eTeknix @ Insomnia i48 Day 1 Roundup

Day one was a big success here at i48 and while the poor weather hampered some peoples arrivals it did little to break the spirits, many of the exhibitors were out in force and had some great products on display, competitions to enter, games to play, prizes to be won, sweet to be eaten and much much more, so without further delay, lets dive in and take a look at some of what iSeries has to offer.

One of the smaller, but more unique booths here at iSeries is Special Effect, who cater for disabled gamers, providing them with the interface and tools required to allow them to play today’s games. On display was their unique interface that allows people with mobility issues, who have lost limbs and many other disabilities. Special Effect are encouraging anyone to sit down and have a go, the technology is simple yet effective and its proved popular with many of the patrons here at iSeries. You can check out their site at www.specialeffect.org.uk for more details on what they have to offer.

Those who have a love for fighting games are not left wanting as Injustice is here at the show in all its glory, with plenty of custom built arcade units for people to try out the game, kill some time and general have a lot of fun gaming on this upcoming title.

Another eTeknix favorite are Mad Catz who are once again out in force at iSeries, displaying many of their peripherals, promoting their brand, giving out a small fortune in epic prizes, sponsoring gaming tournaments, teams and providing equipment.

Back by popular demand is a presence for ShootMania Storm, with free 4 all tournaments, as well as the eSports matches, with plenty of prize money on offer for all to try and win.

PC Specialist are here with InWin, where they are showing off a rather godly system which features, not one, not two, but three GTX Titan graphics cards, a popular favorite with the crowd and its certainly an impressive demonstration of the PC Specialist teams system building skills.

In Win have got some of the most unique products on the market at the moment and they have a great display of their premium “frame” range of chassis, their latest power supplies and other case accessories  as well as a few games for all to play, prizes to win and as with any booth here, fun to be had.

The more hardcore gamer may have interest here, as Gunnar optics are on offer to provide brand awareness, promote their products and demonstrate what they can do.

Ben from BeQuiet! is making a stern effort to outshine the stunning BeQuiet products, while they’re mostly current or revisions of their exsisting products, the DarkRock 3 for example, BeQuiet! are here to push brand awareness and promote their products.

It wouldn’t be a eSports event without a few pro gaming teams and along side BeQuiet you will find the Team Dignitas team doing their thing and competing for some of this weekends bigger prize pots.

ESET are pushing their brand too, offering plenty of advice to gamers on what services they provide and they are well routed in the iSeries community thanks to their on going support to the community, plus they give away free sweets on their booth while allowing you to shoot nerf guns, who doesn’t enjoy that?

One of the more extensive booths is Retro Active Games, a re-seller of retro, classic and general gaming consoles, games and rarities. They have an alarmingly extensive and nostalgic collection on show, as well as an extensive display of retro consoles that you can play with many classic games, which I’ll be taking a better look at later, you know, for research.

Minecraft is here too, not only in tournament form but also in these rather funky looking 3D models.

UK retailer CCL Computers have a great booth too, with multiple competitions, games to play where you can put some of the pre-built CCL gaming rigs to the test, the famous iSeries CCL T-shirts as well as a small retail side where they have a selection of computer essentials on offer.

CoolerMaster and their CMStorm brand area also on display and while their booth wasn’t quite finished when I snapped this picture, they already had a great display of their cases, some very fine gaming rigs and a prime selection of their most popular peripherals. They’re also running a few competitions on the booth based around popular LAN games such as LoL.

Another big UK retailer is on offer here at i48, Overclockers UK have their usual retail side of things going, providing a “deliver to your desk” service for those attending the event, repairs, advice, as well as free sweets and energy drinks to keep the party going.

The world famous iSeries raffle prize fun is looking healthy as ever, featuring thousands of pounds worth of prizes, computers, components, games and merchandise, I’m already collection raffle tickets myself, wish me luck!

Of course I can’t forget eSports team, Team Infused, who are here competing against many of the other pro gaming teams in the bid so win some serious prize money, of course were wishing them the best of luck as eTeknix sponsor the team and were looking forward to seeing how well they perform this weekend.

The LAN gaming hall is pretty full this year and over a thousand gamers are drunk, tired, smelly and generally having a fantastic time battling it out on their favorite games, competing, watching family guy and drinking at the bar and boy does that hall get warm with all those systems running 24 hours a day!

Check back later where we will be bringing you even more coverage from the event as we round up the Day 2 coverage and take a closer look at some of the booths here at the show.