San Diego Comic Con is just around the corner and this year it’s pretty safe to say that the video game industry is taking over the show! This four-day event will surely blow the minds off of any players lucky enough to attend the convention. Along with the hottest panels, workshops, featured film previews, and more; the video game industry will be the talk of the show. So with E3 just recently passing, what will Comic Con actually have to offer gamers? Will only the lucky players with a ticket get a chance to see anything or will those outside be treated to some festivities? GamersBliss.com will have all that covered and more but first don’t miss the chance to read up about the amazing video game related festivities listed below!
5. Nintendo
Nintendo has an impressive line-up waiting for show attendees to get their hands-on. With the convention taking place significantly directly before the release of the Nintendo 3DS XL (August 19th) players will be able to get their hands-on this new hand-held system. The 3DS XL has a 90 percent larger screen making those wonderful 3D graphics all the more beautiful.
There will also be activities available for those Nintendo fans without an attendees badge across the street from the San Diego Convention Center at the Marriott Marquis & Marina Hotel. This will be referred to as the Nintendo Gaming Lounge where the company will be showing off great hands-on demos with great Nintendo titles as well as a few third-part hits. The games that will be playable on the 3DS XL include: New Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Kid Icarus: Uprising, Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, KINGDOM HEARTS 3D, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Mirror of Fate, and HEROES OF RUIN.
Nintendo proves you don’t have to have a ticket to enjoy the show with their Nintendo Gaming Lounge. Although they have a fantastic line-up for the convention it comes to be expected but a disappointment not more on their Wii U hardware is set to be shown. Games like Zombi U, The New Super Mario Bros U and Pikmin 3 are all sought after but kept out of reach for those at San Diego Comic Con.
4. CAPCOM
CAPCOM always makes its presence much known at International Comic Con and this year will end up being no different. It will be bigger and better than ever before while making itself the largest video game booth in the entire hall. CAPCOM is offering attendees to be among the first to play some of their largest games of the year including Resident Evil 6, Lost Planet 3, Marvel VS. Capcom – Origins, DmC, Okami HD, Street Fighter X Tekken Vita, Street Fighter X Tekken iOS and Resident Evil Chronicles HD Collection.
One of our favorite parts of Comic Con is freebees! CAPCOM will be giving out some of the best freebies of the show. Resident Evil 6 will be giving attendees who arrive first at the CAPCOM booth collectable tickets to attend the demo. There will also be giving out Resident Evil 6 ear lights, Dmc drawstring backpack, and Lost Planet flashlight or beanie cap.
If fans don’t get to the freebees fast enough there will also be a CAPCOM store onsite at the convention. This shop will be offering Comic Con exclusive collectables for CAPCOM’s biggest fans. These collectable items consist of a variety of different items but the supplies are limited. Some of these things are going to fly off the shelves fast so fans must be quick about it. CAPCOM’s hottest items include a Street Fighter 25th Chess Set ($400), SSFIV Play Arts Kai Action Figures ($55), Hello Kitty Chun Li Plush ($40), Famous Capcom Store Grab Bag ($30), Welcome To Raccoon City metal sign ($25), Dante’s Ebony & Ivory Piano Repair t-shirt ($20), Premium Street Fighter 25th Anniversary t-shirt ($20), Pink Chun Li Bobble Budd ($11) and Monster Hunter blind box poogies Japanese import ($10).
CAPCOM is making a huge difference at Comic Con 2012 and there is no doubt that every fan is going to want to get a hold of any of the items they are offering. Be quick about it because everything is going to go fast and these are offers that no one should miss.
3. Sony- PlayStation
Sony is making an impact on the show in terms of panels. Panels are some of the biggest attractions at Comic Con so having a great set of these is going to impress any attendee. PlayStation has no doubt got a great slew of exclusive titles set to be released within the coming months and that is definitely what the company is relying on with its presence at International Comic Con 2012.
There will be a panel for both PlayStation exclusive titles, Beyond: Two Souls and The Last of Us. The Beyond: Two Souls panel will be “A New Breed of Interactive Storytelling from Writer/Director David Cage of Quantic Dream”. This panel is run by one of the leads at Quantic Dream and will focus on discussing cinematic practices centered on emotional connection as well as astounding storytelling methods. The Last of Us will also be hosting a panel by the name of “Behind the Scenes with Naughty Dog”. The panel will be hosted by lead developers of Naughty Dog studios along with actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. They will reveal an exclusive look at a new in-game cinematic as well as having the panel being followed up with a Question and Answer session from Adam Sessler. At the end of this panel guest will receive a limited Edition The Last of Us poster.
Along with other panels Sony is making an impact on this event… mostly for guest who have a badge to attend the show but still a great impact. On a side note and to follow up on gaming’s hottest freebies at Comic Con International PlayStation will also be giving away a limited number of The Last of Us shirts at the Sony booth. These shirts will presumably be given out at random.
2. Xbox 360
Xbox is going to be huge at Comic Con 2012. They will be offering a hands-on experience with one of this year’s largest blockbusters, Halo 4. Comic Con International marks the very first time players will be able to take part in Halo 4. Also centered around Halo 4, there will be chances to receive special prizes at the booth that players will be able to take home with them. What all of these prizes consist of is unknown but it can be expected that it will be related to Halo 4.
Once again the festivities will be taken out side of the convention center for those fans with no ticket. Xbox will be hosting an Xbox Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel across the street from the event. At this Lounge event players will be able to experience hands on with the following titles, Fable: The Journey, Borderlands 2, Dance Central 3, Resident Evil 6, Forza Horizon, Sleeping Dogs, Hitman: Absolution and so much more. The lounge will also be showing off Xbox 360’s new apps on the Xbox 360 dashboard such as HBO Go and Crackle.
Lastly Xbox 360 will of course be hosting many panels throughout the show. Most of these panels are going to be focused around Halo 4 while one will be about Gears of War’s past, present and future. These games that are being shown with Microsoft are huge, they are games that everyone wants to play at easy access brought to you by Xbox 360.
Xbox 360 may have flopped a bit at E3 but they are assuring players that Comic Con 2012 will be much different. It is pleasant to see that they are focusing more on what the gamers want instead of relying on apps and Kinect features. It has seemed that over the years Microsoft began to turn their back on gamers for a casual audience but gamers will a lot more of respect for the company after experiencing the line-up at Comic Con San Diego.
1. Square Enix
Square Enix takes holds of the top spot on our countdown for one reason and one reason only… Tomb Raider! Comic Con San Diego will be the very first place players will be able to get their hands on the new Tomb Raider game set for a 2013 release date. This game has been something that had intrigued a large crowd since it was first announced and that crowd has kept an interest through the production of the entire game.
On top of getting the first public hands-on time with Tomb Raider, People who Cosplay Lara Croft have been asked to join together at Lou and Mickey’s restaurant for prizes and photo opportunities. This is one of the view video game companies that have asked players to dress up so the show will be undoubtedly show off a lot of Lara Croft Cosplay. This is really joining into the festivities of the event and is greatly appreciate by the Cosplay community.
There will be options to play other hit Square Enix titles as well such as Heroes of Ruin, Kingdom Hearts 3D, Sleeping Dogs and Hitman Absolution. These games are some of the best of the show and if that’s not enough insinuative to stop by and see them maybe the exclusive items they will be giving away will be. Along with a number of different panels, attendees will be able to get their hands on exclusive Square Enix merchandise through contests and interactive activities. There will be a contest held to win an exclusive Hitman themed PS3 through the “Hitman: Absolution photo Sniping Contest as well as a chance to win an exclusive Tomb Raider Xbox 360 through the “Tomb Raider Themed Xbox 360 Sweepstakes”. If the Contest field isn’t your thing, not to worry, there will also be onsite giveaways such as exclusive Sleeping Dogs posters and the Square Enix Passport program. The Passport program will give players a stamp for each game they play at the Square Enix booth and after all stamps are collected the players can turn them in to receive logoed pins for specific Square Enix titles and a Square Enix related lanyard.
