Not content with boosting its range to include Re/Play second hand titles and the Gamerbase experience stores, HMV has underlined its move towards becoming a games specialist by backing a new London consumer event.

Put together in association with competitive gaming outfit UKeSA, Game On! London will take place June 20th to 21st. It is hoped 25,000 consumers will be drawn to the Olympia Exhibition Centre for the show.

The UKeSA’s Season One Final will take place alongside a product showcase, and there’s even the opportunity to sell games to the attendees, according to the organisers.

“From what we can see, there are no other events planned that will feature this mix and range of activity, so I feel we have an opportunity to create something special,” HMV’s head of games Tim Ellis told MCV.

“Working with UKeSA will add a different dimension to the event, particularly the eSports finals of the Premiership Season One that will be staged, while we are also offering publishers the chance to run their own events as part of the programme.

“We’re doing our utmost with UKeSA to make the
event financially viable to the industry – we all know belts are necessarily tightening, but the consumers are still out there.”

UKeSA chief exec Ray Mia added: “Industry players have been thinking about staging a London-based gaming event for quite a while now – something that combines a consumer-facing set up with a more inclusive and encompassing gaming agenda.

“It will be the first opportunity after E3 for anyone to see publisher inventory, and it’s also before Cologne, so there’s potentially an opportunity here to finally develop a UK event at the right place and at the right time.”

It’s just the latest move by HMV in the past 12 months to seriously prove it is a major force in games retail.
Ellis added: “I firmly believe we are showing more innovation towards games and gaming than any other retailer – just because we also sell music and film doesn’t mean we can’t be considered the best games specialist out there also.

“We want the gaming community to walk away from this event with a genuine sense that HMV is not only at the forefront of gaming retail, but is increasingly becoming the home of games and gaming.”