Multiplay i26 show report

So much more than just a LAN party

What was clear from attending i26 was that this is an event that is only going to get bigger. There were only 900 gaming spots, and those were filled, but there was a definite upsurge in exhibitor levels and in the prizes being offered for the major tournaments.

It's also becoming far more than just a LAN party - it's almost just a party. People play Magic TCG as well as Quake 4, and they drink as much beer as Jolt Cola. One of the highlights of the weekend was watching the England game in the bar, and the pub quiz that followed it.


The i-Series is also a beacon for the continuing diversity of games. One of the greatest tournaments to spectate was the Dance Dance Revolution event, which was exquisitely organised and triumphantly danced. No longer does gaming mean sitting at a CRT for hours on end - with a projector and some suitably expensive hard mats, the greatest fun of the weekend appeared to be had by those being a little more active!

Festival of Gaming

To wrap up, we thought we'd get a few closing thoughts from the MD of Multiplay. "i26 has gone uncannily, oddly smoothly," Craig sighs. "I'm expecting something to go wrong at any point, and so far it hasn't. Which is weird, because there's a shedload of stuff happening here."

What of the increased exhibitor levels? "We've got an unprecedented level of exhibitors - it's awesome. They're really making an effort with their stands too. To have Microsoft show off Xbox 360 here is proof that these companies really understand the hardcore gamers. The place is buzzing - there are far more spectators than usual, and that's because there's more for them to do outside of sitting at a computer."

There certainly is plenty to do, and does Craig agree with our evaluation that the event is turning into more of a general 'Gaming Gathering' than geek-fest? "It's definitely turning into more of a social event. PC gaming is still a key part of it, but there's the DDR competition, the pub quiz, and the guys playing Magic down in the bar. If you go to the bar at 2AM, there's loads of people player poker together. Not for huge amounts of cash, granted, but that's still pretty cool. This is swiftly becoming more than a LAN. It's a festival of gaming. There, that's a quote for you!"

It certainly is. In retrospect, i26 will almost certainly be seen as a changing point in the evolution of the LAN event, the time when a few of us noticed that we were on the cusp of something really, really big. Craig has an awful lot of very cool plans for Multiplay, and we're going to be featuring those, in-depth, in a future article coming to these pages very soon. i27 is, according to Craig, going to be "the biggest ever" - and based on the obscene amount of fun we've had this weekend, we're going to get our names down for tickets first thing Monday morning. Well, once we've recovered from the hangover and stopped hammering Blizzard's WoW servers, anyway.

Special note: "Where are the match results?" We hear you cry! Well, look out for the full results listings and tournament reports in a special news feature tomorrow.