rAge 2013: what to expect from Africa’s largest gaming expo

Every year, gamers from all over South Africa converge on Johannesburg to take in the geek fest that is rAge. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not counting myself out of that geek category – I say it in the most complimentary manner possible.

I’ve been going to rAge for as long as I can remember, and I’ve seen it grow from a small expo of core gaming fans, to a massive gaming extravaganza that draws people in by the droves. This makes me happy – it brings together the gaming community in a way that not much else can, as everyone attending is completely united in their love of games.

This will be the eleventh consecutive year the expo has been held. On average, there are approximately 30 000+ visitors through the doors over the three days, all of them desperate to take in the sights and sounds of the latest games and technology.

You get to play some of the games you’ve been drooling over for months on end, and for a handful of select titles, you’ll even find developers making their way down to the expo to provide insights into the development of the game.

The cosplay

As an attendee, you can not only get hands on with the latest unreleased games, but you can also indulge your passion for comic books, cosplay and the latest gadgets. While I might not be a cosplayer, it’s always fun (and at times somewhat amusing) to see the dedication that goes into making some pretty spectacular (and yes, there are some awful ones too) costumes. The competition this year is being MC’d by yours truly, so for once I get to be involved as opposed to spectating from the sidelines. The annual Legion Ink cosplay competition is taking place Saturday 5 October, and these guys go all out. You’ll find some really high quality cosplay and every year not only does the standard get higher, but the number of people competing gets bigger too.

The games

2013 in particular is set to be an amazing year for rAge, as it has been for pretty much every gaming show around the world this year. Along with a host of highly anticipated upcoming titles, we’re seeing the appearance of the Xbox One and the Playstation 4 at the expo, which will no doubt generate much excitement. With a confirmed local release date for the PS4 (13 December), I’m pretty sure gamers will be weighing up and comparing which console they’re going to save up to buy. Xbox in particular are going to have to work hard at winning that vote I think, given the uncertainty of a South African release date or price at this point.

As to be expected, all the major local distributors will be making an appearance. Megarom generally has the most titles on show, and you can expect to be able to see an on-stage demo of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – one of the most anticipated titles of the year, and only set for release at the beginning of November. The stage demos (of which this isn’t the only one) are some of the highlights of the show for me, as you really get to see people who know the game inside out demonstrate its features which, supplemented with a personal hands-on, makes for a well-rounded pre-release experience.

rAge time

Thief is also making an appearance, and this is only coming out in 2014. Also, and about a month ahead of schedule, you’ll be able to get your hands on a demo of Call of Duty Ghosts, as well as a behind closed doors demo of Watch Dogs by Ubisoft game developers all the way from Ubisoft Montreal. I’m particularly excited about the Watch Dogs demo, as this was one of the games I loved at E3, which puts it high up on my list.

If you’re a Nintendo fan, you’ll be able to see not only the soon-to-be-launched Nintendo 2DS, which will be on show and available to play, but you’ll also be able to get some hands on time with The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

The comics

Then there’s the side that many people forget about when it comes to rAge. You generally think of games and tech, but there’s also another industry that goes hand-in-hand with all thing geek. Comic books, hooray! If you’re like me and also have a substantial comic book and statue collection, you’ll find all the major comic book stores such as Cosmic Comics, Dark Carnival, Outer Limits and Smallville Comics ready to showcase a massive selection of the most awesome statues, figurines, comic books and graphic novels. This is normally what I spend my money on at rAge, and it’s usually the reason I’m close to broke for the rest of the month. You have been warned.

Of course anybody who has followed rAge over the years will know about the LAN. While tickets are already long sold out, you can expect to see around 2000 gamers all connected to the same network for a massive three-day, sleep-deprived LAN experience. Pretty awesome, and it’s even broken a world record or two, which I think is damn impressive. You won’t be allowed in without a pass, and security is pretty tight, so I wouldn’t even try. That said, after three days where not everyone has bathed, I wouldn’t necessarily want to venture inside.

With all the cool stuff that’s going on this year, and the high-profile games on show, 2013 is going to be an absolute killer. I haven’t even scratched the surface of all the cools things on show for this year, including an unprecedented number of indie developers who will be showing off their latest games and are open and willing to chat about their creations. I personally love the indie stand. You get to see games and their makers that think outside the box, and offer something original to the gaming market.

rAge is always one of the highlights of the South African gaming calendar, and it seems as if 2013 will be no exception. If you’re in the Joburg area between the 4 – 6 October, head on down to the Northgame Dome and partake in a mad three-day festival of gaming awesomeness that will send you home exhausted, but jubilant.

Looking for ticket prices? Go to Rageexpo.co.za