The IGN Convention is an extravaganza for game and movie geeks

Gaming nerds, comic fans and movie buffs will have a chance to get their yearly fix of entertainment in Dubai this week at IGN. 

Convention-goers in character at a previous IGN gathering. Courtesy IGN
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Gaming nerds, comic fans and movie buffs will have a chance to get their fix of entertainment in Dubai this week.

The IGN Convention at the Meydan IMAX on Friday and Saturday will showcase the latest from the world of video games, movies and art.

The likes of Wolverine, Lara Croft, Batman, Darth Vader, Dr Who and a host of other characters are expected to be seen wandering around the venue to the delight of fans.

Organisers expect to attract more than 7,000 visitors to the inaugural convention, which is expected to become an annual event.

They also plan to expand to the rest of the GCC, with the details of the schedule to be announced soon.

According to the event director, Abbas Jaffar Ali, they will be able to “bring in a good crowd” because of their established reputation.

“The advantage we have is that we run IGN and have a community,” he says.

IGN is the biggest gaming website in the world, Ali says. He hopes the extensive database of contacts in the industry can be drawn upon to make the event a success.

“That gives us a little bit of an edge, as we know everyone from the tech industry and deal with them on a daily basis,” he says. “It is just about putting them all in the same room.”

But another draw will be the celebrities expected at the event, including the WWE wrestler Kevin Nash and Naomi Kyle, who hosts IGN's Daily Fix.

They will attend question-and-answer sessions, sign autographs and judge competitions.

The IGN convention will include workshops on subjects such as how to create manga and animation, video game development and movie making.

There will also be a cosplay competition, gaming announcements, discussion panels on movies and games, trivia quizzes, comic book stalls and a video game tournament, the finale of which will be played out on the IMAX screen, which is the largest in Asia.

“That will be really interesting. I don’t know if this has happened before,” Ali says.

“It’s pretty wild. It will definitely attract a few gamers.”

The event runs from 10am to 10pm on Friday and Saturday. Regular entry is Dh50; VIP entry is Dh500. For more information visit www.ignconvention.com

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