Kuwait GX opens its annual gaming expo
Event patronized by Sheikh Mohammed
By Ahmed Al-Naqeeb
KUWAIT CITY, April 18: Under the Patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, who is an avid gamer himself, the first ever annual gaming expo in Kuwait GX, opened its doors last weekend for the 5th consecutive year, bringing the Kuwaiti gaming community an assortment of gaming and pop-culture treats.
Attended by his excellency the Ambassador of Japan Takashi ASHIKI, the three-day event featured a number of icons in the gaming industry including Hitoshi Ariga, most known for his illustrations in the Mega Man manga series and Pokémon. Yoko Shimomura, a prominent gaming composer who worked on the soundtracks of games such as Street Fighter 2, Kingdom Hearts, Mario and Luigi, Xenoblade Chronicles and Final Fantasy XV.
One of the highlights in GX 2018 was the participation of Square Enix, a world renowned Japanese game developer widely recognised for creating the Final Fantasy universe. Representing the company was Ichihiro Hazama, head of Square Enix’s business division 4 and producer of the “Dissidia Final Fantasy” franchise.
Speaking to the Arab Times, Hazama said that he did not know what to expect in regards to attending GX, but the organiser Yousef Al-Roumi was very enthusiastic about it when they spoke at Gamescom in Germany, he was very passionate that he decided to see it for himself.
Hazama noted that one of his first impressions of the country and the gaming community is that everyone simply enjoys themselves and have so much fun, a matter that he himself is keen on doing.
He added that he was surprised to find that the country was so laid back and falls directly within his pace of friendliness, which he believes is indicative of how honest the fun is. And for this reason, Hazama is excited to come back, not by himself but with more people from Square Enix working on other games.
Furthermore, GX 2018 hosted multiple panels where participatfrom ing guests spoke to attendees about their line of work, giving them advices and answering questions. Amongst the panellists were Sean Schemmel and Chris Sabat, individuals who gave life to Anime characters such as Goku and Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, Lucario Pokémon Generation IV and Roroaoa Zoro from One Piece.
A Gaming Expo is not complete without a cosplay contest, which GX has never failed to provide, and local talent has never failed to deliver. Celebrity cosplayers Tali and Vanessa Wedge were amongst the guest judges alongside Ichiro Hazama who said that local cosplayers are clearly enjoying themselves, which in his opinion is most important in order to create and innovate.
Since its inception, GX has always been in service of the gaming community, it has advocated for Kuwaiti game developers and encouraged the gaming community to come out and challenge the cultural barrier, which is what made Kuwait Battle Royale (KBR) the largest fighting game tournament in the Middle-East, an event within GX that attracts competitors and gaming companies from around the world to participate and make it a stop within the world tours of fighting game tournaments.
Moreover, founder of Fikra Events Company and organiser of GX and KBR Yousef Al-Roumi asserted that working towards making a convention successful enough to be labelled as the number one gaming expo in the middle-east is a herculean task, and that GX have always faced complications every year, but despite said complications, “we are able to grow and eventually attract large game developers such as Square Enix in this year and Koei Tecmo back in GX 2016”
When asked about the feedback of the community regarding GX 2018, Yousef said that it was very positive to the point that some of the people that have attended thanked him for allowing them to meet some of the creators of their childhood experience, for a lot of the last two generation of gamers grew up with games like Mega Man and Final Fantasy while watching Animes like Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon.
As to what to expect from GX 2019, Yousef said “more legends from the gaming industry,” while adding that he is most grateful of the community’s support, for without them, GX wouldn’t be the success that it is today.