Game Expo East Kent
 GEEK logo | |
| Type | Gaming Expo |
|---|---|
| Genre | Retro and Indie |
| Place | Margate, England |
| Major events | Cosplay Parades, Indie Panels, Film Screenings |
| Owner | Marine Studios |
| Slogan | Meet, Make, Play |
| Website | http://www.geek-play.com |
Game Expo East Kent (GEEK) is a retro gaming expo held annually at the Winter Gardens in Margate, during the February half term break.[1] GEEK showcases the history of video games from the earliest examples of games and consoles to the most recent. The exhibition has hundreds of consoles from very early models to the most recent, all of which are playable.[2]
GEEK 2012
GEEK 2012 was the first GEEK expo. During the event, people took part in a Guinness World Record for the Largest Tournament of Pong, and succeeded with over 256 players and won by Retro Lord Bob (Robert Dixon).[3] Also present at GEEK 2012 was Ian Livingstone, the president of Eidos Interactive.[4] The event also featured an exhibition focused on providing an access point to education and training in gaming.
GEEK 2013
GEEK returned for 2013, and saw a visitor increase of over a third compared to GEEK2012.[5]
GEEK 2014
GEEK 2014 had the biggest Minecraft Cave in the UK,[6] unfortunately this meant there was no Arcade section this year. It also featured a recording of the Retro Asylum podcast.,[7] and the premiere screening of the short film "Us and the Game Industry".
GEEK 2015
It has been announced that GEEK2015 will see the return of the Arcade section,[8] although the Minecraft section will stay in place as well. It was also announced on the Marine Studios website that "GEEK 2015 will be organised in themes, one of these will be space." and also that they are developing their own space-crew game, which will be beta-tested at the 'First Friday' events.[9]
World Records
During GEEK 2012 people took part in a Guinness World Record for the Largest Tournament of Pong, and succeeded with over 256 players and won by Retro Lord Bob (Robert Dixon).[10]
During GEEK 2014, the record for quickest Super Mario Kart Time Trial PAL Mario Circuit 1 was broken by previous record-holders Sami Cętin and Leyla Hassano.
References
- ↑ "GEEK 2012: A Celebration of Gaming - Reader's Feature". Metro.co.uk. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ↑ "Geek 2012". TIGA. 15 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
- ↑ "Help set a new world record for the largest tournament of Pong at GEEK 2012 festival". Guinness World Records. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ↑ "GEEK 2012 Programme Listing". Lanyrd. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ↑ "GEEK in summary" (PDF). GEEK. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ↑ Marine Studios. "Multiplay Minecraft volunteers needed @ GEEK 2014". MeetUp. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ↑ "The Retro Asylum on tour 2014". Retro Asylum. January 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ↑ "Arcade and Pinball". GEEK (via Facebook). 25 February 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
- ↑ "Marine Studios - Events". September 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ↑ "Help set a new world record for the largest tournament of Pong at GEEK 2012 festival". Guinness World Records. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
External links
- www.geek-play.com. GEEK Official Website.
- www.marinestudios.co.uk. Website of Marine Studios, GEEK Organisers.
- www.margatewintergardens.co.uk. Website of the Margate Winter Gardens, the events venue.