With over 4000+ attendees last year, GottaCon 2014 was the biggest event of its kind seen in Western Canada. With a full LAN area plus space for vendors, sponsors, exhibitors, board games, and more, the event does resemble a “Mini PAX” in a lot of ways. While the event is only moderately sized compared to events in the US, the GottaCon Team has much to be proud of when it comes to bringing that big US event feeling to Victoria, BC Canada, which is an island just off the coast of British Columbia, and a 1.5 hr ferry ride away from Vancouver, BC.
GottaCon reached out to Team Futurelooks back in 2013, around the time that one of Western Canada’s largest LAN party events, began to wind down. Where LANcouver ended, it seemed that GottaCon took its place. With our influence outside of Canada, a conversation began with us, and we helped the event build a strong sponsorship base consisting of some of the most prominent US companies in the gaming scene.
For 2015, these companies included NVIDIA, ZOTAC, Kingston HyperX, Thermaltake/Tt eSports, be quiet!, In Win, and Sound Blaster (Creative Labs). Here’s what they had to say about the event this year.
NVIDIA
Speaking for NVIDIA, Eric Chen, spoke positively about the event, and how important it was for the company to be in Canada, seeing what gamers here were most into.
ZOTAC
Speaking for ZOTAC, Otto Ly talks about just how awesome the Canadian crowd is and how cool it is for the company to be in Canada for the very first time at such a big event in the region.
Kingston HyperX
Kingston’s gaming division, HyperX, was here with Mike Smith, who spoke very highly of the event. Kingston has been supporting GottaCon for the last four years.
Thermaltake / Tt eSports
Shannon Robb of Thermaltake/Tt eSports made his way to Canada for the very first time, and was very impressed with what GottaCon has been able to accomplish. As a veteran of many US events, he seemed genuinely pleased with what he’s seen in “America’s Penthouse Party”.
be quiet!
Travelling the longest distance to Victoria, BC Canada, Christoph Katzer of be quiet! made the long trip from Taiwan to witness first hand, just what makes Canada so awesome. As a sponsor of the event, he was very impressed with the event and we should definitely see more support from the company in the future.
In Win and Sound Blaster
Both In Win and Sound Blaster couldn’t make it to the event personally, so they sent Team Futurelooks in with gear and demos, so that gamers could experience what both companies do for the community. Our Futurelooks/MEGATechNews Gamer Lounge allowed us to share with GottaCon guests some of the coolest stuff they made.
Both companies were sponsors of a number of events this year, and with the response to their products, we see them increasing their support for the coming year.
Other sponsors of this year’s event included ASTRO Gaming, Logitech, and EA, and many more that we didn’t have a chance to get someone on camera to interview. Due to the successes and great experiences that these sponsors have had on this side of the border, we expect support to increase as more companies realize just how awesome Canada is when it comes to gamers, gaming, and events like GottaCon 2015.