The month October is very special for Dutch gamers because every year we get to visit the “Firstlook” convention. Firstlook 2013 focused on Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen systems and gave visitors a chance to experience a ton of new games. I was there to report the convention on behalf of Real Otaku Gamer so check out this Firstlook 2013 impression.
The Convention floor
Firstlook is meant for the consumer and this is getting clearer every year. There are many fun activities, awesome prizes, free goodies, cool games and ofcourse lovely ladies.
Dutch retailer Game Mania attended the convention with their usual yellow schoolbus, where visitors were able to play Tear Away on the PS Vita. Game Mania also handed out a load of goodiebags and this sent many visitors home with a huge smile on their faces. Another very popular stand was Activision’s Destiny statue, where fans could get their picture taken. It was pretty impressive, although the Titanfall mech at Gamescom was way more epic. Visitors could also collect a special set of Destiny promo cards that will grant access to a special item when Destiny launches next year.
League of Legends fans had the opportunity to meet cosplayers, watch a live tournament on a big screen and socialize with other LoL fans. There were a couple of merchandise booths on the convention floor too and they mainly sold tshirts, retro games and game merchandise. Prices were kind of high so I wouldn’t recommend spending your hard earned cash at Firstlook. Stick with the online webshops.
Microsoft’s Xbox One booth had such a long line that I just couldn’t get myself to stand in line for hours to play a couple of games that I’ve already played at Gamescom. The people that were patient enough got to play Ryse: Son of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5, dead Rising 3 and Killer Instinct. I did feel bad that I didn’t get to try out Killer Instinct, but I surely will in the near future!
FPS fans got to experience the digital warzone that is known as Battlefield 4 on dozens of computers that EA brought to Firstlook 2013. Many headsots and stray bullets later the deed was done and we had a lot of fun. Battlefield 4 is shaping up to be an awesome game and I’m looking forward to how the full version will play. EA also brought two lovely ladies that glady took pictures with geeks of all shapes, sizes, gender or appearance. Who wouldn’t like that?!
Lovely Ladies
In my humble opinion every game (or comicbook) convention needs lovely ladies and EA wasn’t the only publisher that rallied a couple of the most gorgeous Dutch models to represent their products and services. Logitech brought a huge disco-container where visitors could show off their dancing skills to a couple of enthousiastic booth babes. Ubisoft stole the show with six pretty ladies that gave multiple Just Dance demonstrations and also gave away awesome Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag prices, like a pocketwatch, posters, coinbags and more! It was a great weekend and I will certainly visit Firstlook again next year. If you ever visit the Netherlands in October, definitely go check it out!