Gamers of all ages make a beeline for eSports booth

SUNGAI PETANI: The electronic gaming booth at the Gegaria Fest 2018 #KitaOK at Amanjaya Mall here was a hit among gamers who wanted to test their skills in eSports.

Some came as far as Penang to test their mettle, competing with other opponents.

Kitamen Resources Sdn Bhd head of operations Syahid Zolbahare said the festival had become a platform for parents to understand better electronic gaming.

Syahid, who supervised the booth, said the number of visitors to the booth had grown since the event’s first edition in Shah Alam.

“The electronic games not only attracted youth, but also gamers in their 40,” Syahid said.

“For the Sungai Petani edition, we have participants from Penang coming to test their skills,” he said.

He said gamers stood a chance to win RM10,000 in cash prizes, adding that 10 gaming simulators were provided at the booth.

The games available for playing were F1 and Mario Kart racing games, music rhythm game Guitar Hero and fighting game Tekken.

Tarmizi Fozi, 31, from Penang, said he came as early as 9am to take part in the competition.

“There was no competition fee and I could meet friends in the gaming community here and Penang.

“I took part in the Tekken tournament competing against some who were younger than me,” Tarmizi said here.

For Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara Balik Pulau student Afiq Zhafran Muhd Ghazali, 21, the festival was a good platform for visitors to learn more about online platforms.

Afiq Zhafran from Taman Kelisa here said he spent more than two hours at the booth trying out the games.

“This is the first time I tried playing online games, and the best part is, it is free.

“I was here since 10am and will be joined by my family later to check out the rest of the activities.”