The Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit (ESGS) made its long-awaited on-site return to the SMX in SM MOA with ESGS 2022 on October 28 to 30, 2022.
With the tagline #ComeBackIsReal, we can assure you, the comeback was definitely real! Here are six (6) observations we had on the ESGS 2022 weekend.
1. The Genshin Impact Booth arrived, complete with Katheryne and some mini quests
You probably would have seen THIS one coming as you have seen our site talk about this game a lot of times already. So, we wish to get this out of the way as the first item of our list. Genshin Impact fans were there and the lines were long for this booth. There were three quests to complete at the booth to get some Genshin Impact related freebies like postcards or bookmarks. And yes, there were Genshin Impact merch from Hoyoverse that were on sale! (Click here for the Sakura Index recap of the Genshin Impact booth)
2. SEGA made a splash with their Persona 5 Royal and Sonic Frontiers Demos
SEGA made its ESGS debut with a splash by providing the ones in attendance some hands-on experience with demos from their big titles Persona 5 Royal and Sonic Frontiers. Just this October, Persona 5 Royal was released on all platforms outside of the Playstation 4 and was a hit. At ESGS, you can play P5 Royal demo on the Switch, Xbox, PS5 and steam.
For Sonic Frontiers, the demo could be played in either the PS5 or the Nintendo Switch. Sonic Frontiers is set for release this month, November 8, 2022. Media members also had the opportunity to test out a third SEGA demo titled Like a Dragon: Ishin.
3. Riot Games had the longest line for ESGS 2022
Riot Games area definitely was a Riot. In fact, it has the LONGEST line the whole three days of ESGS 2022. Making its ESGS debut, Riot went all in and it paid in dividends. It had a great stage area where it held tons of events such as the talks from Riot Games executives and the Riot Games cosplay competition.
The booth had interactive mini-games like a DIY weapons making and a “throw down” game. The ones in the booth would later on go to the redemption area to get some free Riot Game swag.
Congratulations to Riot Games for a successful ESGS debut. I’m sure this will not be the last time we will see Riot Games in an ESGS event.
4. ESGS 2022 had Amazing Stage and Booth Designs
ESGS has for its past years been a site to some amazing booths by gaming or computer brands and ESGS 2022 is no different. The main stage was a sight to behold for ESGS 2022 and would be the event’s center piece. Same could be said with the ones of Riot Games, Astra Arena and the Fighting Game Arena.
The ASUS ROG (powered by Intel) booth was also a sight to behold. it had a second floor where a DJ would be spinning some tracks for Days 2 and 3 and it was amazing to see that. Just like in previous iterations, visitors would get to sample some of the ASUS ROG tech like the laptops, desktop and the gaming phones.
The Globe area was nothing to sneeze at as it felt like it was a city on its own. Like there were booths within the Globe area where you can take a picture, and do other activities while inside of it. Speaking of cities…
The Acer Predator booth (also powered by Intel, btw) had an interesting booth named “Meta City”. Meta City would be the first thing you would see entering ESGS 2022 and it really gave a big impression to the con-goers upon entry.
5. Fighting Games For All!
The Fighting Game Arena (FGA) was in full swing at ESGS 2022 from Day 1. Fighting Game fans and visitors alike had the chance to play some casual fighting games, while the main stage featured the tournament matches.
Videogame titles such as Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and Guilty Gear XRD Ver. 2. The FGA even had an interesting Pinya Wars going on in Day 1 where there was a Pinya Team and Anti-Pinya team. From my ‘sources’, I heard the anti-pinya team got the win on that day.
6. Cosplays and then some
No convention would be complete without some amazing cosplayers gracing our presence with their rendition of their favorite anime or video game character. ESGS 2022 had some kick-ass cosplayers roaming around its halls for all three days. You know we just had to take shots of them. Here are some pics taken from our lenses.
You may check out more cosplay pictures on our Facebook page for Day 2 and Day 3 of ESGS 2022.
All in all, ESGS 2022 was one of the events I was hyped to cover and it delivered tenfold. It goes to show that everyone really missed this event and made it a point to go to SMX despite the bad weather in Day 2. Besides the six observations I’ve made above, what makes ESGS an event I look forward too is meeting friends and making new friends in the three-day event. I’m thankful pretty thankful to have met new people and some familiar faces around ESGS 2022. We would like to thank Gariath Concepts for giving Sakura Index the opportunity to provide media coverage.
For more Post-ESGS 2022 content, check out our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sakuraindex and please do check out our podcast episode featuring our ESGS 2022 review at Third World Gaming (link here).
Photo credits: The Slickmaster of The SlickMaster’s Files
