Comic-con Recap

Comic-con was the analysis of the biggest comic book and licensed video games coming out late this year to early next year. 

It has become a tradition that every year nerds fly south for the summer in order to attend what is now the biggest annual pop-culture convention around: the San Diego Comic-Con. Not only a convention for comics anymore, movie studios like Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Sony trumpet their wares, brandishing big-name stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Nicolas Cage and that old guy from the Saw movies. Of course, Nintendojo wouldn’t be there if there weren’t for a video game presence; lucky for us (and you) that this year video games and Nintendo are a part of Comic-Con more than ever.

So it’s up to me, your faithful staff-writer-cum-roving-reporter, to explain to those sitting on their couches at home about the phenom of The Con. Over the weekend I’ll be making daily updates; reporting on games, culture, and of course, everything Nintendo. And if the boss will let me, I might just pass on the latest info about hotly-anticipated flicks like Spider-Man 3 and Snakes on a Plane. There’s four and a half days to get through, so let’s start, shall we?

Wednesday

Early birds who get to The Con the night before it officially starts have a 1-up over everyone else. Not only do they get to complete registration and receive badges for entry so no time is wasted navigating the crowds on Thursday, but the grand Exhibit Hall is open for three hours for a special Preview Night event. Being the smart cookie I am, I jumped at the chance to mentally map out all the big booths and desirable attractions.

Did I say big booths? I meant gigantic. Perhaps “gi-normous” would be appropriate. Huge posters cascade down twenty feet, accompanied by larger-than-life replicas of castles and superheroes. These displays serve as a sort of guide to those who are first stepping into the hall; while they are obviously meant to attract show-goers to their corresponding booths, they also serve as navigation tools for where to go next.

A full-fledged tour, including browsing all the booths and going down every aisle, would literally take hours in the mammoth Convention Center. I know this because I tried hitting everything and grabbing all the free stuff I could get, only to realize later that two and a half hours had passed and I hadn’t played a single game! I rectified that with a solid run-through of the DS’ new Castlevania (full hands-on preview to come soon), and then I was ushered outside. I got to bed relatively early, with the sounds of The Mighty Ducks 2 on cable as my lullaby. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.

Thursday

The first day of Comic-Con is an unwieldy behemoth. Con vets and newbies collide, creating massive friction as everyone tries to make their way around the Exhibit Hall. To make it even worse, the majority of big panels take place on Friday and Saturday, making Thursday most attendees’ designated roam-the-floor day. I hadn’t gotten the chance to explore everything the night before, so I trekked around the hall, this time with video games in mind.

My first stop was the Capcom booth; I was eager to play the Phoenix Wright sequel the night before, but was foiled by a pimple-adorned youth. As I giddily approached the empty DS station, I was shocked to find that there were but only two kiosks for the system in total (one for Phoenix, the other for Mega Man ZX). Their heavily favored and admittedly delectable array of PSP games were shown on big widescreen displays, but Capcom didn’t even spring for DS Lites for their demos. It’s a shame, but I couldn’t bring myself to complain about getting to play the follow-up to my favorite lawyer game of all time. As before, expect a hands-on report in the coming days.

Later that day, D3 was kind enough to whisk me away to the lovely Red Pearl Kitchen, where I got to enjoy great food and atmosphere, and began to sound like a commercial thereafter. Really though, it was a fun time. Besides getting to play the new Naruto games for the GameCube and GBA (again, hands-on impressions coming soon), I had the privilege to meet fellow members of the gaming press, which was pretty much a first for me. While there were a few, shall we say, fuddy-duddies in attendance, most were very friendly, and I had a great time clobbering all of them in Clash of Ninja 2.

Before I knew it, time was up, and I made my way back to The Con, which was now closed. I caught a free screening of Monster House in 3D before heading home– great family movie, by the way– and then slaved away at the behest of my almighty editors.

Thursday was jam-packed full of incredibleness, and the great thing is that it will only get better tomorrow.

Friday

The start of the weekend is what really kicks off Comic-Con. Those who played hookie from work the day before are liable to cave in for Friday’s shows. With the huge amount of panels peppered with big-name stars, it’s hard to blame them.

I chose the Hollywood route, and headed for the aptly-named Hall H. This intensely huge room has a capacity of over 6,500 people, and is usually filled to the brim at all times. Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal and New Line Cinema all had movies to show and I made sure I was there for several.

Hilary Swank took the stage to promote her new movie The Reaping, which looks a bit like The Omen set in Louisiana. Afterwards, director Bryan Singer took feedback on the recently-released Superman Returns, with some help from the man who helmed the original Superman movie (not to mention The Goonies), Richard Donner.

It seemed as though Fox’s intent was to offend as many people as possible while making them laugh hysterically at the same time. Succeeding in this task were the cast of Reno 911! and Borat, all of which showed up in costume and character. Borat in particular showed a clip from the film that scarred my eyes forever. If you ever get to see it (comes out in November), you’ll know exactly why.

I took a breather from Tinsel Town by heading over to Nintendo’s booth. While disappointingly Wii-less, it was still an impressive display. Dozens of paired screens lined up next to each other like a fanned deck of cards, each one featuring a playable DS demo.

Mainstream hits already on shelves like Nintendogs and New Super Mario Bros. were featured prominently, along with upcoming titles like Mario Basketball 3 on 3 and Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam. It was difficult to find an unoccupied station, but it wasn’t suprising, considering the day.

I got back to Hall H just in time to see footage from the truly amazing-looking Clive Owen sci-fi thriller, Children of Men. And finally, after sitting through some blowhard’s presentation on Star Wars and how George Lucas is not ripping off fans with the new DVD set, it was time.

Snakes. On. A. Plane. Sam Jackson was right there to promote it, and fired off his favorite four-letter word with great frequency, much to the delight of the audience. Not only was he receptive to the fans who have basically built this movie over the internet, but the whole presentation itself was made as one big Thank You to fans.

Many complain that The Con has become too commercialized, that the focus is being taken away from comics and onto movies and video games. While this is true, I believe that the spirit has remained the same; publishers, developers and producers know that Comic-Con is important because their audience attends it. By catering to fans at the show, they can strengthen their relationship with their consumers, which benefits both parties. I’m not saying that I necessarily like Spike TV having a booth to themselves, but as long as the fans keep coming, the heart of Comic-Con will remain unchanged.

http://www.nintendojo.com/editorials/view_item.php?1153699018

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