Dreamhack Winter LAN party consisted of more than 22,000 computers

Shawn Knight

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LAN parties were a major source of entertainment during my teenage years. The weekend-long events that took place once or twice a year would involve half a dozen or so close friends, mounds of junk food and hours upon hours of gaming.

While fun, they pale in comparison to what took place in Jonkoping, Sweden, over the weekend.

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Dreamhack Winter started way back in 1994 when a few guys rented out a school hall to play video games. The event has since morphed into the world’s largest LAN party as more than 25,000 people came together for the fun-filled, four-day event.

The massive LAN party set a new record this year with 22,483 unique devices (computers) registered and a total attendance of 26,672, an increase of nearly 2,000 people compared to last year’s event.

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Gaming was obviously the key focus with titles like Counter-Strike, StarCraft and DOTA getting lots of play but what makes Dreamhack Winter special is that it isn’t all about games. The venue also had a live DJ booth and an impressive cosplay competition.

I recall it taking nearly a day to get our small LAN set up which included installing games troubleshooting various issues; I can only imagine the nightmare of connecting over 22,000 PCs but based on the photos, everything seems to have gone smoothly.

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Have you ever attended a massive LAN party like this or do you even bother with them now that Internet gaming (and console gaming) is as accepted as it is?

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You know, this country has some pretty impressive, even remarkable youngsters (under 50) that have shown immense capabilities. It would be interesting if an event like this would be a little less about gaming and more about putting all that horsepower to use on a common issue .... oh like, dealing the North Koreans a serious blow similar to what they have done to us ...... just a thought!
 
^^^ Now that is a thought, lets encourage our youngsters to break the law. While giving them a massive computer network for inspiration.
 
Reminds me of the two times I went to QuakeCon in Texas. That was merely a 3-5000 person event though. Still TONS of fun. Just don't have the money or the time to do it anymore.
 
The biggest I've been to was Lan ETS consisting of 975 people this year, an all time high. Connecting this year was rather painless for myself but others are not always as fortunate. The staff however are very efficient at solving problems and before midnight on the first night everyone is usually connected. No where near near the 22,000 PCs at Dreamhack.
 
I would love to go to an event like this! I would of course bring all my friends along.
 
First let me start by saying Lan parties are not just for teenagers. I have grown up with some form of computer or games console all my life way back to the days of Vic20s and Atari 2600s. I still attend lan parties and I am in my 30s. I'd say the age range at these events is easily 7-60 it really is that fast. Sure the majority are in their early 20s but that doesn't mean anyone older cannot partake. I attended these events not just for gaming but also a social events meeting ppl from a beer etc that you would maybe only take to online they are great social events and should not be idolised as a few geeks playing computer games all day long. What I find is anyone over the age of 40 it is very mixed reviews with may seeing it as pointless and cannot understand lan parties.
 
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