Insomnia i71 enjoys a resurgence – promises more for i72

This weekend saw the Insomnia gaming event kick-off for the 71^st time, back at the Birmingham NEC, with tens of thousands of gamers coming together in the largest/longest running gaming festival of its kind in the UK. Given the way that the pandemic wiped out most events for two years, it’s good to see tech shows bouncing back. There was plenty to see for gamers and hardware enthusiasts alike.

Playing games at home is one thing, but in a crowd – face to face with your opponent – it’s a completely different experience. Whether you are in a console zone, playing one of the main releases or you have gone all out and camped in the halls for several days to be in the BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) missions – playing with others is definitely a fun way to engage.

Plenty of high-end hardware was on show from Overclockers and partners like Gigabyte.

If you’ve ever wanted to get up close and personal with a high-end, custom built 8-Pack system, a Gigabyte 4090 with 24GB of memory and a 2550MHz clock or maybe a high end Aorus gaming laptop – then this show has plenty to offer.

Ducky had some interesting keyboards on show – as did Endgame and Glorious. WD had an entire section dedicated to its latest performance drives and Corsair were on hand with games and prizes.

Keeping things cool – and on hand to answer questions from the curious – were tech gurus like Dave from EKWB (fresh from watching England thump Argentina).

There were plenty of chances to win prizes at the event, especially with the treasure-powered Corsair Crane on hand. Who doesn't like to get their hands on mysterious pirate balls?

Back to the gaming itself: So what kind of titles do these events give you access to?

Well there’s a broad range of favourites to play – but also some ‘specials’, like Bandai Namco bringing attendees the first chance to play TEKKEN 8, enter some fun tournaments and win merch.

Team17 had Moving Out 2, where you can become an all-star F.A.R.T. (Furniture Arrangement & Relocation Technician).

They also had Headbangers, where you and 29 other Pigeons compete against each other to try and win the title of Master Headbanger!

You will also find sections for Retro Gaming and the all-important Indie Games section, where today’s innovators hope to begin their journey on the path to being tomorrow’s headline act.

Now under Player1 events – with part of the original 1997 senior management team – you can see that the show is beginning to expand again. In recent years, Insomnia has felt anaemic – a shadow of its former self.

However, with the new ownership, you can feel the energy returning and there is now an emphasis on value for money – for both attendees and exhibitors alike – crucial in these difficult economic times.

KitGuru says: If you’re interested in seeing Insomnia rebooted, then you can begin planning for the next event over here. It’s scheduled to happen from 28^th March to 1^st April 2024 – and we look forward to seeing what will be on offer.

Become a Patron!