“Our historic groundbreaking first show ever was at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles back in 2005 so it’s pretty cool that this milestone is taking place in the same city where it all started,” said Video Games Live creator, host and executive producer Tommy Tallarico. (You’ll be able to meet him after the show.)  “Having so many talented game composers coming out to support us and to be a part of this special show not only means a lot to me, but to the fans as well.  It’s going to be an incredible night to remember.”

This show will include a few classics, but it’ll also be the place to see a few premieres…here’s a full list of the goings-on from the VGL website.

The show in Los Angeles will include the following performances…

The live music World Premiere of the award winning song “Invincible” from Warcraft®: Cataclysm™ with Blizzard composer and audio director Russell Brower conducting.

The World Premiere of the music from Resident Evil® 5 conducted and orchestrated by Award Winning composer Wataru Hokoyama.

The Grammy Award Winning Civilization IV conducted live for the first time by composer Christopher Tin and featuring PBS Special vocalist Kendrew Heriveaux.

The World Premiere of the Award Winning music from Red Dead Redemption™ featuring composer Bill Elm on guitar.

Street Fighter® II featuring Video Games Live creator and world renowned game composer Tommy Tallarico on guitar.

New Guitar Hero™ competition featuring the Foo Fighters Grammy Award winning song “The Pretender”.  Pre-show festival winner to appear and perform on stage with the symphony.

The music of Castlevania® featuring original Castlevania composer Kinuyo Yamashita on organ.

The music of Chrono Trigger™ and Chrono Cross™ with composer Yasunori Mitsuda in attendance, on stage and taking part in the post show meet & greet.

Heroes of Might & Magic® segment with composer Rob King including music from the yet-to-be-released Might & Magic® Heroes® VI.

The L.A. Premiere of Halo®: Reach by Award Winning franchise composers Marty O’Donnell and Mike Salvatori.

The “Video Game Pianist” Martin Leung performing brand new solo piano arrangements from Final Fantasy® and Mario™ including the World Premiere of a brand new internationally published Zelda™ segment.

The video game rock band “The Megas” performing their popular hits from Mega Man® 2 & 3.

Award winning and renowned film composer John Debney (The Passion of the Christ, Sin City, Iron Man 2, Spider-Man 2 & 3) conducting his music from Sony Computer Entertainments’ Lair video game.

Metal Gear Solid® 3: Snake Eater featuring vocalist Laura “Flute Link” Intravia.

Music from the yet to be released MMORTS End of Nations™ featuring industry veteran composer Frank Klepacki (Command & Conquer) on guitar.

The L.A. Premiere of the Tetris® Opera featuring award winning international vocal soloists.

Jonathan Coulton’s Award Winning “Still Alive” from Portal™.

…and many other surprises!

Post Show Meet & Greet (FREE to all ticket holders) includes…

Tommy Tallarico (Earthworm Jim, Metroid Prime, Advent Rising)
Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Xenogears)
Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill)
Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka (Metroid, Duck Hunt, Tetris, Pokemon)
Russell Brower (World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III)
Kinuyo Yamashita (Castlevania, Mega Man X3, Power Blade)
Marty O’Donnell (Halo series)
Wataru Hokoyama (Resident Evil 5, Ace Combat X2, Afrika)
Christopher Tin (Civilization IV, 1st video game Grammy Award Winner)
Frank Klepacki (Command & Conquer series, End of Nations)
John Debney (The Passion of the Crist, Sin City, Lair)
Richard Jacques (James Bond 007: Blood Stone, Mass Effect, Little Big Planet 2)
Gerard Marino (God of War series)
Christopher Lennertz (Warhawk, Medal of Honor, The Simpsons)
Joe Trapanese (Tron Legacy – Film Arranger/Orchestrator)
Bill Elm (Red Dead Redemption)
Neal Acre (World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Stargate Atlantis)
Rob King (Heroes of Might & Magic series, Fable II)
Jon Van Canegham (game designer/creator/director Heroes of Might & Magic series)
Laura Karpman (Everquest II, Kung Fu Panda 2)Sean Murray (Call of Duty: Black-Ops, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Penka Kouneva (Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands)
Tim Wynn (Warhawk, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Red Faction)
Arthur Inasi (Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Central)
Mike Rubino (Pac-Man World Rally, Jaws Unleashed, Line Rider)
Martin Leung (The Video Game Pianist)
Laura Intravia (Flute Link)
Kendrew Heriveaux (PBS Special vocalist)

…and MORE SECRET SURPRISE GUESTS TO BE REVEALED AT THE PERFORMANCE!

 

It’s a music nerd’s dream, really. Kind of makes me sad I won’t be there. But if you are, let us know how it is, okay?

The Entertainment Software Association announced today that next year’s E3 will be at the LA Convention Center from June 7-9, 2011.

This year’s event had over 45,000 attendees and 300 exhibitors over the course of the three-day expo, so you can expect similar participation at next year’s event.

“E3 Expo is the global stage for the interactive entertainment industry, and the 2010 show was reflective of our innovation, growth and vitality,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, the trade association that represents U.S. computer and video game publishers and owns the E3 Expo. “We are thrilled by the positive news generated by this year’s show, and we are looking forward to building on this great momentum for 2011.”

The top finalist games will be chosen by a jury consisting of internationally-renowned game designers (and others in the game industry). The festival program itself also features artist presentations and talks as well as previews of new works, so even if you’re not a developer, you can have a great time at IndieCade (and maybe even learn something, too). Even better for games industry folks: A series of networking events. If you’re going (or entering!) let us know in the comments!

IndieCade 2010 Events:

IndieCade Europe, Gamecity UK, October 26-31, 2010

Call for Submissions:

IndieCade invites independent game artists, creators, and designers from around the world to submit interactive media of all types – from art to commercial, ARG to abstract, mind-bending to mobile, serious to shooter – for consideration.. Work-in-progress is encouraged.

A diverse jury of industry leaders will select entries for top prizes at the IndieCade 2010 Festival. All entries for the Festival will also receive consideration for presentation at the other 2010 IndieCade international exhibitions including E3 and IndieCade Europe.

Submissions Deadline: June 1, 2010 at Midnight PST.

For more information and to enter: www.IndieCade.com.

The early access to the beta (through www.lostplanetcommunity.com and various blogs) started yesterday, and this promotion is running until May 5.

Capcom is also holding a pre-launch party in Los Angeles on May 6 to celebrate Lost Planet 2′s May 11 release. If you can make it, an invite list is being set up on a first-come, first-served basis at www.capcom-unity.com later this month. The party will include a celebrity tournament (participants announced at a later date), with the winning team deciding which Music for Relief cause gets the demo download fund.

Capcom is also holding a competition for a seat in the tournament and a trip to LA for the launch party starting today. How do you enter? Submit your best tips and tricks for beating the demo to Capcom Unity! Four winners will be chosen.

Last week we went to the Battlefield Bracket Challenge in Los Angeles where celebrities and athletes competed head to head to win the chance to play against you. Now that those celebrity and athletes have been picked, you can sign up at www.gamestop.com/BattlefieldBC2.

The online bracket selection closes March 4. The teams to pick from are mixtures of celebs, athletes and pro gamers.

Here’s some video from the event:

“There Will Be Brawl” fans in Los Angeles are in for a treat – there is going to be a wrap party, and you’re invited!

If you don’t know about the web series, let me clue you in. The series is a dark parody of the Smash Bros. games, and you get to see Mario and friends come to life to once again. The premise of the series has Mario, Luigi and Peach trying to protect the Mushroom Kingdom (as always) and solve some grisly crimes that have taken place. I have to warn you that the series is definitely NSFW, and is also not intended for anyone under the age of 17.

As I said earlier, the TWBB people will be holding a wrap party to commemorate the end of the series, and to thank their cast and crew, but they also want their fans to join in on the fun! The venue will be Club Good Hurt, where I hear they have the staff cosplaying while they work – something that the TWBB crew are fans of themselves. There will be plenty of drinking and dancing, as well as opportunities to have photos with some of the cast if you so wish.

“We wanted a way to raise the glass to our dedicated cast and crew, as well as invite fans of the show to come out and be able to chat with all of us about the project. We think this will be a fun event not only for gamers and cosplayers, but just anyone who wants to see some great performances and dance to the sets from our amazing DJs,” said TWBB co-creator Matthew Mercer.

Co-creator Zach Grafton adds, “This web series was really a labor of love for all of us. We’re really excited to give something back to our hard-working team and also to shake hands with the fans who made this show so popular.”

Featuring at the party will be DJs Poison-K, Jinrei, DO NOT FEED THE DJ, and Amaya, but more importantly their main entertainment comes from The Megas (a band who takes inspiration from the Mega Man series) and The Yuki Shundo Dance Crew.

If you would like join in the fun, head to the Good Hurt Club on Saturday, March 13th, between 9PM and 2AM. You need to be over 21 years old, and be aware that there is a cover charge of $10.

If you want to check out the 10 episode series, head on over to either There Will Be Brawl‘s website or check them out on The Escapist instead.

(Many thanks to the team at Bubble Punch for the information!)

Superfrog and LeBasse Projects have come together to provide an exhibit that consists of work from Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano. Amano is known for designing characters for the video game Final Fantasy as well as for anime films such as Vampire Hunter D, Guin Saga, Final Fantasy, and Front Mission. His DEVA LOKA exhibit first premiered in August at the Superfrog Gallery in San Francisco, and it’s now Amano’s first major show in Southern California in almost a decade.

The exhibit consists of 25 pieces, and be prepared for bright auto paint and metallic glitter which is said to be “an ode to the artist’s love of American comics, culture and automobiles”. The exhibit is launching TODAY (the 20th of February) in Los Angeles, and there will be a special opening reception starting at 7pm and running until 10pm if you would like to help celebrate the launch.

Yoshitaka Amano also has this to say about his exhibit:

“Between the late 60′s and the 70′s, and during my early years in the art world, I was greatly influenced by American comic books and pop culture. I’d like to show my gratitude for the inspiration America gave me with this exhibit. With the theme of DEVA LOKA, all of my concepts and influences are able to come together, centered in one place. I hope everyone enjoys my show.”

DEVA LOKA opens today and runs through March 13th at LeBasse Projects, located in Los Angeles’ Culver City Arts District and is located at 6023 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232. For more information visit www.lebasseprojects.com.

This weekend, January 9-10, the Shonen Jump Championships will be held in Los Angeles. On top of the main tournament, a variety of side events have finally been announced!

Yu-Gi-Oh! video game players interested in getting ahead of the competition for the Video Game World Championship in 2010 shouldn’t miss this chance to try out 5D’s “Reverse of Arcadia.” Duelists looking to play online, with friends or others, won’t want to miss to test out this game before anyone else. Konami will also have demos of a revamped Yu-Gi-Oh! Online game. 5D’s Tagforce 4 will also be available to check out.

If more TCG action is your thing, check out the Pegasus League side event tournaments. If you’ve been working hard on those creative building techniques, this is a great way to show off your skills. Turbo Pack 2 boosters will be the prize. There will also be an “Attack of the Giant Card” tournament, where Konami is offering four world premiere cards from the new Absolute Powerforce set as giant cards.

For those that are interested in the main tournament, it will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center. There is a $20 registration fee, and each player will receive five booster packs just for signing up. The top three finalists of this tournament, as well as the winners of the side event playoffs on Sunday, will receive a “Dark End Dragon” prize card.

A-Kon (Dallas, TX)
A fan-run anime convention that takes place in the Dallas/Ft Worth area.

Anime Expo (Los Angeles, CA)
The largest anime/manga event in the US, Anime Expo runs annually in Los Angeles, bringing artist, voice talent and musical performances together for a wonderful weekend of fun.

Anime North (Toronto, ON)
One of Canada’s largest anime conventions, Anime North takes place at the end of May. They also raise funds for the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation.

DragonCon (Atlanta, GA)
DragonCon is one of the largest scifi/fantasy and pop culture convention in the US. It spans four hotels and three days of cosplay, panels, and offers a variety of guests. One of the guests for 2010 is popular author Laurell K Hamilton.

GenCon (Indianapolis)
GenCon is one of the largest gaming events in the world. Everything from computer and console games to table top and roleplaying games are featured every summer at the event.

Kansas City Game Fair (Kansas City, MO)
The Kansas City Game Fair is a small convention that combines three events in one, ShaunCon: Kansas City’s own role-playing convention, Blockhead! a board game convention and BorderWars (HAHMGS – Heart of America Historical Miniatures Gaming Society).

Long Beach Comic Con (Long Beach, CA)
2009 was the first year for the Long Beach Comic Con. It was attended by guests such as Stan Lee, Jeph Loeb, Seth Green and Eric Roberts.

New York Anime Festival & New York Comic Con (New York City, NY)
In 2010, NYAF and New York Comic Con will be taking place at the same time, in the same convention hall. Purchasing a pass will grant you access to both cons and you can experience the best both events have to offer.

Otafest (Calgary, AB)
A small and very community oriented anime and manga convention in Calgary, Otafest is a growing anime con run by an amazing group of dedicated volunteers.

Otakon (Baltimore, MD)
Otakon started out as a small college run convention but soon grew too large and has moved to Baltimore. The event attracts over 20,000 attendees and focuses on anime, manga and Japanese culture.

PAX East (Boston, MA)
PAX East 2010 will be the inaugural event for this eastern expansion for PAX. This first event is scheduled for March 26-28.

PAX West (Seattle, WA)
The original PAX site, PAX West offers one of the finest “For the Fans” gaming experiences. This is truly a community based event.

Sakura Con (Seattle, WA)
Seattle’s Japanese cultural festival, SakuraCon is one of the largest anime conventions in the Western US. It is held in the Spring and sponsored by the Asia Northwest Cultural Education Association.

San Diego Comic Con (San Diego, CA)
While the primary focus of SDCC has been comic books, science fiction and fantasy, it has grown to embrace more pop culture, anime/manga, and gaming. It is the second largest traditional convention in the world.

SIEGECon (Atlanta, GA)
SIEGE is an industry event for aspiring game industry students, graduates and local industry professionals to network and learn from each other over the course of an educational and fun-filled weekend of activities.

Video Games Live (Worldwide)
VGL is a musical event, touring the globe to bring video game fans orchestral versions of their favourite video game music. It is a celebration of the culture of video games, and is supported buy the gaming industry.

Yaoi-Con (San Mateo, CA)
Yaoi-Con is a convention focused on the “yaoi” (male-male relationship) anime and manga scene. Due to the nature of the material, attendees must be 18 years of age or older with ID.

I’m so happy to see Gamers United back again this year! The event will be collecting gifts for the Teen Lounge of the Mattel Children’s Hospital of UCLA.

“When I called and found out they had a teen lounge whose gaming equipment was in disrepair and just need an upgrade, I was decided – this was the organization I wanted to fight for this year,” says Chastity Irizarry, founding member. Gamers United will be helping to rejuvenate the teen lounge and pay special attention to the often overlooked ‘tween and teen sector of pediatrics. Amy Bullock, Child Life – Child Development of the hospital stated, “The equipment in our lounge gets a high rate of use and our equipment is donated so we are happy to be able to work with Gamers United for the patients.”

Of course we are in to help and so is Nyko Technologies, Custom Hotel, Mimoco, Pwned, Coin-Op TV, World Cyber Games, NFamous Gamers and the cast of Hellywood.

The event will be at the custom Hotel and to donate bring a game, or game accessory. Games have to be E, E10+ or T, no mature titles here. If you don’t live in the area, please contact me or info@thegamersunited.org to make shipping arrangements. I will gladly help donate anything from our readers!

Here are the event details:
Where: Custom Hotel
8639 Lincoln Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90045
Reservations: 877-287-8601
When: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
7:00pm
Attire: “After 5” [Cocktail hour or Business Casual]
Entry: Donation – Please bring a game, game accessory/peripheral or the like. To make prior arrangements, please email info@thegamersunited.org
Games cannot be rated ‘M’ or ‘Mature’ – please bring ‘E’ ‘E10+’ or ‘T’

I will definitely be there and I hope you will too if you are local. It’s a great organization for a great cause and we all have games or accessories we could donate.