Promoting the "soda" or "gamer"?!.The 2012 Mountain Dew Extreme Gamers Challenge in Kampala.

As a gamer,i have grown to believe that video games and computer entertainment is more than just toys and graphics,it more than children and teenagers,matter of fact last Thursday i wrote a blog about two particular events going on in Kampala one of which i have mentioned in the title and the other...please read my last blog,thanx.

Moving on,i attended the Mountain Dew Extreme Gamers Challenge with a friend and we reached at the venue at around ahalf past 1 in the afternoon,registration was meant to start at 8:00am up to midday and i knew we were going to be late so spectation was my objective at this point,we tried to check in and enter the venue as spectators but were told to "pay" in order to acquire player tags into the venue,i found this unfair and tried to argue the attendant out until i finally paid,10,000ugx which is the equivalent of 3.79 something dollars at current exchange rate,however this is pretty huge money nowadays.
The attendant informs me that the fifa 13 challenge is closed and that only racing and action games are open for contesting and i agree since i wanted to contend in need for speed and we were given a small piece of paper to fill and it looked like this

The Racing Registration form i later found out

So this was our official entry document into the venue and competitions,looked cheap though i mean these guys could have done better.
Anyways i went ahead and entered the venue, Garden City rooftop parking,not bad and i was met with a swarm of gamers playing FIFA on flat screens and seated on plastic chairs.
I head over to the table where i am supposed to pick my free mountain dew soda courtesy of mountain dew,thanx but my objective has changed and i have started to worry a bit about the organisation of this and my reason to worry is simple,the music is up too high at this moment to even hear what the announcer is saying,the FIFA tournament is apparently still underway and i am not seeing any screen running "need for speed",the game i have registered for.

I pick my soda and talk to one of the attendants who advises me to head over to the tournament chat where players names are written down and their challengers cited,this is exciting now but the lady writing down the names informs that she is "not sure" whether the racing slots are still available for me to contend,i am pissed at this time but only a bit so i ask the gentleman fre seeing the "racing"competition and he informs me that its true,the racing competition is closed.

The Tournament Chart

I decide to move around and find a slot to play in a different game maybe,i observe that the only racing game available is Burnout and the only consoles available are PlayStation 3,the only soccer game available is FIFA 12 and 13 but only on a few screens,there are over 20 screens available for the event but less than 10 are displaying,this is outrageous...i mean isnt this the same mountain dew that organised Gamer challenges in South Africa a few months back? I try to feel better by looking out for the available action games and am disappointed to find that only mortal kombat and Tekken 1 and 2 are available for contest.

At this point i have observed that only 4 games are being competed for,FIFA (12 and 13),Mortal Komabt,Tekken (1 and 2) and Burnout and this is a disgrace,its a rip off at this point (refer to the games available at this event in my last blog).I try to conceal my disappointment in the event by checking out FIFA 13 with a friend.

FIFA 13 while i gett pissed

The organisation of this event is a total mess,the music being too loud and bit uncontrolled is enough to prove my point. The o called ampires are off key recording match results on scrap papers as i have observed and there is literary no way to track the tournaments apart from the announcer interrupting the absurd high music and mentioning random names and scores,at this point once again i am forced to believe the worst,the event has been organised to marginalise profits for the organizers there is no intent to recognize gaming as a culture but rather as a blooming business opportunity with a collection of young men ready to pay whatever it costs to get in these tournments and share a gaming experience with each other.

This gamer was reportedly cheated by the guys
updating the tournament chary

The so called ampires were doing nothing and i was convinced most of them were non gamers, just attendants trying to get paid at the end of the day, i hope someone from the organizing commitee comes across this blog because for me...it was a total flop,no hate but i hope my reasons to detaste such events is evident

Gaming is not a business for me,its a culture and tradition instigated deep into the gamers' minds and daily lifestyles and whoever attempts to exploit this will earn nothing but total failure and loss of dignity and respect in the sector,i checked the events' facebook page today and there was nothing such as a "thanx for coming" message,i was also informed that even after the event the tv commercials are still airing...mountain dew and Mile Gamers,work on your stuff for a better future in this, thats all i have for them.

For the Ultimate FIFA Tournament,it was pushed for this weekend and word has reached me that competition will be on playstation 2 consoles and more is up for this too,hoping it will be better than the one that was supposed to be better.