Australia's largest gaming convention, EB Games Expo, is open for business – and festivities have gone off with a bang.
EB Expo, which is in its second year, greeted attendees with motocross stunts, dancers, pyrotechnics and a live action Assassin's Creed III re-enactment in an 'Arena Spectacular Grand Opening.'
The theme of the event focused on '15 years of gaming' to celebrate EB Games 15th year of operating as a games retailer in Australia. Opening the ceremony was a montage of gamers from around Australia talking about themselves, what consoles they prefer and what games they're looking forward to as a show of diversity within gaming.
To help the audience get into the swing of 15 years of gaming, attendees were then treated to another montage – this time of the most successful games of the last 15 years. From 1997 onwards, the top 5 games of every year until present were showcased as the Ubisoft dance troupe performed on the center stage. Games such as Lyat Wars, Uncharted 3 and Mass Effect incited roars of nostalgia from the audience, while others, such as Just Dance, were decried with booing and taunts as the dancers performed the game's Hot n Cold routine.
Once the montage hit 2010, fire rose from the sides of the stage while the Monster Energy Kawasaki freestyle motocross team launched from jumps on either sides of the arena, narrowly avoiding the roof supports as they landed safely. The stunt show that followed was nothing short of energetic, albeit probably dangerous given the indoor setting.
The Assassin's Creed III trailer soon took over the arena's three large main screens as a cosplayer dressed as Connor, the game's protagonist, appeared on the center floor under a spotlight. To the dramatic music of the trailer, he then proceeded to climb the stage's tall scaffolding before throwing himself off the top of it to the crescendo of the score.
Having moved from it's original Gold Coast location, this years EB Expo boasts twice the size, three to four times the games and new additions such as panels and dedicated space for independent games and developers.
EB Games Expo will run from the 5th of October to Sunday the 7th at Sydney's Olympic Park. Saturday's daylight session has sold out, but tickets for other sessions are still available from Ticketek, the Expo venue and EB Games retail outlets.
