New York Anime Festival’s MMO Showcase

Image from http://us.wcg.com/

This weekend, starting Friday the 25th of September, marks the opening of the New York Anime Festival at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. The festival will be ripe with all things Japanese, from cosplayers to Anime to video games, MMOs included.

According to the NY Anime Festival website, of particular interest is the Japanese and Korean MMO games panel, held on Saturday, September 26th, from 6:30 to 7:30 of that evening, in Panel Room 3 – 1A22.

Gaia Online will also have a panel, on Saturday, September 26th. From 5:30 to 6:30 in Panel Room 4 – 1A21, the game founders will be discussing the latest improvements in the MMO, and have a Q&A session afterwards

What’s more, the World Cyber Games (WCG) USA National Finals tournament is being held alongside the Anime festival. From Friday the 25th to Sunday the 27th, the World Cyber Gaming elite will compete for a chance to win their share of $100,000 in cash and prizes. They will be competing in 10 different games, and according to the NY Anime Website those are:

• Counter-Strike 1.6 (5 v. 5 Team First Person Shooter )
• StarCraft: Brood War (1 v. 1 Real Time Strategy)
• Warcraft III (1 v. 1 Real Time Strategy)
• FIFA Soccer 09 (1 v. 1 Sports)
• Carom3D (1 v. 1 Casual)
• Gears of War 2 (4 v. 4 Team First Person Shooter ) USA title only
• Guitar Hero World Tour (1 v. 1 Music)
• Virtua Fighter 5 (1 v. 1 Fighting)
• Asphalt 4: Elite Racing (1 v. 1 Racing)
• Wise Star 2 (1 v. 1 Strategy)

Alongside the opening and closing ceremonies, the actual competitions are not to be missed. Nor should one miss the open arcades, walk-up tournaments, and WCG Ultimate Gamer reality show cast appearances (NY Anime Festival).

The prospect of learning about upcoming online MMO’s, participating in gaming tournaments, and just having fun might be too much for some to pass up, (myself included). Tickets are still on sale for the Anime Festival. This writer will also be attending the Festival, so stay tuned for updates this weekend!