20 years on the joystick

Madrid’s Sala Sol hosted 250 guests yesterday for the 20th birthday celebrations of Meristation  – the PRISA video games publication that was just recently integrated into AS. Wellwishers included journalists and members of marketing teams from leading companies in the sector, and they were treated to live music, drinks, and of course, video games.

Pep Sanchez, who just a few days previously had recalled the early days of the publication at the dawn of the Internet, spoke briefly to thank PRISA and, especially, his team for making the dream from 20 years ago come true. “If someone had told me that the crazy idea that we had back in 1997 would make it to its 20th birthday, I’d never have believed them,” he confessed, visibly moved, before breaking into song, like many of the other journalists throughout the night, to celebrate the anniversary.

Much has happened between 1997, when modems squeaked and whined, and 2017 where gaming has become a mass phenomenon – from a leisure activity once seen as marginal and aimed at youth to a diverse phenomenon enjoyed by all and demanding the same cultural status enjoyed by cinema and literature. And this shift has been reflected in Meristation’s articles and reports.

As well as regular updates in its news section, 2017 has seen in-depth reports such as that by Nacho Requena on the arrest of Ignacio Dolset, former president of the main industry association, in Operation Hanta. There was coverage too of the controversial event Gaming Ladies, aimed exclusively at women in order to provide a safe space for female video game fans against a backdrop of harassment in online forums and social media. And, of course, there was plenty of news on classic video games at Meristation with items such as the report on the changing appearance of Samus Aran from the Metroid saga, by Cristian Ciuraneta.

Naturally, video games took center stage at the birthday bash, with two of the leading brands providing consoles to entertain guests between cocktails and canapes. The thrills of FIFA 18, PlayStation virtual reality, a first look in Spain of the Xbox One X, and the the new version of Microsoft 4K, were just some of the novelties on show. Images from the celebrations are available in this this gallery.