Mission Accomplished: The Pinoy Gaming Festival Aftermath
From May 6 through May 8, Joebert Yu paced the length and width of a small enclosure on the 4th floor of the SM North Annex daily. He liked to be hands on during his events, constantly checking up on sponsor’s booths, partners, guests and of course, the fans. He made himself available for every concern and made sure he knew all of the details from logistics down to the food needs of his staff.
All told, some 10,865 people attended the three-day event, the Pinoy Gaming Festival – Summer Assembly (PGF SA) despite it being smaller than most gaming events in 2016.
But for Joebert Yu, main organizer and chairman of Gariath Concepts (the organization behind PGF SA), it wasn’t the size of the event that kept him on his toes. No, he needed everything to sail smoothly and so he decided to be actively involved in the process from start to finish.
He was on a mission after all. PGF SA wasn’t just a gaming event where fans can watch players compete for cash prizes in the various games; it wasn’t just an event where game companies can showcase their wares to the public.
PGF SA needed to succeed as it fit Joebert Yu’s vision: a more competitive Philippines that’s attractive to investments from the global gaming industry.
Wooing the market
Yu, also the main organizer for the E-Sports and Gaming Summit (ESGS), has been a constant if silent fixture of the gaming events scene in the country.
Asked about the goals of PGF SA and whether they were able to accomplish it, Yu told eSports by INQUIRER.net that the goal of spreading word to foreign gaming companies was all but accomplished.
“We want to spread the word out that the Philippines is open for [investment] for foreign gaming companies,” Yu said. “[They need] to see and explore the possibilities of doing business here.”
Since Ubisoft announced a new campus at the De La Salle Campus in Santa Rosa, Laguna last March, the Filipino gaming industry has been generally optimistic of the growth of the games market in the country.
However, infrastructure problems, particularly where internet connectivity and business administration is concerned, still leaves both analysts and fans worried.
In many ways, PGF SA was an experiment to test out both shortcomings.
“We used a new WiFi provider (Globe Telecom) for this event. This was the first time we ever used that,” Yu told eSports by INQUIRER.net at the sidelines of PGF SA.
“We’ve never had that clear of a screen in past PGF SAs,” he added.
The small event, fast internet speeds and impressive community engagement earned Yu — and consequently, the Philippines, praise from companies sponsoring the event. These companies included some smaller players with up-and-coming titles, to established corporations already entrenched in the gaming and eSports space.
“Even Super Evil Megacorp (the company behind popular mobile eSport Vainglory) was surprised,” Yu said. “They’ve all read about how the Philippines has the slowest and most expensive internet in the region. It was a pleasant surprise to find their game, played on iPads on the main stage, streamed in high definition quality over Twitch.”
“One of the Super Evil Megacorp employees even said that this event was better than Pax EAST,” Yu laughed.
Nico Nazario, community manager for Endgods, a new strategy game for both mobile and PC, told eSports by INQUIRER.net that despite their rushed preparations for the event, the Singaporean developers of the game were blown away by Filipino fans.
“We have a modest booth for this event, but we’ve been swarmed since morning,” Nazario said. “The publisher (Sparkjumpers) was surprised at how many people wanted to try the game out.”
For Yu, PGF SA is proof-positive that the Philippines is ready for more gaming investments.
“Seeing foreign companies here is great experience,” he said. “There’s so much they can share.”
More events
While large-scale tournaments have been popping up all over the world, Metro Manila and the rest of the Philippines still suffers from a lack of meaningful events inside the calendar year.
PGF SA is, at its core, an event that seeks to cater to the fans yearning for eSports and gaming spectacles locally.
Among the games and competitions showcased at PGF SA were Dota 2, Hearthstone, Clash Roylae, Vainglory, Endgods, Starcraft 2 and Love Beat.
League of Legends and its local competitive league, the Pro Gaming Series, also opened its Spring Split season at the event.
Through three days of competition, Filipino fans were able to witness local heroes and teams compete, the lower-scale setting not a hindrance to their enjoyment. As stadiums and arenas become the norm for eSports tournaments around the world, events such as PGF SA will continue to stoke the flames of Filipino gaming crowd.
Until high-profile events, big name gaming investors and large-scale tournaments become the new normal for the Philippines.
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
