Dubai: The Imax screen at Meydan will be the battleground for the UAE’s top gamers next month when the first IGN Convention in the world takes place in Dubai. Hoping to attract 7,000 gamers, comic book and pop culture lovers, the two-day event on July 5-6 will include a video game competition, the finals of which will be played out on the vast Imax screen at the complex.
“Imagine playing FIFA or your favourite combat game on the biggest screen in Asia,” said Abbas Jaffar Ali, director of the event, which is linked to IGN, a major international gaming website which launched a UAE portal in May 2012. Dubai will host the first convention organised by IGN, a way, said Ali, to make their presence known in the region.
“We’ll be showcasing new video games,” said Ali, without disclosing the titles. “Sony Playstation are going to be there, and I don’t want to steal their thunder in making that announcement,” he said. “There’s so much interest in gaming in the region. There is tremendous growth in interest in gaming in the country, which we can see from running IGN [website]. With the E3 gaming expo going on now [in Los Angeles], we can see there is so much interest in it from people here visiting the website.”
It’s not all gaming, though: Fanboys and girls can participate in a cosplay competition, there will be screenings of superhero movies such as Iron Man and Superman on the big screen and areas for anime artists to showcase their work.
Celebrities are another big part of any pop culture convention, with the first name confirmed being wrestler Kevin Nash. More names will be announced in due course, said Ali.
Dubai is no stranger to pop culture conventions, with the Middle East Film and Comic Con having wrapped its second event edition in April this year.
