Both companies really value fun, according to a press release sent out today. (I haven’t flown JetBlue, so I can’t really comment.) Execs do seem pleased by the rather strange coupling:

“Experienced air travelers know the value of portable entertainment,” said Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of America’s senior director of Corporate Communications. “By teaming with JetBlue to bring Nintendo 3DS demo stations into JFK airport, we will give consumers an especially fun way to pass the time while they wait to board their flights.”

Terminal 5 at JFK already features over 40 food and retail outlets. The Nintendo station will add the ability to experience several of the handheld’s games, including Pilotwings Resort, Steel Diver, Super Street Fighter IV 3D, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars and more. You’ll also be able to try out taking 3D pictures, making Miis and playing with AR cards.

JetBlue Gate 10 will also feature a sampling station, just in case you can’t make it to the larger area.

Steph and I ventured through the humidity of NYC to go to Nintendo World for the premiere of Dragon Quest: Sentinels of the Starry Skies on Saturday. And while the event was not as crowded as it usually is for larger games [like Super Mario Galaxy 2] it had a fairly impressive turnout. The first thirty fans in line were able to get their copy signed by series creator Yuji Horii, the first of them being Andres Davila.

Andres initially came to NYC from Houston Texas, and road tripped here via rides from strangers, no less than seven total. Along with getting his copy of SotSS signed, he also got a copy of DQ7 signed as well, his favorite game in the series. Andres also plans to move to NYC after accepting a job at JFK airport.

Nintendo celebrated the event with free blue raspberry ice cream distributed in a Dragon Quest truck. Attendees of the event also received a free t-shirt with the classic Dragon Quest slime and the very appropriate phrase of “Party slime!” on it. Fans were also able to purchase the game early, along with demo stations set up all over Rockefeller Plaza to give the game a try. Sentinels of the Starry Skies, or DQ9 has had phenomenal, record breaking sales in Japan. and it’s no surprise as to why. The game’s major selling point, that we were set up to try at the demo stations, is it’s multi-player mode via WiFi. You can create your own hero and explore dungeons together with friends. Players can explore the world independently of each other too, and if they need help during combat but happen to be far from an ally, they can use the “Call to Arms” feature which will summon their allies to them for assistance. Steph and I had a blast adventuring together in Rockefeller Plaza and were able to take down the first boss of the demo with our custom characters.

Steph and I had a wonderful time, including getting our photo taken with the classic Dragon Quest slimes set up at the photo booth, while hanging out with Francois from DualShockers (who will also be throwing a party in NYC next weekend–Check out our Angels on the Go section for more information.) Sentinels of the Starry Skies will be available this week, be sure to pick up a copy and check back soon for our review of the game!

BEA is a great convention since it not only brings publishers, libraries, teachers, booksellers and the media together, but it also helps to promote reading using both digital and traditional means. I will say that there was definitely an increased amount of reading gadgets at BEA this year as opposed to last year. There were also some booths this year with companies geared to helping smaller, independent publishers get their books formatted for e-readers. Since those have become so popular these days with Barnes and Noble’s release of the nook and Apple’s release of the iPad, I’m sure they will be helpful to quite a few independent publishers!

One thing I learned while at BEA was that it’s the 50th Anniversary of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. There was a big booth dedicated to this where you could sign a guest book with your feelings on the book that was being given to Harper Lee herself. You could also tape a quick spot that will appear on the website, and as an incentive to be on camera, you would receive a special anniversary copy of the book. I did participate in that and I may show up on the site if you keep your eyes peeled. They also plan to host special events at libraries and bookstores around the country to celebrate the anniversary and you can find this info on the official site as well.

I enjoyed talking with the publishers that I did, and learned about some awesome books that I shall be hopefully reviewing soon for Gaming Angels! I also have to say that after the expo I’m beginning to want an e-reader of some sort, primarily for travel though. I don’t think I could ever part with my hardcovers and paperbacks.

I think it’s a great idea to expand upon BEA. I was able to attend last year and I thought it was a great convention and was a good way to meet more authors and publishers. I also think that having a book week in the city would be good to just promote books and reading in general. “I am thrilled that New York Book Week is poised and ready to debut in a significant and meaningful manner,” notes Steve Rosato, Show Manager for BEA. “One of the things that we most wanted to do when we made the decision to keep BEA in New York City for the next few years was to work closely with the community. New York is the publishing capital of the world and there is already an enormous amount of literary activity taking place in the city. It seemed only natural that all of us should band together and call attention to our individual and collective efforts. That’s what New York Book Week is all about.”

To find out more information on Book Week, you can check out the page on the BEA site here. And be sure to stay tuned for my future coverage of BEA on Gaming Angels!

Noooo! Pikachu, you have to run WITH traffic!

Lucky New Yorkers get a chance to have a special hands-on with Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver on Sunday, March 14. Nintendo and Toys”R”Us Times Square have organized a special event that lets Pokéfans use the new Pokéwalker device to learn about the game and find live demonstrations all around the Broadway Plaza. The Pokéwalker lets you take your favorite Pokémon with you anywhere, and you even earn experience points as you walk!

If you’re in New York City, head to the Times Square Toys”R”Us anytime from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to start following Pikachu’s footprints around the Plaza.

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 have wanted to see more fashion mix with technology for a long time! There’s no reason why we can’t look fashionable while carrying our laptops, cameras, phones and Nintendo DS.

Gwen Stefani showed off her latest L.A.M.B. fashion included a lemon and black laptop sleeve. Finally a cool, trendy look!

This was revealed at a Fashion Show in New York, but there hasn’t been any announcement on price, release date or location, but we’ll get the info as soon as we can!

VIZ Pictures’ latest edition in the NEW PEOPLE ARTIST SERIES focuses on artist Yayoi Kusama in the documentary titled “Yayoi Kusama: I Love ME“.

Directed by Takako Matsumoto, the documentary follows Kusama over a one-and-a-half year period as she completes a series of 50 large monochrome drawings. The sculptor, painter, and novelist is known for her use of polka dots and nets to create an “infinity effect”, and we see her visual style arise to create works using themes about the conflicts between life, death, and love – either with or without peace and quiet.

Acclaimed by the international art world for over 50 years, Yayoi Kusama has received many awards. In 2006 she was the recipient one of Japan’s most prestigious awards, Japanese National Lifetime Achievement Award, which is awarded to artists who have been recognised internationally. In November 2008, her piece titled No. 2 (created in 1959) was auctioned by Christie’s New York for over $5.7 million – the second highest price for an art piece created by a living female artist. She has also had her work displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.

Seiji Horibuchi, President and CEO of VIZ Pictures and the founder of NEW PEOPLE:

“Yayoi Kusama: I Love ME is the newest release in our ongoing NEW PEOPLE Artist Series which highlights notable modern Japanese pop artists who possess unique views and creative inspirations,” says Seiji. “Yayoi Kusama is a truly gifted world class artist who blends elements of minimalism, surrealism, pop art and abstract expressionism.”

In celebration of their new release, residents of San Francisco can attend a special event at VIZ Cinema on October 27^th. Tickets will be $25 and that will include your pass to the screening, a DVD, a postcard and some NEW PEOPLE buttons. Screening info can be found at www.vizcinema.com.

“Yayoi Kusama: I Love ME ” will be out on October 27^th, and will cost $24.92US/$35.99CAN. If you would like more info on this release, you can find it at either www.viz-pictures.com or www.newpeopleartistseries.com.

Castle Heat Wave

Richard Castle might be a character played by Nathan Fillion, but ABC is promoting Castle in a very real way. The first episode of Castle was this past Monday (10/9c) on ABC and during the episode Nathan Fillion’s character, Richard Castle was doing a photoshoot for his new book, Heat Wave.

But that book is just a part of the storyline right? Wrong. It’s real and you can read it right now. ABC is posting a chapter a week until the release date of the book. On the page is a link to download the chapter. If you dislike reading a PDF or on your pc, you can purchase the book here for $13.95. The book will ship on September 29.

Here is a synopsis about the book from the site:

A New York real estate tycoon plunges to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk. A trophy wife with a past survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Mobsters and moguls with no shortage of reasons to kill trot out their alibis. And then, in the suffocating grip of a record heat wave, comes another shocking murder and a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. Secrets that prove to be fatal. Secrets that lay hidden in the dark until one NYPD detective shines a light.

Mystery sensation Richard Castle, blockbuster author of the wildly best-selling Derrick Storm novels, introduces his newest character, NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City’s top homicide squads. She’s hit with an unexpected challenge when the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York’s Finest. Pulitzer Prize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren’t her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them. The one called heat.

If you’re interested in meeting Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion), he will be appearing at Barnes & Noble at The Grove at Farmers Market (189 Grove Drive Suite K 30, Los Angeles) on Monday, October 19,2009. The signing will start at 7:30pm and Castle will be signing copies of Heat Wave. I will be there and wouldn’t miss it for anything!

Here’s the trailer for HeatWave:

Man Men was a huge winner the other night at the Emmy’s. To celebrate, Hilton Hotels has announced a related sweepstakes, Live like a Mad Man. The sweepstakes gives fans a chance to win 4 day/3 night package getaway to New York City. To enter members have to book online at www.hiltonfamily.com/madmen and stay at any participating hotel through November 15, 2009. The winner will be selected on December 7, 2009.

The prizes include four days and three nights at The Waldorf in New York City, two round trip airline tickets, one Mad Men wardrobe item, an autographed script, and a DVD collection of Seasons One and Two. The winner will also be styled by a show stylist, so you’ll look the part too.

“Mad Men has captured the fascination of television viewers everywhere and rekindled a certain romanticism with New York and the 1960s,” said Jeff Diskin, senior vice president, global customer marketing, Hilton Hotels Corporation. “Our Live Like a Mad Man rate is the perfect way to experience the luxury and grandeur of travel in the Big Apple and around the world.”