PC Gamer's first live event, the PC Gamer Showdown, has been judged an 'epic success' by gamers. Over 2,000 gamers gathered at Stoneleigh Park in the West Midlands to play in prize tournaments of Team Fortress 2, Call of Duty 4, Counter-Strike: Source and World in Conflict, to try fantastic new games like Left 4 Dead, Far Cry 2 and Mirror's Edge before release, or to meet, greet, and hug PC Gamer staff.
“The event turned the conventional LAN party on its head,” said Gavin Weeks, manager of E-Sports team 4-Kings. “Not a great deal of events can showcase future games as well as bring a whopping £35,000 worth of prizes to the table! The whole atmosphere was electric and the level of competition fierce. Great balance, great mag, great time! May there be many more Showdowns to come.”
“It's hard to work out what was the best bit,” said ChaosSmurf, an attendee. “It was either meeting members of the PC Gamer community, along with all the developers and important people there, or playing video games all day. Lots and lots of video games. Oh, and winning stuff for stabbing people in the back. That was excellent.”
“I thought it was great,” said harassed PC Gamer editor Ross Atherton. “Everyone I spoke to seemed to be enjoying themselves. It was great to meet so many readers in the flesh. They gave us loads of fantastic feedback on the event and the mag itself which will help us to keep raising our game in the future.”
