Heads up gamers. Too Many Games, the gaming convention that takes over the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks every year, is back for another fabulous weekend of games, vendors, artists, music, and networking.

The annual expo takes place the weekend of May 6th, and fill an 80,000 square foot space full of gaming goodness. Not to be confused with a traditional gaming convention, Too Many Games brings a ton of vendors hocking rare and unusual wares normally not found at other cons. Rummagers and collectors, take note. This is where you want to be.

Other highlights include chiptune artists George & Jonathan, X Hunters, Arm Cannon, and Geekadelphia favorite, Chipocrite performing over the course of the weekend, and one of the largest LAN parties on the East Coast, sponsored and hosted by GXL.

Tournaments, contests, raffles, panels, movie screenings, cosplay competition, arcade games… there’s a ton going on, too much to highlight in one post. So please, head over to Too Many Games’ official website, to get more details.

We’ll see you there.

Too Many Games
May 6th – 8th, 2011
www.toomanygames.com

Excited con-goers wait to get in at Zenkaikon 2010

Break out your sailor fuku and your cat ears! Our favorite local Philadelphia anime convention Zenkaikon is back for another weekend of panels, guests and cosplay!

It’s hard to believe this is only the con’s 5th year in existence. I fondly remember the days when the entire convention was held in two tiny hallways.

Zenkaikon has since grown into quite the affair, bursting out of those two narrow hallways and taking over most of the Valley Forge Scanticon Hotel in King of Prussia. Zenkaikon was a great time last year, despite some of the overcrowding issues. And as the convention has proved year after year, it can only get better.

Shopping away at Zenkaikon

The convention will run this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 18th to the 20th. The con will feature guests like voice acting  extraordinaires Vic Mignogna and Todd Haberkorn with musical guests Gelatine and Rose Noire.

Registration is a mere $55 for the entire weekend, $25 for Friday and Sunday and $35 for Saturday at the door. Get there early whichever day you plan to arrive so you have plenty of time to register.

See you there!

Zenkaikon 2011
March 18th – 20th
www.zenkaikon.com

Scanticon Valley Forge Hotel
1210 1st Avenue, King of Prussia, PA 19406
(610) 265-1500
www.scanticonvalleyforge.com

Am I geeking out over an electric car? I do believe I am.

While I’d gladly run on dino juice until the Triceratops come home, times are a-changing. Straight out of Motor City, General Motors is rolling out the highly-anticipated Chevy Volt. Having already been named 2011 North American Car of the Year, it’s finally here: the industry’s first E-REV (extended-range electric vehicle).

What does that mean exactly? Well, it runs on pure electric power and its small 1.4-liter gasoline engine can generate real-time energy to keep it going when the charge in the car’s primary battery is depleted.

This difference separates it from conventional hybrids, as running on electric power is its primary purpose. According to GM, the Volt has a range of about 25-50mi on electric power alone. Using the battery power first, and then electricity generated by the on-board gasoline-power generator nets in a very respectable range of about 340mi. In more common terms, this boils down to 93mpg equivalent in all-electric mode, 37mpg in gasoline-only mode with an overall fuel economy rating of 60mpg combined.

Fun fact: the car’s primary power source weighs over 400lbs and comes in the form of a T-shaped lithium-ion battery pack that sits low in the rear of the car. The low center of gravity this creates reportedly gives the Volt some impressive handling for what one would normally expect from an economy car. Good handling would be great to pair with its 149-horsepower engine with a comparatively-whopping 273 lb-ft of torque.

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The Too Many Games convention is almost here, bringing with it some fun competitions, awesome musical guests, and an epic sale of sweet gaming swag. It’s the 10th convention in a row, and it hits Sunday, September 19th, at the Crowne Plaza Reading Hotel in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

This year, Too Many Games is sponsored, in part, by NYKO. The 3rd party peripheral manufacturer is hosting a gaming tournament… involving The Conduit. Strange choice for a title, but meh. You kids have fun.

They’ve also got some outstanding musical guests lined up, including Geekadelphia favorites Animal Style and Chipocrite. Other guests include Ro-bear, X-Hunters, and JJ Demon.

For updates on the go, you can follow Too Many Games on Twitter. For more info on the convention, visit Too Many Games’ official website. Happy conning.

Too Many Games
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
www.toomanygames.com

Megaman gets all the ladies!

Like I said yesterday, I attended Otakon in Baltimore, Maryland. And an anime convention only means one thing… a cosplay Flickr slideshow for you Geekadelphians!

If there is one thing I love more than attending cons, it’s taking pics of great cosplay, and I hope you enjoy some of my favorites at the con.

While I might have shied away from the countless guys cosplaying as the guy from the Old Spice commercials, I did manage to get some other great photo ops of some other interesting costumes as well.

Enjoy!

Next weekend, anime and gaming geeks will descend upon Center City for a weekend of fun at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. Inochicon 2010 takes over the Market East hotel from August 27th to the 29th. For a full list of events, panels, and artists participating, visit Inochicon’s official website.

Our good friends, the Pennsylvania Jedi, will be at Inochicon as a featured guest, and we highly recommend saying hello. Visitors to their events can expect light saber stage combat courses, costume creation lessons, and fun activities circulating around character names, back-stories, and choreography.

A three day pass to the convention will run you $50, with door tickets priced at $20 for Saturday and Sunday, $10 for Friday. Sure, this doesn’t save you anything, but I suppose that’s a good thing. You won’t have to worry about wasting money at the crown jewel of Center City, The Gallery at Market East.

For more details, visit Inochicon’s official website. Hat tip to our gal Nicole Brewer for the tip. Thanks NB.

Inochicon
August 27th – 29th, 2010
www.inochicon.com

Last week I was lucky enough to have been invited to attend the Otakon Anime Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. Now having gone to Otakon as my first convention back in 1997, before I seriously began to delve in the bowels of fandom; it was interesting returning to the scene of the crime over 10 years later to see how the con and fandom had changed over the last decade.

For an industry in the death throes thanks to illegal downloading and file sharing, the convention circuit associated with anime and manga keeps  turning in record numbers year after year. This is probably due to the camaraderie the attendees gain from being in such a niche group of fandom.

This con continues to grow year after year, and for good reason too. Otakon is a well-oiled machine of a convention. Even before I stepped into the convention hall, their press department was already making sure I would have all the resources available to me as I saw fit to cover the con for Geekadelphia.

More after the Jump!

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William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy might be two of the most recognizable people from all of Star Trek, but Jeri Ryan isn’t too far behind them. Okay, you may not know her name right off the bat, but I’m sure you recognize the blonde bombshell Borg pictured above. Yeah, that’s her. Eyes back on the article now please. Thank you.

Anyway, Jeri Ryan, who played 7 of 9 on Star Trek: Voyager, is making a rather rare appearance at this year’s Official East Coast Star Trek Convention. It is being held at the Hilton Parsippany, in Parsippany, New Jersey on August 13 – 15. I know it is a bit of a hike from Philly, but totally worth it if you consider yourself a Trekkie, and it is a “must attend” event if you consider yourself a Voyager fan.

More after the jump!

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Johnny Zito and Tony Trov

We had the chance briefly catch up with our friends Tony Trov and Johnny Zito, two Philadelphia comic book writers and indie film makers. You might recall their awesome work on Fiesta Day, the short film for our Fiesta Movement that we premiered with a free Prince of Persia screening.

They’ve just returned from SDCC 2010 and we had a chance to talk to them about their experience.

So, what are you guys currently working on in the wide-world of comic book writing?
JZ: Moon Girl Fights Crime is kicking ass and we just released Carnival De Robotique during Comic Con. Download the (FREE) Comixology app [iTunes store link] and Check them out!
TT: DC Comics is releasing LaMorte Sisters and Black Cherry Bombshells on their App later in the month. We also have another title in the works called D.O.G.S. of Mars. Stay tuned for more about that.

Every summer it seems like you guys have gone on yet another SoCal, SDCC adventure. How many times have you guys gone out at this point?
TT: This is the third year in a row we’ve taken the pilgrimage.
JZ: We’re always in a Comic Con state of mind.

How do you think 2010 compared to the first time you guys went?
TT: Every year is more ridiculous than the last. Anything can happen; don’t turn your back on Comic Con for a minute!
JZ: The geek community is emensely diverse and every year you can see a new niche being welcomed with open arms.

What was the newest/most exciting thing about SDCC this year?
TT: Scott Pilgrim was everywhere. It by far dominated the convention. Everyone was really hyped for the new film and the latest graphic novel.
JZ: The beautiful, young ladies dressed as Jackie O.

Read more after the jump!

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Otakon, one of the biggest and longest running anime conventions on the East Coast, descends upon our neighbors in Baltimore this weekend, visiting the Baltimore Convention Center Friday through Sunday, July 30th through August 1st.

Otakon was my first convention back in 1997 and I’ve attended it semi-regularly ever since! If you have never been Otakon, it’s comparable to the DragonCon of anime, convention-size wise. The convention is very well attended, to the point they often cap attendees during the con at some point during the weekend; so I would show up early Friday or Saturday morning if you haven’t pre-reg’ed. Registration for the con is about $75 for a weekend pass per person, which isn’t cheap… but I think with this con, you definitely get your money’s worth.

Otakon is also well know for being one of the few cons in America to regularly get Japanese anime industry guests and musical acts, which is no small feat. This year’s guest roster includes Masashi Ishihama (Animation Director The Girl Who Lept Through Time), Hiroshi Koujina (Director of Rainbow), Koji Masunari (Director of Read or Die), Masao Maruyama (founder of Studio Madhouse) and English voice acting favorite Vic Minogna (Eric in Fullmetal Alchemist and many, many others). I think though I am probably most excited to see Amy Howard Wilson, whom you old-timers out there might recognize from her voice acting role as Nova in Star Blazers.

I will be covering the con for Geekadelphia so expect a big Flickr pool, and possibly a few videos as well. If you plan on attending and want to meet up, feel free to drop me an @ on twitter to @danthefan I will be there Saturday and Sunday. See ya there!

Otakon
www.otakon.com

John de Lancie is a familiar face to most Star Trek fans, having played Q, one of the franchise’s most legendary guest characters across three different Star Trek series.

He recently made an appearance at Wizard World Philly 2010, along with several other Star Trek actors, one of which was his son, Keegan de Lancie. Keegan played the son of Q on Star Trek: Voyager, and took the stage with his father during a Q&A session on Saturday of the convention.

What many fans may not realize is that Keegan made a radical departure from his days of wearing a Starfleet uniform and pestering Voyager’s crew. After attending college at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and going to Jordan on a Fulbright Scholarship to study Iraqi refugees, he ended up working for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency.

Geekadelphia had a chance to talk with Keegan for a few minutes on Sunday of the convention. A transcript is below, after the jump!

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When I came to pick up my press pass at the Philadelphia Comic Con Friday before I headed over to The Troc, the con seemed a little slower than last year’s, which was to be expected with the current economic climate. But when I returned to the con Saturday it was a much different story altogether. Right from the start the con was bursting at the seams and teaming with cosplaying superheroes and villains alike, with the rumor of a 40% increase over last year’s attendance.

It was hard not to overhear various con goers comparing the lines to get inside and to get into panels to Dragoncon’s. There was a 2 block wait just to get in the door, and then you had to wait another hour or two if you simply didn’t pre-register. I got quite a few messages on Saturday during our TweetUp from people who couldn’t attend because they understandably had already invested 2 hours waiting in line and didn’t want to lose their spot.

Once inside the con, the Dealer’s room was the place to be for photo opts. There were some great costumes, and everyone was more than happy to get their hero-pose-on for a pic or two. While I have to admit the panel pickings, which mainly consisted of Q&A’s were slim; people didn’t seem to be there for panels. Judging by the schedule, the con almost seemed to have scaled back it’s programming this year, not expecting the crowds that arrived by the trainload Saturday for a day at the con.

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