, handing out leaflets, testing that things are still working. Things went pretty smoothly to be honest with only a couple minor problems.
We also spent some time catching up with the Multiplay staff and fellow exhibitors. There is an incredibly friendly atmosphere here between all the exhibitors.
I also had to check in to the hotel, which tunred into an adventure in itself. I am now on my third hotel room within the space of an hour! The first one was built for incredibly small people and being a tall guy it clearly wasnt going to be a good fit! So off I went to reception to ask for a slightly more fitting room which they were only too happy to help with.
Upon moving out of this room I then get chased down by the receptionist to be told they had made a mistake with my new room and had to give me yet another one. Oh well, the current one is nice and we are holding a sweep on how long until I have to move to another one!
The hotel is completely empty too, it feels like we are the only guests in it. Not quite the busy and energetic atmosphere I like in hotels. But hey, not like we will be spending much time in it!
Not much else to report really, today was just setting up and making sure we had everything we needed. The real fun begins on Friday when we open the stand to the public! Let the games begin - EAUK_Omni
And so here I am, sat at the EA stand, making a few last checks before we open to the lines of gamers piling in to the building. The stand is awesome! I hadn't actually seen it before, only a rough design so to say the least I'm very impressed! We will have some pictures up when we get back so keep an eye out for those.
What have we been up to? Well we set off yesterday and had a relatively easy journey to Newbury taking no more than an hour which was nice. We had plenty of tunage to keep us going though, we think we've almost decided on a community team theme tune now...
So we arrived and wandered in to find our half ready stand looking very impressive but in need of setting up. The majority of the work went into connecting up the computers and the consoles to make sure everything is connected up and ready to go. I even had a quick chance to play Euro 2008 against Karen (one of the guys that's come to help us) and was winning 4-1 before the first half finished. Sadly we were quickly titled slackers and were sent back to the grind.. so to speak.
We then finished up with some fish 'n chips and headed back to the hotel for a relaxing drink before scooting off for some beauty sleep.
And this brings me to this point. Following on from a good breakfast this morning, Baker011 and I are here waiting for the others to arrive before we plug everything back in and get going.
It looks like it's gonna be a great weekend and if any of you happen to be here, please come and say hi/yo/sup/wadup etc... Day 2 @ i33 - Doors Open - EAUK_Baker011
Well after months of planning this was it...time to reveal the stand to everyone at i33. We were not sure how it would be received, would people flock to it or would people just walk on by and be too scared to check it out?
Well I am pleased to be able to say that they flocked to it! We were absolutely swamped with people checking it out, wanting to play Kanes Wrath and EURO. We had top clans like Dignitas practically living on the stand all day!
We also dished out the first batch of swag bags too. The crowd of people that ran towards us when they saw them was amazing. Word had soon spread that we were giving out some really cool stuff and we went through about 20 boxes in an hour. It was great to see hundreds of people in the halls with an EA bag over the shoulder.
It was more of a show off stand and settle in day, the real fun will begin on Saturday. The tournaments kick off and we will begin our spot tournaments on the stand. We are running a Crysis one for a chance to win a signed copy of Crysis special edition and also a "Play EA" event on EURO 2008. Omni and myself will be accepting challenges from people for a chance to win a PS3 and a copy of EURO 2008 when released, not a bad prize at all!
More to come tomorrow... Day 2 in the Big Brother hou... - EAUK_Omni
Day 2 has begun and we're back on the stand. Yesterday went really well, we met loads of cool people and everyone seemed to love the stand. Everyone was especially impressed with EURO 2008 and Kane's Wrath.
We spent most of the day hanging around the stand, chatting with people and playing some games. We also met up with the guys from Sweetpatch again and Dan provided some very good competition on EURO 2008. I just about managed to scrape a 5-4 victory over him but he's a very good player and I wish him the best of luck in the FIFA 08 tournament.
Well I ought to get back to work so I'll catch you all soon.
P.S. We'll have pics up soon, in the mean time check out sweetpatch.tv for a few pics.
Let battle commence! - EAUK_Baker011
So after the chaotic start we had with the stand opening to the public, today was mostly spent showing off some titles and tournaments. The FIFA 08 tournament kicked off with some of the qualifiers being held on our stand. it was good to be able to see the Pros in action! The finals will be held on Sunday so hopefully we will get some good footage of that.
The C&C3 tournament finished yesterday too with Apollo from Team Dignitas taking home the top prize. This guy really is the best C&C player in the world, bagging gold medals at both European and World level.
We also kicked off our spot tournaments on the stand. We had a very fun Crysis game, giving away a signed copy of Crysis special edition to each member of the winning team.
Our "Play EA" spot tournament went very well too. We had loads of people show up to play us at EURO 2008 to try and bag themselves a PS3 by scoring the most goals past Omni and myself. Unfortunately we didnt get much time to practice before and ended up getting beat 7-1 in our first game. So the bar has been raised pretty high, so far no one beating that.
The stand continues to draw a lot of people in and everyone seems to be having a great time here. Cant wait to show off the pictures of it!
I also ended up getting interviewed by XLeague! So I will be on TV again soon, woo!
We ended the night in traditional fashion....a bar! Although I confess to missing the Pub Quiz. I was really looking forward to it too, but unfortunately it was too packed to really get into it. So instead we headed back to the hotel and had a few quiet drinks and a state of reflection.
Sunday next and some serious tournament action coming. Pretty much the last day really as Mondays are usually just packing up and handing out of prizes. Happy Easter! - EAUK_Omni
Happy Easter everyone, hope you all have a good day.
I am once again at the EA stand just starting to set everything up for our final day on the stand. Everything has gone really well and everyone that's come to the stand has been very impressed.
Yesterday we had a Crysis tournament with the winners walking away with an EA goody bag with a signed copy of Crysis. It was a 4v4 and was a very entertaining game to watch.
In the afternoon we enjoyed a "Play EA" session where we challenged people to beat us on EURO 2008 on the 360. Who ever scores the most goals against us takes home a PS3. It didn't go too well... our first opponent beat us 7-1 having set his team to all out attack. We did however find our feet and manage to control the losses to the point that we drew and then won a game. We've got another two session today against some of the pro FIFA gamers so it could get messy.
We've also got the TF2 tournament today which is usually a good laugh so we'll see how it goes.
Thats about it from me really, everything's gone really well and hopefully we'll finish on a good day again today. |