NiceOne digital entertainment festival draws over 120,000

More than 120,000 people flocked to the gaming and digital experiences festival, NiceOne Barcelona, over the weekend, which was held in the Gran Via venue in Hospitalet de Llobregat from November 28 to December 1.

Formerly Games World, the festival's relaunch as NiceOne Barcelona seems to have gone down well with gamers, with the event's director, Josep Antoni Llopart, saying the "satisfactory" attendance figures showed "the acceptance and success" of the new format.

The festival's redesign was aimed at "opening it up to other spheres of digital entertainment," according to Llopart, who said the "main objective" of "broadening its horizons beyond the traditional area of video games" had been achieved.

Along with contests and talks, NiceOne Barcelona opted to add immersive digital experiences to its video game offering, which this year featured professional e-sport competitions, including 'technosports,' combining e-sports and virtual reality.

Immersive experiences a big hit

The introduction of immersive experiences proved to be a big hit with visitors, and particularly popular were Ourang Medan, the ghost ship from the 'The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan' game, and surviving the city in the Zombie Shooter Experience.

E-sports fans got to see two live competitions that were also streamed online and attracted half a million spectators, while visitors to the festival also got to meet influencers and content creators, such as Willyrex, Vegetta777, TheGrefg, Wismichu and Anikilo.

The festival's seventh edition also included RetroBarcelona, a special section that featured classic and vintage video games, while at the same time commemorating the 30th anniversary of Nintendo's Game Boy handheld console.

Yet, there was also a more serious side to the fair, which acted as a meeting place for industry professionals, such as distributors, investors and game developers, who between them held over 350 business meetings over the four days.