DreamHack Mumbai is one of the most expected events this year, a dream comes true to lots of gamers.
However, the very first DreamHack in Asia did not exactly go as planned. Some may blame our own culture for the flaws and errors that occurred, but even if that was true, what happened at the event was far from acceptable.
DreamHack is no stranger to events like this. In fact, it has been in the business for over 25 years. Its name has become a brand that everyone puts trust in.
The feedback from DreamHack’s attendees has shed light on the reality that we did not learn a bit from our mistakes, so it is easy to see why history repeats itself. However, it does not mean that excuses like “internet problems” are acceptable.
Visitors Are Ripped Off
It is common knowledge that the earlier you buy the tickets, the more favor you have regarding price. But for the event in Mumbai, DreamHack, for some reasons, decided to do the exact opposite. The early birds, often are the most enthusiastic fans of the event, found “Flash Sale” of tickets on BookMyShow just a few days before the day DreamHack occurred. These people felt that they were ripped off more than 80% when they thought that by purchasing early, they should have had the best price.
These people took their outrage on DreamHack page by calling it something like “Flop Show.” They have reasons to be angry though. One buyer and his friends discovered that they have made a total loss of more than INR 5000.
The Unannounced List Of Banned People
Before the event, one of the organizing staff leaked an unofficial list a people on a Facebook page. They are the ones who are banned from this event. However, the rest of the team did not exactly agree with this list, and they dismiss it by publically denying the sexual harassment concern.
This act did not gain the favor of the public. Bringing the name of a famous cosplayer online and refusing to let them from attending the event, and then denouncing the so-called unannounced list is not something a big name like DreamHack should do.
The Poor Live Streaming
If you could not enjoy the event online, you are not alone. DreamHack has the power to attract thousands of both hardcore and casual gamers. Many of them could not be able to make it to the venue in person. In that case, they put their hope on live streams.
The event was supposed to be streamed on Voot, who also one of the organizers of the Dreamhack, and audiences had faced several broadcasting problems.
The issue lies in the platform itself. With the fact that Voot is owned by one of the biggest conglomerates in the countries, we can only assume that for some reasons, they did not divert resource to this event although they have enough to pull off 10 events at this magnitude at the same time.
Concern About Privacy
When the event was running to an end, a Gadget360’s report drew attention to an accusation that pirated consoles were run. To make matter worse, the organizer denied this allegation by saying that what they used was Emulator. This claim is thought to be doubtful.
Some Famous Titles Are Cancelled
Some games that attracted the largest number of attendees were not on par with what they expected.
The tournament did not deliver the whole spirit of the game. To succeed in PUBG, players must have the ability to adapt, instincts and an aim. So anyone can be a good player with enough practice, but no many can be great. What the crowd was treated in DreamHack India was no more than a deathmatch, which startled most of PUBG’s fans.
PUBG was not the only victims, unfortunately. Others like Call of Duty and NFS suffered from an even worse fate, they were canceled altogether. DOTA 2 and CSGO were also axed, leading to the cancellation of three out of four initial events.
The consequences? The BYOC LAN event attracted over 100 attendees on its first day but this number drops dramatically to only 20 in the next two days, which means in one event, there are only two teams compete with each other.
Local Talents Were Treated Unfairly
While renowned players from other countries got the type of service they are promised, the local talents did not have the luxury of being treated the same. You will be hard pushed to find a good reason for this disparity when these players’ contribution is somewhat the same.
The Event Was Not Covered Properly
The organizers have put their trust in the media to cover the events for fans. Unfortunately, the magnitude of Dreamhack Mumbai was too much for the media houses to handle, leaving people with information gathered from a handful of men who attended and Voot.
Even after five days after the event had come to an end, there is nothing to see, watch, or hear. No pictures, no videos, nothing to count on to form an idea of how big the event was.
Lengthy Delay
This huge event was delayed just like any occasion with a tight budget would have. We have expected better from DreamHack.
The group that suffers from most disappointment was players of DOTA 2 and people who were eager to see satisfying gameplay. This leads to several feedbacks on Facebook expressing users’ upset. According to one of the claims, an event even started without announcing to its fans.
Fortnite fans reported that they were kept waiting for up to 10 hours, which is not the right way to treat a crowd who spend their precious time and hard-earned money to attend the event.
The Positives
If we look on the bright side, there has never been any event this large in India.
While the tournaments were a total disappointment, cosplay was a highlight of the event. This part was highly praised by attendees.
DreamHack provided a precious opportunity for our talents to gain experience with international ones, paving the way for such events to be held in the near future.
The fact that DreamHack picked India will attract the media attention to the potential of this prominent business.
A team that formed in a rush, Signify, could compete on the same level as the South Africans, which gave the audience hope for a bright future for gaming in India.
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