To help you plan attendance for this month’s game industry conferences, conventions, festivals and other events, we post a consolidated list of events each month. View the complete January event list below!
Around the last quarter of the year, sometimes before Halloween or Thanksgiving, gift-giving guides and events become a part of the landscape. Paying attention to what gamers would appreciate as a gift is a big part of that equation.
Pepcom’s Holiday Spectacular in San Francisco, which was a showcase of companies previewing products and services aimed at techies of all stripes, took place just before Halloween. However, the list of products and services shown at that event that might be useful for gifts for, and between, gamers until the end of the holiday season. Which, coincidentally, is coming up very quickly.
With the Pepcom event as a guide, here’s a last-minute holiday gift guide with goodies aimed at gamers on the go, who are social and go to events and cons (like our excellent Events for Gamers readers, as it happens).
Headset
Plantronics’ gaming brand has really taken off and refined its quality, joining the high-end headset and esports-focused hardware. Plantronics headsets really cover the gamut for gamers with an extensive line. However, if I had to pick one remarkable headset from its extensive line for gamers, the RIG 500E qualifies. It’s a collapsible headset with an angular look vaguely reminiscent of the Batmobile-tank from the “Dark Knight” series of movies. The 500e that can take some abuse from even the most aggressive gamer, but its assemblage of its ear cups and strap is designed to be taken apart and swapped out if needed.
Plantronics RIG 500e headset
Luckily, the 500e feels light and wears comfortable, aided by breezy ventilation. The audio quality is solid, punchy in the bass and tight, kept in the cups and sealing out ambient noise better than one might first expect. The flexible noise-cancelling mic should work well for most gamers, whether for chatting with teammates or a casual Skype chat. The overall audio in and out balance is helpful, of course, if you’re tackling rivals amid the mayhem of, say, “Call of Duty” or “League of Legends.”
Bonus: it’s endorsed by the ESL Gaming Network. Said endorsement may carry more weight, if you’re a gamer on their way to the bright lights of competitive eSports gaming. The blue and grey-striped color scheme on the ear cups fall in line with that particular branding, too.
The retail price tag is $149.99, but count yourself lucky if you can find it in a retail store (or are willing to go ship with haste from an outlet), but if your gift recipient likes to play games over the long haul and likes to play tough — or is even looking to play competitively — the RIG 500e is a thoughtful gift.
Batteries
Zagg is a familiar brand to many mobile power users, perhaps to some gamers, too, who frequently need accessories to amp the value of their tablet or smartphone. In this instance, we’re looking at one specific ZAGG charger: the ZAGG Power Amp 6. Compact but listed at delivering up to 6,000 MAh, up to a zippy 2.4A output for larger, more demanding devices. In my case, a stock Nexus 5 phone with 2,300 MaH battery, charged fully and quickly at about 2.5 hours each time.
ZAGG Power Amp 6
The ZAGG Power Amp 6 is not inexpensive at $49.99 retail, but with the ability to charge while plugged, delivering two full charges for many devices, and a flashlight (for the cherry on top), a device like this could be just the ticket for a gift for a battery-draining mobile gamer. The Power Amp 6 does hit a portable sweet spot between the high end 18,000 mAh “brick” and the smaller and less expensive 3,000 mAh model.
Kingston brings in a versatile entry here that is more than a battery but happens to include one. This device covers five potential needs for mobile gamers, as the MobileLite Digital 5-in-1. Companion. As mentioned first, this pocket-sized is a battery at a respectable 4640 mAh, for USB-charging devices like phones and some mobile game systems. Beyond that, the 5-in-1 companion can backup photos and storage for camera pictures and videos or to extend overall storage to up to 2TBs of data, by reading and writing on existing USBs, SD and microSD cards.
Kingston MobileLite Digital 5-in-1 battery
On the wireless side, the MobileLite Digital 5-in-1 Companion has a couple nifty tricks up its sleeve, too. Stream movies and gaming feeds, music and check out photos on multiple devices at once. Through an Ethernet port-fed Internet, users can turn turn the 5-in-1 into a wireless hotspot for multiple devices. And, a mobile app ties bundles the functionality together.
While MobileLite Digital 5-in-1 retails for $64, it’s easy to find it for much less. Considering the diversity of what it offers, it’s a Swiss Army Knife-like mobile bag o’ tricks that should be useful for any gamer.
Keyboard
ZAGG Pocket Keyboard
Zagg has a wide range of products, with the aim in mind to extend the value of mobile gear. Another such product shown at Pepcom’s showcase, that accomplished that objective is its Pocket Keyboard for Apple and Android phones and small tablets. The keyboard, while on the small side for my larger hands, conveniently folds compactly and stays shuts with the help of magnets, and powers down to save juice.
The (insert name here) smartphone rests on an angled “easel”, while a folded stand keeps the keyboard in place. The phone connects via Bluetooth. Voilà, it’s as simple as that. This keyboard fills a need for the mobile gamer or Twitch-streamer, who finds the screen-obscuring small phone keyboard or keyboard too confining.
Gifts
Loot Crate is a spiritual descendant of the con experience, which puts their sort of “merch” or “schwag” near and dear to our hearts. In fact, in their press info, the company describes its product as “Comic-Con in a box” It’s not inaccurate.
LootCrate booth
October’s recent crate, for example, was logically all about the theme of “Time,” covering “Back to the Future” (of course), “Doctor Who” and even “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” Seeing the box myself, the several items inside the otherwise plainly labeled black box are a fun tribute to different aspects of each beloved franchise, such as Marty McFly’s small scale hoverboard from “Back to the Future II” and a Sonic Spork familiar to Doctor Who fans. There are a wide range of other crates, sorted by theme or pop-culture franchise, which makes it easy to sort out a gift by interest.
This holiday season, limited-edition “Mass Effect,” “Call of Duty” and “Doctor Who” crates went on sale. These have been tapped out, but other special crates are always in the pipeline. A safer and faster bet are the gift subscriptions for surprise loot or wearable stuff like socks and shirts for both men and women. These crate options start at $10/1 month (from January 2016), so a gift of that sort could literally could be the gift that keeps on giving.
If your gift recipient is a convention goer or a “inside baseball” fan for a certain franchise, including many big-name game franchises, Loot Crate is a good gifting way to go.
Good luck finding your gifts, if you are seeking, and enjoy what you may receive, for those who are crossing their fingers for a certain anything.
From everyone at Events for Gamers, happy holidays!
Officials at Consumer Technology Association, the group behind the Consumer Electronics Show, announced new security rules for CES 2016, including bag checks, body screening and increased security personnel.
According to the official announcement, there are no credible threats to CES 2016, but there will be delays for attendees entering the event facilities.
“We want you to have a safe CES experience. We are implementing these enhanced measures with the goal of maintaining the safety of all of our guests — attendees, exhibitors, members of the media — and show personnel while creating as little inconvenience as possible.”
If you plan on being at CES, you may want to travel to the show light. Attendees will no longer be able to bring luggage or suitcases into official CES exhibit and conference areas, and rolling bags are not allowed. If you need something to carry stuff in, you’re only allowed two bags, each smaller than 12 inches by 17 inches by 6 inches. Officials may allow some exceptions for some exhibitors and press members.
Expect to have any bags you bring searched; all bags taken to CES will be searched. Officials recommend using clear bags to speed things along and to avoid bringing backs with a lot of pockets.
Security at CES
CTA also will be setting up checkpoints throughout the Las Vegas Convention Center, and everyone attending CES 2016 will have to go through a metal detector and possibly a body pat-down. Attendees should expect to see more security and law enforcement personnel around the event properties. There also will be explosive detection dogs on the premises, and some police officers may be in armored gear.
If you are going to CES, rest easy and let security do the work. It’s still Las Vegas, and enjoying yourself is usually mandatory.
CES 2016 takes place January 6-9, 2016, in Las Vegas.
The International Mobile Gaming Awards, an annual celebration of the games mobile developers dream up and create for over a decade, is inviting developers to submit their work for evaluation for the 12th edition of the IMGA. Mobile developers, indie studios or publishers can submit their work before, or by, the deadline of the end of the year, December 31, 2015.
Virtual reality, as a hyped and fast-growing segment in the games marketplace, is the latest category to be added to IMGA’s competition categories. Samsung has made an aggressive play with its mobile VR headset for a larger market, by aiming for the sub-$100 market. Google Cardboard has, since 2014, represented the least expensive peripheral option for developers and consumers to access the mobile VR experience. Furthermore, in 2016, some of the most anticipated VR hardware will make their splash — namely, the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and SonyPlayStation VR. Developers are invited to submit their VR work, whether released in 2015 or still a work-in-progress.
Among the judges will be representatives from well-known brands in and around the business of games, Supercell, King, ARM and Microsoft as well as journalists from equally well-known media outlets Pocket Gamer and VentureBeat. The first round of judging will be held in Marseille, France, January 25-26, 2016.
“IMGA has a longstanding history of recognizing those game developers who are tackling emerging categories across mobile games. We’ve nominated hit games the likes of “Candy Crush Saga,” “Clash of Clans” and “Angry Birds” ahead of their respective category peaks and hope to dig up the same champions for the VR category. With mobile VR games being the critical tool in introducing the masses to VR, it’s more important now than ever to recognize those who are setting the best tone, raising the standards and truly defining the space,” said IMGA founder Maarten Noyons, in a news release.
The winners of the International Mobile Gaming Awards will be announced in March 2016 in San Francisco, most likely in or around the 2016 Game Developers Conference.
Many gamers are wondering if Ubisoft is working on an “Assassin’s Creed” HD collection. Based on the fact that the company registered a new domain, it is possible.
A user on NeoGAF first noticed the site, listed as AssassinsCreedCollection.com. It is owned and operated by Ubisoft.com.
Since the company has made a few remakes for current-gen consoles, it would be beneficial for Ubisoft to make a collection of older “Assassin’s Creed” games for PS4 and Xbox One. The registration could mean that the company plans to release the collection in late 2016 or early 2017.
If Ubisoft is actually working on this project, we may see an announcement at E3 2016.
The Whippering Indie Cup, a first-year indie game developer showcase and contest event, has kicked out some fresh news at the event that might be of interest to code warriors of all stripes. Logitech G, one of the sponsors and exhibitors at the Whippering Indie Cup, is promoting the Arx Control app at its booth.
The app is designed to present a wide variety of in-game info, intel and stats on your mobile device. While any keyboard on the hardware side or mobile device on the software side is compatible, Logitech naturally does recommend its G410 Atlas Spectrum TKL mechanical gaming keyboard and the Logitech G910 Orion Spark mechanical keyboard, both of which feature an adjustable dock for mobile devices. The Arx Control app is available for download on both Android and iOS.
On the creation side, through the Arx Control SDK, developers can create customized apps to shuttle content between mobile devices and their games. Valve Software is one of the AAA developers on board to integrate Arx Control into its games. From the app creation side is where, Logitech hopes, you, the developers of the world, come in:
Today, in conjunction with its presence — and focus — at Whippering Cup, the gaming division of the well-known computer and mobile accessories company is hosting the global Arx Control Challenge as a throwdown to developers to create the best Arx Control app for a shot at $5,000 as the top prize. First, second and third places get social media exposure up the wazoo and a full set of Logitech G Gear. The contest runs December 9, 2015, to February 29, 2016.
All the Arx Control Challenge details, rules and FAQ, and more can be found at the official Arx promo page.
The Whippering Indie Cup runs through 6 p.m. December 10, 2015, at the The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco.
CES Asia 2016 will include a new exhibition called Startup Park: The Home for Startup Innovation. Some of the latest ideas and innovations from entrepreneurs will be showcased at this new addition.
Startup Park, modeled after Eureka Park Marketplace at CES in Las Vegas, will have new projects, service and ideas from startups looking to gain exposure in the Asian marketplace.
Startup Park can be found at SNIEC Hall N4. For exhibitors to participate in this area, they must meet these requirements:
Technology displayed must applicable to consumer technology.
Technology cannot already be commercially available.
The technology must be demonstrable as a prototype or software mockup; no paper/concept entries.
Participation is not limited to researchers and startups. Exhibiting organizations may have other commercial technologies as long as the technology shown in Startup Park meets these criteria
Must be a first-time exhibitor at CES Asia
CES Asia 2016 takes place May 11-13, 2016, in Shanghai.
The following is an edited press release from PAX Australia:
PAX Australia 2016 badges are now on sale and will be available at a special Christmas discount price until midnight December 24, 2015. Three-day badges sell out quickly, so registering now will ensure your place at the event.
PAX Australia is run by U.S.-based gaming company Penny Arcade in conjunction with pop culture event specialists ReedPOP. Featuring a show packed with exhibitors, freeplay gaming spaces, industry and community panels, live concerts, international speakers, and exclusive reveals, PAX Aus caters to gamers of all types and abilities, so whether you’re a novice or a seasoned pro, it truly is the highlight of any gamer’s year.
“2015 was an award-winning year for PAX Australia — with sell-out crowds and top content across all gaming spectrums,” said Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade. “2016 is shaping up to be bigger, bolder and the best year yet for PAX — so get in early with badges before they sell out.”
Events for Gamers normally covers computer and consoles game industry events but has been eager to grow into the vast board and card game industry for a while now. As its mission statement reflects, OrcaCon is a true games and geek convention that includes board and card games, role-playing games and miniatures. The inaugural event is in January 2016, and in this interview, Donna Prior talks about OrcaCon and games.
Q: OrcaCon is a cool name for an event! What does it stand for?
A: The name? It’s funny, because I’m always amused when non-Puget Sound folks ask “Why an Orca?” We’re surrounded by them up here, and we wanted to match the theme of the region.
What does OrcaCon itself stand for? Inclusivity and diversity in tabletop games. Welcoming all to the table, from brand new players to super experience tournament players. Our goal is to create a safe environment, where marginalized people are welcome and supported.
Q: What drove your team to create OrcaCon, and is it just for card/board/RPG/miniatures fans?
A: A few things really. Basically, I created the convention I have always wanted to attend. At least, I hope I have. The idea came up at another convention, where a bunch of us were talking about how we missed having a convention in Snohomish County, which is north of Seattle. There isn’t a lot of opportunity for geeky gaming and nerding between Seattle and Vancouver. We’re more affordable and approachable than the giant conventions. A more intimate environment, and we are doing our best to keep all business local, from our convention T-shirts, to the beer sold at the hotel bar.
And yes, currently OrcaCon is all analog. Board games, card games, RPGs, miniatures, CCGs and such. Basically, non-digital games.
Q: Card and board games are a huge part of our own team’s game libraries. What are some of your favorites, and will they be available to play at OrcaCon?
A: Oh, gosh. My faves change all the time, as there are lots of amazing games coming out all the time. Right now, I’m a huge fan of X-Wing Miniatures, and I plan on bringing my Warmachine miniatures. For board/card games, I’m really into Splendor, Ticket to Ride, Hanabi, and just learned how to play Lords of Waterdeep. We probably have 300+ games in our personal collection. For RPGs, am currently playing a D&D 5th Edition Forgotten Realms game, and just wrapped up a great Hunter: The Vigil game, which is transitioning to Changling: The Lost.
We’ll have heaps of games to play, both on our schedule and in our open play library. Our friends at Card Kingdom are sponsoring our Game Library, and our Play and Win is supported by The Envoy Program by Double, Exposure.
Q: The panel lineup looks great! The last one on the event’s website is “Game & Geek Events in the Pacific Northwest.” How strong is the card/board game community in the area?
A: It’s huge! The Pacific Northwest has the largest group of tabletop game companies in one area. From large companies like Wizards of the Coast and Paizo, to smaller ones like Cheapass Games and Green Ronin Publishing. There is a large indie dev crowd here, too. Plus we have distributors such as GTS. If you do a search of Meetup.com, there are game and geek meetups every night of the week. From general games groups to specialized groups such as Queer Geek Seattle, Inclusive Geekery, GeekGirlCon Social Meetups. Sometimes it is hard to pick just one game night, as there are numerous all over town. And finally, we have numerous pubs, bars, coffee houses, libraries who support game nights and geeky crafting meetups.
Q: There’s huge potential to meet a celebrity at these kind of events. Which ones can attendees expect to find at OrcaCon? Will we see any famous board game designers there?
A: Well, that’s kinda funny to those of us who work in tabletop. There are very few “famous” type people in tabletop. There are recognizable names, to be sure. Our Games Guest of Honor is Chris Pramas, CEO of Green Ronin Publishing. Our Artist Guest of Honor is Linda “Brasse” Carlson, who is not only an amazing artist and goat rancher, but the director of community at Trion Worlds. We have numerous special guests, but we have even more folks who will be doing panels, workshops and running demos of their games.
Q: How are volunteers critical in the event’s success, and what can we expect for volunteer opportunities in 2016?
A: We have a core staff of volunteers and a small group of volunteers who will be helping to keep things going smoothly. I wouldn’t be able to do all this amazing stuff if it wasn’t for their support. The leadership positions actually went very fast, because there are so many great local conventions and folks who like to run them. Most of my staff volunteers are PAX Enforcers and/or GDC Conference Associates, the cream of the crop of volunteers, as it were.
Q: What else can attendees look forward to for the inaugural event in January 2016?
A: Games. Games. Games. We’ll have some amazing panels and workshops, which you can see on our Programming page. We’ve hand-picked some fantastic artist, crafters and game retailers, which can be found on our Dealers Hall page. We’re featuring numerous local conventions, charities and other organizations in our Community Row. Finally, we are keeping things local and fresh, with the addition of Blackfish Stout, brewed by Edmonds local, Salish Sea Brewing. You’ll be able to buy this special beer, made just for OrcaCon, in the hotel bar.
Q: Thanks for letting Events for Gamers attend as guests for the full experience of OrcaCon!
A: Thanks so much for the questions and allowing me to gush over OrcaCon! We’re super stoked about our first convention and have already signed for OrcaCon 2.0, which will be focused on race and accessibility in tabletop games.
Planes, trains, buses: What do these modes of mass transit have in common? Game jams and hackathons have taken place on these vehicles, so why not on a boat, too? That’s what SPLASH 2016 aims to achieve in early 2016.
Game jams are events in which games are designed and developed in a short period of time, in this case from start to finish during a short cruise.
Over the course of two days, beginning evening February 19, 2016, in Tromsø in Norway, a Hurtigruten cruise ship will ferry dozens of game creators to the city of Trondheim by February 22, 2016. SPLASH 2016, a Norwegian game jam, will be within the Arctic Circle, so it will be a wintry experience, cutting through Nordic waters among beautiful fjords.
According to an official news release, SPLASH “is a collaboration between the two game networks, Framverk and Hamar Game Collective, with the goal of creating a more connected games industry in Norway while also strengthening their ties to the game dev scene in the rest of the world.” Nordic countries have certainly plenty of indie game development and are no stranger to game jams (i.e., the influential Nordic Game Jam).
As a matter of fact, the Norwegian game jam SPLASH team mentioned they were influenced by another mobile game jam.
“We were inspired by the Train Jam that travels every year from Chicago to San Francisco with participants for the Game Developers Conference,” said Runa Haukland with Hamar Game Collective, one of the organizers of SPLASH.
Such a distinctive venue for a unique sort of a game jam is bound to get attention, and so far, SPLASH certainly has. According to Henriette Myrlund, SPLASH organizer and project manager at Framverk, all available tickets — going to 100 participants from 19 nationalities — sold out in a span of 10 minutes when they went on sale December 3, 2015. Also helping to spur tickets sales are subsidized cruise ship tickets; attendees pay $90 for an experience organizers estimate at $450. However, participants will be responsible for transit to and from the start and finish of the location.
Currently, a wait list is online for additional interested potential game jammers. Organizers say that with additional sponsors, more may be able to attend.
Events for Gamers will be sure to follow developments and news from the SPLASH game jam camp.
It’s usually a good sign for an event organizer when their event grows year over year. With Gen Con, which saw a unique attendance in 2015 of more than 61,000 attendees and almost 197,000 overall visits (turnstile attendance), the event has grown for six years straight and a more than doubling in attendance since 2010. Figuring out how to host a lot of attendees, exhibitors and live events in one space is a challenge. The solution? Organizers have decided that next year, Gen Con 2016 expands to Lucas Oil Stadium.
Lucas Oil Stadium is the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The stadium connects via a walkway to the Indiana Convention Center, where Gen Con has been traditionally.
From the official announcement, Adrian Swartout, Gen Con CEO and owner said: “Gen Con has grown to host nearly 200,000 turnstile attendees, and it is evident that we have to accelerate our growth plans to meet attendee, exhibitor and event organizer demand. Expansion into Lucas Oil Stadium allows Gen Con to keep offering more gaming, exhibition and entertainment options each year.”
One of the events to be moved to the stadium is True Dungeon, a popular staple at Gen Con. It is a live action role-playing, dungeon-crawl experience, with atmospheric locations and immersive, intensive live-action gaming. One of the benefits of the change in location, according to the True Dungeon organizers, is “tak(ing) advantage of a massive dividing wall to completely isolate the darker adventure area from the brighter lit (and more noisy) coaching area. The better control of light and sound ‘pollution’ will greatly aid us in providing a better lit coaching room experience while keeping the adventure areas more dramatically lit.”
The relocation, apparently, will equate to about the same distance from the Gen Con expo hall, as it was in 2015.
More news will be announced in the coming months about other Gen Con events being hosted or relocated to Lucas Oil Stadium.
One by one, Wargaming.net’s “World of Tanks” has taken on most of the major games platforms. The popular tank combat massively multiplayer online (MMO) game began life on the PC, moved to mobile and Xbox 360 in 2014, and most recently, the Xbox One this summer. Next up: the PlayStation 4, on the way for 2016. Each of these major roll-outs was led by a big bash to celebrate the game’s arrival on the new platform, and by extension, the community. This time is no different as Wargaming.net will be hosting a launch party for “World of Tanks” on PS4. More on the party in a minute, after a few details about the game.
On the platform-focused side, look for Dualshock 4 controller support, share play, PS Vita remote play, live streaming, free-to-play for PlayStation Account holders and more. On the custom content side, new maps, skins and more. PlayStation Plus members will have access to further new content and deals. For the more otaku fans of tanks and anime, there will even be exclusive Girls und Panzer content and themes at launch.
Taking place in San Francisco, The World of Tanks PlayStation 4 Party promises open beta gaming of the PS4 version of “World of Tanks,” food, drinks and giveaways with the developers.
As timing goes, it’s logical this launch party will take place on the eve of the PlayStation Experience 2015 event, which will be December 5-6, 2016, in San Francisco.
To register for the launch party for “World of Tanks” on PS4, swing by and visit the official sign-up page. Keep in mind that even if you sign up and are able to go, only the first 150 folks attending will be allowed in.
Events for Gamers normally covers computer and consoles game industry events but has been eager to grow into the vast board and card game industry for a while now. As its mission statement reflects, 
