‘Elvis of gaming’ to wow crowds at PlayersXpo

THOUSANDS of gamers spanning three generations are flocking to the Convention Centre in Dublin over the bank holiday weekend for an ultimate gaming event.

Fans of video games from the golden-oldie era of retro consoles to the latest cutting-edge technology will converge at Ireland’s first ever PlayersXpo today and tomorrow.

The event will run in four sessions over the weekend. The first session begins at 9am on both days, running until 3pm.

After a short break the action will get back underway at 4pm and run until 10pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Fittingly, the so-called ‘Godfather of Gaming’ John Romero will celebrate his 50th birthday today doing what he loves best.

The former software developer and Colorado native – who moved his Romero Games operation to Galway from the US in 2015 – is best known as one of the designers of the 1993 cult classic game ‘Doom’.

Described by event creative director Michael Finucane as “the Elvis of gaming”, Mr Romero will be on hand to meet and greet fellow gamers and take on 11 players at a time in an ultimate ‘Doom’ challenge.

The event – featuring participants from the age of eight to late middle age – also features some of the world’s top international acts and gaming industry icons, including YouTube superstars Jelle van Vucht – known simply as ‘Jelly’ to his legion of fans. The Dutchman is known as one of the most energetic gamers on the social media platform.

Josh Temple, who is also known as ‘Slogoman’, will also be attending the event. The UK based internet celebrity has built a cult following.