EB Expo 2012 - Overview

EB Expo, child of EB Games was held on October 5 to 7, 2012 at Sydney Olympic Park. This marked the second annual EB Expo, however the first time in Sydney. In terms of geek culture a gaming expo is definitely missing from the yearly calendar in Sydney at this grand scale. Happy to say that EB Expo is locked in at least until 2014!

Walking into the hall, I had a ‘wow moment.’ That was a good sign. I have never ever seen anything like this at such a big scale in Australia (NOTHING will ever beat San Diego Comic Con).

Considering this was the first EB Expo in Sydney and at this scale, overall I was really impressed.

Even though tickets were sold out for both the day sessions for Saturday and Sunday, there was still plenty of room to move around. It was good to know that EB didn’t simply use this as a cash grab and could have easily oversold tickets to simply ‘fill the space.’ That being said, unsurprisingly there were several lengthy lines for the most anticipated games including Call of Duty: Black Ops, Halo 4, and Injustice: Gods Among Us as well as Nintendo’s Wii U.

Opening Ceremony

The Friday and Saturday Day sessions kicked off with the opening ceremony which was a unique way to open an expo. While it was somewhat entertaining, it is something that can be improved for next year. What started off as a tribute to the past 15 years in gaming, was quickly overshadowed by dancers which simply meant there was too much going on at the same time.

The only time the dancing related to what was on the big screen was appropriately for Just Dance. The dancers even wore veils as per the Katy Perry’s Hot N Cold music video, which I actually thought was cute.

EB Games Expo 2012 - Opening Ceremony (2)

Then what followed were some tricks, also not quite related to gaming but my sidekick for the day my younger teenage brother quite enjoyed it.

Exhibitors

A major kudos has to go to the exhibitors who really went all out to make this a memorable expo thanks to playable games, photo opportunities, freebies and helpers (even some from the corporate office) to assist with gameplay!

EB Games Expo 2012 - Assassin's Creed 3 (2)

Shopping

Unsurprisingly anything that could be purchased was all from EB Games which was practically a nerd’s dream. There was the main ‘mega’ store, as well as booths throughout the hall which sold nerdy knick knacks, toys, games including pre-orders and even tickets for 2013’s Expo.

I wanted this…

As when you flip it over, it turns into this…

Street Art

I love street art, even though this isn't technically on the street – the appreciation is still there. This was a cool surprise on the EB Expo grounds. My personal favourite is the Pokemon boxes.