http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/ The home of Electronic Arts Community en Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:52:21 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/images/ea_images_main/misc/rss.jpg http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/ http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/12-day-5-i33-time-go-home.html Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:33:08 GMT Well after an amazing event it was finally time to pack up and move on. I33 has been a big success with the stand constantly packed and the swag... Well after an amazing event it was finally time to pack up and move on. I33 has been a big success with the stand constantly packed and the swag flying out of the boxes.

Kanes Wrath and EURO 2008 proved to be very popular and the feedback was fantastic. It was a shame to have to put everything away and leave to be honest.

I also had to go to the winners presentation so that I could hand out peoples prizes for the EA tournaments. This was all new to me so was very unsure on how to do it all. In the end I had fun doing it and some interesting pictures are now floating around on the internet..... (we will be putting ours up soon!).

So yeah, its all over now. We had a lot of fun and I think I just laughed the entire time I was there! Cant wait for i34 to come now :) ]]> Baker011 http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/12-day-5-i33-time-go-home.html http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/11-day-4-i33-finals-day.html Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:09:34 GMT Well Sunday is traditionally the finals day with most of the major events coming to conclusion. We saw Crysis, Battlefield 2 and FIFA 08 finish and... Well Sunday is traditionally the finals day with most of the major events coming to conclusion. We saw Crysis, Battlefield 2 and FIFA 08 finish and some excellent matches were played.

Chris Bullard, aka ChrissyB, managed to take home the FIFA crown this time after a very long and hard tournament. Congratulations to him! We have been speaking with Chris a lot recently so it was good to see him win.

The stand has continued to impress, we had the Command and Conquer world champion come to the stand to play anyone who fancied their chances. He also allowed us to film him take on the computer in a game too, it really is amazing seeing him in action!

We concluded our "Play EA" too, the guy who knocked 7 past us in our very first game took home the PS3 in the end. He must have caught us at a good time!

So yeah, the end is now in sight, we have Monday left now and that will just be winding down and packing up. Then off home we go! :( ]]> Baker011 http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/11-day-4-i33-finals-day.html http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/9-day-3-i33-let-battle-commence.html Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:26:19 GMT So after the chaotic start we had with the stand opening to the public, today was mostly spent showing off some titles and tournaments. The FIFA 08... So after the chaotic start we had with the stand opening to the public, today was mostly spent showing off some titles and tournaments. The FIFA 08 tournament kicked off with some of the qualifiers being held on our stand. it was good to be able to see the Pros in action! The finals will be held on Sunday so hopefully we will get some good footage of that.

The C&C3 tournament finished yesterday too with Apollo from Team Dignitas taking home the top prize. This guy really is the best C&C player in the world, bagging gold medals at both European and World level.

We also kicked off our spot tournaments on the stand. We had a very fun Crysis game, giving away a signed copy of Crysis special edition to each member of the winning team.

Our "Play EA" spot tournament went very well too. We had loads of people show up to play us at EURO 2008 to try and bag themselves a PS3 by scoring the most goals past Omni and myself. Unfortunately we didnt get much time to practice before and ended up getting beat 7-1 in our first game :( So the bar has been raised pretty high, so far no one beating that.

The stand continues to draw a lot of people in and everyone seems to be having a great time here. Cant wait to show off the pictures of it!

I also ended up getting interviewed by XLeague! So I will be on TV again soon, woo!

We ended the night in traditional fashion....a bar! Although I confess to missing the Pub Quiz :( I was really looking forward to it too, but unfortunately it was too packed to really get into it. So instead we headed back to the hotel and had a few quiet drinks and a state of reflection :)

Sunday next and some serious tournament action coming. Pretty much the last day really as Mondays are usually just packing up and handing out of prizes. ]]> Baker011 http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/9-day-3-i33-let-battle-commence.html http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/7-day-2-i33-doors-open.html Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:39:24 GMT Well after months of planning this was it...time to reveal the stand to everyone at i33. We were not sure how it would be received, would people... Well after months of planning this was it...time to reveal the stand to everyone at i33. We were not sure how it would be received, would people flock to it or would people just walk on by and be too scared to check it out?

Well I am pleased to be able to say that they flocked to it! We were absolutely swamped with people checking it out, wanting to play Kanes Wrath and EURO. We had top clans like Dignitas practically living on the stand all day!

We also dished out the first batch of swag bags too. The crowd of people that ran towards us when they saw them was amazing. Word had soon spread that we were giving out some really cool stuff and we went through about 20 boxes in an hour. It was great to see hundreds of people in the halls with an EA bag over the shoulder.

It was more of a show off stand and settle in day, the real fun will begin on Saturday. The tournaments kick off and we will begin our spot tournaments on the stand. We are running a Crysis one for a chance to win a signed copy of Crysis special edition and also a "Play EA" event on EURO 2008. Omni and myself will be accepting challenges from people for a chance to win a PS3 and a copy of EURO 2008 when released, not a bad prize at all!

More to come tomorrow... :teeth: ]]> Baker011 http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/7-day-2-i33-doors-open.html http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/4-day-1-i33-setup.html Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:05:08 GMT When we turned up we were left slightly speachless at the sight of our stand. To say it was large would be an understatement. We had only seen mock... When we turned up we were left slightly speachless at the sight of our stand. To say it was large would be an understatement. We had only seen mock up images of it before today so it was amazing to see it and be able to touch it!

We spent all of Thursday just setting up the stand, handing out leaflets, testing that things are still working. Things went pretty smoothly to be honest with only a couple minor problems.

We also spent some time catching up with the Multiplay staff and fellow exhibitors. There is an incredibly friendly atmosphere here between all the exhibitors.

I also had to check in to the hotel, which tunred into an adventure in itself. I am now on my third hotel room within the space of an hour! The first one was built for incredibly small people and being a tall guy it clearly wasnt going to be a good fit! So off I went to reception to ask for a slightly more fitting room which they were only too happy to help with.

Upon moving out of this room I then get chased down by the receptionist to be told they had made a mistake with my new room and had to give me yet another one. Oh well, the current one is nice and we are holding a sweep on how long until I have to move to another one!

The hotel is completely empty too, it feels like we are the only guests in it. Not quite the busy and energetic atmosphere I like in hotels. But hey, not like we will be spending much time in it!

Not much else to report really, today was just setting up and making sure we had everything we needed. The real fun begins on Friday when we open the stand to the public! :eek: ]]> Baker011 http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/4-day-1-i33-setup.html http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/2-ea-i33.html Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:20:04 GMT So, our plans are now all locked down and we are ready to invade Newbury with our EA charm! That’s right, EA will be attending i33 on Easter weekend... So, our plans are now all locked down and we are ready to invade Newbury with our EA charm! That’s right, EA will be attending i33 on Easter weekend (March 21st-24th). We have spent a long time getting ready for this event, picking our Tournament games, deciding which titles to bring along for exclusive hands on and just designing the cool swag to be given out.

Not only that, but for the first time ever EA will be taking along a stand. It was a tough decision for us if we should go in as an exhibitor now or if we should continue to represent EA in a far less formal way. But we decided giving people a place to play our games and chat to us would be a much better experience for us all.

We are supporting four tournaments this time:

FIFA 08 (my favourite)
Battlefield 2 (really happy to be able to reintroduce this after an absence from the lineup)
Crysis
Command & Conquer 3

To be honest I am really looking forward to seeing the UK’s top players compete in these tournaments and I am delighted that we can continue to help support the competitive gaming scene within the UK.

We will also be running some mini tournaments on our new stand. EURO 2008, TF2 and Crysis. We have a PS3 up for grabs for the winner of our mini EURO event and various other things for the other mini tournaments.

Attendees will be able to sit down and play Kanes Wrath a week before release and EURO 2008 almost a month before release! Both games are looking fantastic and I cant wait for us to show them off!

We have some really cool swag to give away too, with some funky looking Record bags packed with some surprises inside!

For more information on the event and what we will be doing, plus live streaming of it too, check out our i33 site @ www.electronicarts.co.uk/i33

If any of you plan on attending then be sure to come down and say hello to us :) Details on this event can be found on multiplays website @ http://i33.multiplay.co.uk/ ]]> Baker011 http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/blogs/6-baker011/2-ea-i33.html