It’s that time of year again for all you hardcore, or even n00b, comic fans! It’s San Diego Comic Con! Only less than a month away and you can feel the rush in the geekdom air to get the costumes and schedules laid out. Mad money has been saved for months to end up clearing out a vendor or two.

SDCC has quickly grown into a media frenzy in the past four years and looks like there is no slowing down. The convention can be quite overwhelming for newcomers and veterans alike. With that said, it’s good to have a game plan before you attend. So here are some helpful hints to get you through this yearly event or any convention that you might attend. And please don’t hesitate to inform us of some of your own!

1. Badges! YES, you do need those stinkin’ badges!

N00b or veteran, Please register early! The SDCC sold out last year and it looks no different this year. Can you imagion the convention still packed on Sunday!? If you are trying to still get a badge or two for this years event, you might be able to bid on some on Ebay. There are still some badges for single days left! If not, try and get those badges for ‘09 as soon as they go on sale at www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_reg.shtml.

2. Find a Save Point!

In other words, find a place to stay in San Diego early. The majority of the hotels, motels, and even bed and breakfeasts sell out for the whole Comic Con weekend! If you do have trouble, see if you can share a room with a couple of friends who have got one or book a hotel outside of San Diego and plan on taking public transportation to the convention center.

3. Early Bird gets the Worm

Yes, arrive early to pick up those stinkin’ badges and for the rest of the weekend. It helps when you want to get to everything you would like to get to. That goes for anything from exclusive previews, Q&A’s, costume contests, signings and even gaming events.

4. Bring your own supplies!

Bring a pen, sketch books, poster tubes, SHARPIES!! (I always forget those) Even a bottle or two of some water. Yes, a bottle of water won’t hurt to keep yourself hydrated. The convention center can and will get very packed, very quickly in the hot San Diego summer, especially if you are waiting on lines outside.

5. Stratigize

If you are going for one day or all four, take a look at the scheduling online at http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_prog.shtml and try and plan out what events you would like to hit. Once there take a look at the Events Guide you will receive when you get your badge and adjust anything you would like to do and see. David Glanzer of Comic Con marketing and public relations says, “The bigger the events require longer lines, sometimes waiting in line for hours. If you don’t plan ahead, you’ll miss everything but the basics.”

To basically celebrate the release of the highly anticipated PC title coming out later this year, SPORE, EA and their (smart) marketing team came up with a great way to not only spread the word about the game, but to also do something good for the community in the process.

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The annual statistics generated by the video-game industry are staggering in their growth. According to the NPD Group, in the United States alone, almost $18 billion was generated by the video-game industry in 2007. The number represents a 43-percent jump in sales from 2006. While the current-generation console war played a large part in the increase of revenue this past year, it is impossible to deny that the industry is growing – fast.

Last year was a record year for blockbuster releases. As technology improves, games become more expansive, stories more involved and the time investment into games by both developers and players follows the trend upward. Trying to keep up with the newest titles sometimes makes gaming feel more like a full-time job than a hobby. The question remains: In a market full to the point of supersaturation with endless gameplay options, why do we still replay games? It certainly is not for lack of titles, genres or outlets for gaming. Even with a healthy portion of newly released games on my plate… even I sometimes succumb to the call of games from my past.

It turns out, there are plenty of motives to replay games. With reasons spanning from financial limitations to quelling nostalgic urges, it seems these days the average gamer’s collection doesn’t stay put long enough to collect dust.

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That’s right folks. According to the Hollywood Reporter (and to the dismay of those who bought theirs at the original launch price) consumers could be seeing a $50 price cut for the 20GB Xbox 360 model within the coming weeks. This latest slash in price will bring this particular bundle to the new low price of……$299. Yeah.

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There are TONS of awesome sites out there were you can find kickass gamer shirts and accessories, but you can’t find shoes and earrings like the ones I am about to show you at just any old gamer apparel store. There are one-of-a-kind crazy gamer clothing, and I am loving them!

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The buzz is on Blizzard yet again about all the stuff they have in store for us within the next few years. Blizzard very recently placed a new splash screen on their main website. With the Paris Invitational around the corner I’d be willing to bet that we will hear more about this soon. Some say it’s an indication of Diablo III anouncement, others claim it’s from Wraith of the Lich King and more claim that it’s StarCraft II excitement.

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An amazing compilation of characters found in the Legend of Zelda Universe by mv1008

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It has been a rumor for quite sometime now that possibly we might see in the future some Beatles music appearing in Rock Band and/or Guitar Hero games. This rumor seems to be picking up speed and actually getting some truth behind it. Activision and MTV Games are in talks with Apple Corps (the company created by the Beatles to oversee all of their music and videos rights) to get these rock gods into their games.

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When you think about today’s modern sport stars of the world, you probably think of individuals like Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, Tiger Woods, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Eli Manning, right? If you’re any type of sports fan living in America, you’ve heard of every single one of those names at some point in the past few years whether you cared to or not. However, what about Kaká? Ever hear of Sergio Ramos? What about Gianluigi Buffon? Do any of these ring a bell? If your like majority of the folks that live in the States, these names probably don’t mean anything to you. To the rest of the world? These men are living icons.

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Japan has lost an angel on June 18, 2008. (more…)