There’s been buzz generating about something unique, something we’ve never seen happen before. In the gaming world at the least. Well, this is the world where all the crazy stuff happens in the first place.
If getting 50 something likes on a selfie you posted on Instagram isn’t enough, how does showing your grinning teeth on one of the most popular beverage in the country? For sure, that is Level 8000+. And it certainly is the most popular a gamer can become in a country where competitive gaming is still far from being a commodity. It’s a good step taken by Mountain Dew to make competitive gaming more recognizable.
The Dew Arena, a gaming tournament touted as “India’s largest gaming battleground” is offering the opportunity to have your face on Mountain Dew Game Fuel, a new beverage targeted towards gamers. Yes, it’s the same drink that you see Hrithik Roshan drinking while christening the gaming controller.
Dew Arena is hosting online tournaments for Dota 2, Counter Strike: GO, FIFA 16 and Kung Fu Combat. Dota 2 and CS:GO are PC games obviously, you’ll need a Steam account for it. Dota 2 is free-to-play, so the barrier of entry is seamless. The FIFA 16 tournaments will be hosted on Xbox Live and played on Xbox One. Dew Arena certainly offers the biggest cash prizes we’ve seen in the country. We all know how Indian Gaming Carnival went, so for a change, its good to see a gaming tournament being hosted by legit brands. A total of INR 10 lakh is the prize pool committed by Mountain Dew.
Kung Fu Combat is the unlikely and unique tournament of the Dew Arena. You can download the game on your Android device and participate online. There will be weekly tournament cycles running from 15th July to 8th September, 2016. Each week, the winner will get a Microsoft Xbox One.
Here is the registration link.
For the other three PC and Xbox One games, the tournament will kicked off on the 22nd of July and will continue till the 11th of September, 2016. Round 1 & 2 of all 3 games have been completed. FIFA Qualifier #1 is currently in its 3rd round, with finals on Tuesday, 2nd August. Qualifier #1 for DOTA 2 and CS:GO resume on 30th July, with finals on Tuesday, 2nd August as well.
The best part – all the qualifiers are online only, so you can play at the comfort of your home/office/school/tuition class(?). All the tournament details are available on the ESL Play Dew Arena Website [http://esl.gg/dewarena6 ].
e-Sports and Gaming in India
Countless brands have come to the country to promote e-sports and gaming, and more than half of them, have left. In the end it comes down to the sentiment of the authorities in the country, and the understanding the respective brands have of the gaming culture in the country. Things in India don’t work like they do in, say, South Korea, Taiwan, or even the West. Simple replication of ideas and successes in these countries, has historically never worked here. That is because in order for gaming to really make it big in the country, brands and companies have to put themselves in the shoes of Indians. Things work differently here. While that is something we are proud of, it has hindered the serious potential the country has for e-sports and gaming.
In the midst of all this, the initiative taken by Mountain Dew somewhat seems to blend in well with the Indian crowds. Gaming has never been promoted in a way Mountain Dew has taken it up. First step, have a superstar icon as a face of a gaming brand, in this case, the drink Game Fuel. Hrithik Roshan was bought to the yard to take up the job, and advertisements have been flowing across television, a medium Indian embrace. A celebrity this recognizable with gaming and the youth, Mountain Dew has hit the bull’s eye with this one. Then, it’s the Dew Arena itself. The tournament hosts games that a seemingly large number of Indians are aware of and are comfortable with. Dota and Counter Strike are staples in every college and internet cafe in the country. FIFA literally embraces every single home with a console. India houses the world’s largest number of smartphone users after China, so having a mobile game in the Dew Arena tournament caters to that demograph too. Last, but definitely not the least, is the lucrative cash prizes. It’s some serious mullah. And a refreshing change from the generic “Rs. 5000” tournaments that take place every now and then.
So what are you waiting for?
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What is Mountain Dew Game Fuel?
Game Fuel is a bold new variant of Mountain Dew, available for a limited time only. Game Fuel has gained immense popularity in the West since its first launch in 2012. . Game Fuel has now officially been launched in India with Hrithik Roshan as the face behind the drink. Internationally, Game Fuel has been promoted using popular games as the prime backdrop.
The drink has been co-branded with a Triple A games such as Halo 3, where its packaging featured the logo of the game as well as its main character, Master Chief.
Game Fuel WoW Edition was launched in 2009 to promote World of Warcraft along with the beverage. The formula of the drink remained the same, the only difference being the packaging. In 2011, Game Fuel returned with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Edition. This time around, the drink featured codes that earn players double experience points in-game. Not bad at all eh?
In 2012, the Game Fuel Halo 4 edition was launched. Just like In CoD: MW3, players who bought the drink got codes that were specifically marked on the packaging for additional experience points.
Now, Game Fuel has been launched in India.
Currently, the qualifiers for DOTA 2, FIFA and CS: GO are live. A whopping 256 teams have registered for the Dota 2 qualifiers, another 253 for CS:GO. There is a lot of action taking place at this very moment. Join in the fun, else you’ll miss it!
