ESGS 2023 has come and gone and we were able to spend all 3 days immersed in all things gaming, esports, and tech! If you weren’t able to go yourself or didn’t complete the whole November 3 to 5 weekend, don’t worry, we got you. Here’s everything we got to experience in ESGS 2023!
One of the most notable aspects of ESGS 2023 is the venue itself. For the longest time, the event has been held at the SMX Convention Center. This time around, the Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit takes over the World Trade Center Manila. New year, new place, and still one of the ultimate gaming events in the Philippines
ESGS 2023 Day 1
The first day of every convention is usually more laid back as most attendees still have weekday responsibilities. Day 1 of ESGS 2023 was no different. This was the perfect time for us to roam around the grounds to take it all in for ourselves. ESGS is the premier Philippine event for gaming, tech, and esports. It was a wonderland of all the upcoming products and releases to get excited about.
A massive area, fittingly named Gamer Grounds, by Globe, ESGS 2023’s main presenter, was stationed right at the venue’s entrance where it featured several challenges to complete for a chance to win a grand prize of a PlayStation 5. To its sides, towering booths by Lenovo and Samsung were a feast for the eyes as they were filled with monitors, TVs, and widescreen that any gamer, in their right mind, would want.
Of course, various booth loot ranging from T-shirts, hats, keychains, stickers, and themed bags were abundant and being given away throughout the whole event. Prominent brands such as JBL, Datablitz, Republic of Gamers, MSI, LG, Fantech, Sharp, and Steelseries were there, tempting us with all of their shiny new products.
Over at the main stage, it was SEGA’s time to shine. We were able to catch a live demo playthrough of Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name by content creator Kang Dupet. It’s a Yakuza game. You already know how excited everyone was about it. Trailers for Persona 3 Reload, a reimagining of an absolute classic, and Persona 5 Tactica were presented as well. Just before things wrapped up, a live demo of Sonic Superstars was also shown.
Day 1 was a great showcase of what ESGS had to offer. The entire time the team was roaming around, all we could think about was how even better this would all be when more people start flooding in. True enough, the rest of the weekend ramped everything up.
ESGS 2023 Day 2
It’s Saturday. Everyone’s off from work and school and the lines at the entrance of the World Trade Center Manila are packed with eager attendees as early as 9:30 am. As soon as the gates opened at 10, the frantic energy of ESGS 2023’s day 2 was nonstop.
As part of the Gaming Class segments, a panel discussion about The Power of Content: Balancing Hype and Integrity. UnGeek’s very own Robert Yatco was part of the panelists, sharing insights on what it truly means to build up a relationship with brands as media while maintaining a genuine connection with an established audience. A couple of things to take note of: build up your value, stay true to it, and always do a little bit more to help whatever brand you’re working with. It’s a partnership, not a transactional relationship.
Ubisoft Philippines even showed up as a brand speaker on building up a career in game development. The gaming scene in the country only continues to grow at a rapid rate with each passing day. It won’t be long until we see other big name studios make their own localized presence in the Philippines.
Going into the event grounds, I made my way to try out as many of the playable games as possible. The 2 juggernauts were Bandai Namco and SEGA. Both booths had massive lines of people wanting to try and play Tekken 8, Like A Dragon, Persona 5 Tactica, and Persona 3 Reload. From morning to closing hours, I did not see the crowd getting smaller in these areas. Bandai Namco and SEGA drew in the biggest crowds because they did what isn’t commonly found in the Philippines: letting the public get hands-on time with games before their releases. It was great seeing all the fans get excited, despite the long waiting times. Hopefully, this becomes a more regular occurrence in future local events.
Multiple content creators could be found in ESGS such as Gloco, Riku, Charess, Kitz Cua, BeefMami, Razziebinx, Buunja, Cholo, and KingFB, just to name a few.
Of course, we can’t forget about the esports aspect of ESGS. Over at the main stage, hosted by Tayrawr, Vill, and Mikafabs, the League of Legends Empyrean Cup Semifinals were held as teams were met with a do-or-die scenario of packing their bags or advancing to the finals. If there’s anything Riot Games is good at, it’s making highly competitive and entertaining games that are a treat to witness.
Additionally, the JBL Philippines Quantum League Valorant Tournament Semifinals were also happening at the same time. The hardest part was choosing which one to spectate at any given time. Every time I tried to switch, something cool was happening which made it difficult to leave and check out the other one. Needless to say, all of the teams put on a good fight for each other and a great show for the crowds.
Aside from competitive gaming, there was also competitive pricing. Now that the crowds were getting bigger, product discounts were getting higher as well. JBL would constantly do flash sales every other hour, dropping prices for as low as 50% off. Various PC peripherals such as keyboards, mouse, and keycaps were also being sold at fair prices.
A gaming convention wouldn’t be complete without the ever-so-impressive cosplayers of the Philippines. At nearly every direction you turn your head, there’s going to be an impressive costume to catch your attention. The usual characters from Genshin Impact, Valorant, and League of Legends are a staple but there was also a lot of diversity in the IPs such as Cyberpunk, Tekken, Street Fighter, and God of War. I always told myself that I could never be a cosplay competition judge because every time I see a new cosplayer, I immediately think they’re the best, up until I see another one. It goes to show how strong the cosplay scene here in the Philippines and how immensely talented and dedicated the community is.
Should eventgoers need a little bit of a break from it all, an entirely separate area was dedicated to food stalls and merchandise. I spent way too much time roaming around these parts trying to decide what to eat and what to cop. Keychains, stickers, clothes, mugs, posters, magnets, toys, and everything else you can think of was there. Nerds, geeks, anime lovers, gamers, artists, etc. Whatever and whoever you may be, there was something to tempt your wallet.
To cap off what was already a stacked day, legendary Philippine bands such as The Itchyworms and Mayonnaise held live performances.
ESGS 2023 Day 3
The third day of ESGS 2023 was mostly spent catching up on the few things we missed during the second day. Most of our time was spent watching esports finals and various show matches. Aside from the big AAA titles we highlighted, dozens of indie games were also featured in the event through Lenovo Legion’s Indie Fest.
Probably one of the most fun programs was the Tekken 8 Special Showmatch between Red Ollero, AK, Jules, and Alexio. Pairing a professional comedian with a professional Tekken player and pitting them against each other was a genius idea. It’s starting to make me think that this formula should be followed with every marketing initiative of any competitive game moving forward.
Worlds 2023 is still currently ongoing so the matches were streamed on the Astra Arena stage for fans to enjoy. To build upon that, the Empyrean Cup finals were held in which Guardians Hive won with a dominating sweep against We Dominate Botside.
Safe to say, ESGS 2023 was a lot of fun to be had. Despite being on unfamiliar grounds with the new venue, the event still encapsulated what it set out to do, provide a massive space for gamers, pro players, content creators, and fans to come together and celebrate gaming and tech culture.