TooManyGames 2011 Gaming Convention

OAKS, February 24, 2011:  Video games are a 10 billion dollar industry catering to tens millions of people all over the world.  Who doesn’t love to spend some of their free time shooting zombies, bopping baddies on the head, or hurling cartoon birds through brick walls?  Video games are an entertainment device which have touched everyone’s lives in one way or another.

Pennsylvania is like any other area of the world, its citizens love video games, and they celebrate their love by flocking to the annual video game convention assembled by TooManyGames.  This year’s event is an 80,000 square foot powerhouse of gaming excitement!  Hosted over the three days of May 6 ^th-8 ^th, 2011 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania, it’s the largest gaming event Pennsylvania has ever seen.

Each year TooManyGames has brought together the largest video game marketplace in the Eastern United States.  This year’s marketplace is expanded to 18,000 square feet in order to accommodate the dozens of merchants who come to TooManyGames to make available gaming wares of all types.  New and used games are available for purchase, rare historical gaming pieces are available for collectors to add to their trophy cases, video game inspired arts and crafts are on display and available for anyone to add to their home and office décor, plus those rare artifacts you simply won’t find anywhere else.

Music adds such a layer of atmosphere to video games, what would Super Mario Bros. or Halo been like without a musical score?  In 2011 TooManyGames will be providing concerts all throughout the weekend featuring video game inspired performances by acts like George & Jonathan, X Hunters, Arm Cannon, Chipocrite, and more.  The bands will have CDs available to purchase so everyone can take some great video game music home with them.

“We have some AWESOME musical performances lined up.  This will be a concert like no other!” boasts Paul Truitt, TooManyGames’ Director of Live Entertainment.

New features this year include TooManyGames’ first computer LAN party, sponsored and hosted by The GXL.  This will be one of the largest LAN parties on the east coast, encompassing 20,000 square feet the LAN party will accommodate up to 400 players and run non-stop from Friday evening through Sunday evening.

Perhaps this year’s most exciting addition is a collaborative effort with the Philadelphia chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).  TooManyGames and the IGDA have partnered to host Philly’s annual Game Jam event.  Dozens of game development teams from all over the USA will assemble at TooManyGames to spend 48 hours designing and developing brand new games.  Games will be judged and prizes will be awarded to the top development teams.

“We’re so excited to work with the IGDA.” Says TooManyGames founder, Charles Whitby. “We’ve been looking for a way to incorporate game developers with TooManyGames and this is the perfect opportunity for them to showcase their amazing talents to a crowd of excited gamers.”

In addition to the Philly Game Jam, TooManyGames is opening up its exhibition floor to any game development companies who are looking for an inexpensive way to promote their upcoming games.  8’x8’ vendor stalls will be made available at no charge so TooManyGames can help small independent game studios gain more exposure for new games their studios are working on.  The only catch being that a playable demo of the game must be available for show attendees to play throughout the weekend.  These Indie Game Showcase spots are limited and are sure to book quickly so if your development team is interested in exhibiting at TooManyGames you’ll need to contact Charles Whitby soon!

TooManyGames will be the first place where chiptune artists and aspiring musicians can purchase the brand new NESK-1 cartridge for the original Nintendo Entertainment System.  This cartridge allows for the creation of musical arrangements using only your NES and its controllers!  The first such cartridge made available for the old school NES!

Other convention staples will return:

·         Tournaments and Contests

·         Raffles

·         Discussion Panels and Demonstrations

·         Video and Movie Room

·         Anime

·         Costume Competition

·         Open Play Console Area

·         Arcade Games

It’s a great time to be a gamer, and this year’s TooManyGames plans to show the world just what gaming is all about!