Taipei's Biggest Gaming Convention Showcases the Best of Taiwan and Beyond | Push Square

12.02.2024 - 23:49 / pushsquare.com

Taipei’s blue-hued Bannan Line is always packed to bursting, as it’s the approximately 26-kilometre MRT line which ferries passengers to key city destinations like Ximen and Taipei Main Station, but it was abuzz with added enthusiasm late last month, as enthused gamers rode the train all the way through to its destination station for the Taipei Game Show.

The Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, or TaiNEX as it’s more colloquially known, has hosted the important industry event for several years now – but its origins, dating all the way back to 2003, are much more humble, as Public Relations Specialist Nana Chang from the Taipei Computer Association tells us.

“Taipei Game Show initially started as a section within a computer exhibition, eventually evolving into an independent event as the gaming community expanded,” she says. “So, it’s the largest and oldest gaming exhibition in Taiwan. It serves as an excellent platform for those aiming to expand from Taiwan to the international market or enter the Chinese-language market from overseas.”

Unlike the Tokyo Game Show, which is spread across the cavernous Makuhari Messe, the aforementioned TaiNEX adopts an unorthodox layout, where attendees need to ride a couple of elevators up to the fourth floor in order to reach the Taipei Game Show’s main hall. It’s in-keeping with Taiwan’s obsession with verticality; limited space means architects are always looking upwards.

The ride to the entry hall is decorated with posters of high-profile games, including smartphone sensations like Umamusume: Pretty Derby, underlining the local market’s penchant for gachas, as is consistent across the entirety of Asia. Console games also feature on the corridor’s hallowed halls, including Ubisoft’s recently released side-scroller Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.

Even before infiltrating the actual show floor, we were conscious of the sheer volume of the Taipei Game Show. It’s not uncommon for conventions to pump up the music in order to attract passersby, but this was sound on another level; we weren’t forward-thinking enough to bring a decibel counter with us, but we’d hazard it was comfortably above 120db for much of the weekend.

Upon entering the event, we were immediately struck by the scale of its indie section, spotlighting developers not just from Taiwan but from right across Asia. “Local development teams in Taiwan are predominantly involved in indie game development,” Chang explains. “The Taipei Game Show allows them to gather player feedback and engage in mutual communication.”

Chang adds that the business zones, running alongside the main show in a more serene upstairs area, also provide the opportunity for indie game developers to find “ideal publishing partners,