Gen Con So Cal, round two. Fight!

In a last-ditch attempt to be heard over the sounds of Thanksgiving feasting, Gen Con So Cal has released its updated schedule of events (see the press release below). After last year’s somewhat shakey, but still solid, start, next month’s return engagement should prove a better gauge for where the show’s heading. OgreCave will have operatives at the show, so be sure to check back here for breaking news from So Cal.

Gen Con So Cal press release follows:

Hobby Game Convention Gen Con So Cal Announces
Its Unmatched Roster of Game Events and Show Highlights

ANAHEIM (November 17, 2004) The 2nd annual Gen Con So Cal Convention, the West Coast’s largest annual consumer hobby game convention, is firing up this year with an incredible roster of events and tournaments, some brand new and others tried and true.

Gen Con So Cal, set for December 2-5 in California’s Anaheim Convention Center, is a huge gathering place for enthusiasts, designers, authors, artists, manufacturers and distributors of games, whether electronic, tabletop, roleplaying or paper based hobby games.

Gen Con LLC’s flagship show, Gen Con Indy (Indianapolis), is North America’s largest hobby gaming convention, which has been successfully held for the last 37 years in the Midwest. In 2003, the company launched a Gen Con show for the West Coast, creating Gen Con So Cal to reach a broader audience and build on the popularity of Gen Con Indy.

“Gen Con So Cal was by all measures a success in its first year. Attendance beat our expectations and game manufacturers enthusiastically participated,” said Peter Adkison, CEO of Gen Con LLC. “This year we anticipate an even better show, with events and show highlights unmatched on the West Coast. We look forward to making Gen Con So Cal The Best Four Days in Gaming! especially for all those game lovers living on the West Coast.”

At Gen Con So Cal, gaming enthusiasts don’t simply “walk the show” they can actually participate in over a thousand gaming events. These events include interactive game play, hobby-related events, and computer gaming. Attendees also join in card games, board games, role-playing games, live-action role-playing games, seminars and workshops ranging in topics from how to develop games to how to paint miniatures.

The four-day event will feature appearances by celebrity guests, events such as Upper Deck Entertainment¹s Pro Circuit featuring the new Superhero Vs. system and Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments, Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: the Gathering Trading Card Game tournaments, True Dungeon, a life-size dungeon adventure, True Heroes, a life-size walk-through Marvel super heroes experience, Dungeons and Dragons role-playing adventures, a collectible auction (with lasts years’ big ticket going for $95,000), a costume contest, anime room, and a Kids area, to name just a few.

Gen Con So Cal will be open to the public Thursday, December 2 through Sunday, December 5, with gaming events offered 24 hours a day. The convention takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center, a 933,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility just steps from Disneyland.

Attendees must purchase a badge to gain entrance to the show. Badge registration starts at 5 PM on Wednesday, December 1 on-site at the Anaheim Convention Center. A four-day badge is $55 and a one-day badge is $20. Children 8 and under are free with an accompanying adult. For more information and to register, visit www.gencon.com or call (800) 529-EXPO.

Show & Event Highlights:
Exhibitors and sponsors alike are presenting the best in events and show highlights in Anaheim this year.

Media Guest of Honor Autograph Area: Meet this year’s Media Guests of Honor right in front of the Exhibit Hall. The talent spans the spectrum of genres from both the big and small screen:
Ernie Hudson, Winston Zedmore in Ghostbusters;
Catherine Bach, Daisy Duke in Dukes of Hazzard;
Daniel Logan, Boba Fett in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones;
Sandra Taylor, Under Siege 2;
Ray Park, Toad in X-Men & Darth Maul in Star Wars: Phantom Menace;
Cassandra Peterson, who plays Elvira;
Nathan Fillion, Captain Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly;
Adam Baldwin, Jayne Cobb in Firefly.

“Rock the Con”: The first ever “Rock the Con” concert and party in Gen Con history; all attendees are invited. Enjoy the music of four great acts: The Great Luke Ski, The Phenomenauts, Raptors Away and Warp 11 on Saturday, December 4th at 9 pm.

True Dungeon: Real dungeon, real props real cool! True Dungeon gives players a chance to experience an adventure in a full-size, walk-through dungeon. The scenario “Return to Hommlet” is a tribute to the long history of Dungeons & Dragons. True Dungeon is sponsored by Wizards of the Coast.

True Heroes: Sponsored by (and developed with) Upper Deck Entertainment, the event allows players to experience the world of superheroes within a life-size, walk through “superhero” environment.

Costume Contest: A night of fun awaits anyone with an imagination. Follow along in the parade through the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, December 4 from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Electronic Game and XBOX Arena: The Game Arena will have a NCsoft-sponsored 24 PC LAN, featuring City of Heroes and Lineage III and an XBOX arena with 4 system-linked XBOX’s shown on 42″ Plasma HD TV’s. Play Halo 2, Crimson Skies, SSX3 and Mech Assault.

Industry Insider Track: An expanded program of seminars includes new topics like jobs in the gaming industry and the skeletons that some industry insider’s have kept hidden in the closet. Every seminar features an all-star panel of industry insiders that know the ins and outs of the gaming industry.

Anime: The Anime Room will be open 24 hours a day for the show’s duration. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation will exhibit the latest and greatest from Japan and the U.S.

Art Show: The Art Show is one of the premier showcases for fantasy, gaming and sci-fi art.

Auction: Buy and sell games and paraphernalia at the Auction. You never know what treasure you will find.

Miniature Painting and Workshop: At the Paint & Take area in the main hall, attendees can paint minis provided by top manufacturers. Free and open to all attendees.

Kids Area: Supported by Nintendo, this spot is devoted to games of all types for kids. Art classes, Gameboy SP tabletop interactive with playmats and cards, and much more. Free to all attendees.

Writer’s Workshop and Q&A: Author Guest of Honor Tad Williams talks about the process of writing his first novel, Tailchaser’s Song, finishing his bestselling trilogy Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, and then traveling the mountains, waters and cities of the Otherland series. Learn how to build a career, develop characters and plots, or become a better writer from best-selling author, Mike Stackpole. A host of other writers will be conducting seminars as well.

AEG will be hosting all of the favorite games at Gen Con So Cal like the L5R CCG World Championships, Warlord CCG World Championship and “The Gauntlet” Premiere Spycraft CCG Tournament to name a few.

Premier Tournaments to participate in:
Magic: The Gathering Unhinged Release Tournaments: Wizards of the Coast is sponsoring tournaments featuring the latest Magic: The Gathering set, Unhinged. These tournaments will feature special prizes paid out in a very unconventional manner. Each tournament will be four Swiss rounds with no playoffs.

Magic Pro Tour‹Atlanta Qualifier: Bring your best team of three. Swiss rounds, with the top four teams playing in single-elimination finals. Sponsored by Wizards of the Coast.

Magic Pro Tour Nagoya Qualifier: This Champions of Kamigawa Limited (Sealed Deck) event features Swiss rounds, with the top eight playing in single-elimination Rochester draft finals. Sponsored by Wizards of the Coast.

Duel Masters 2004 Gen Con So Cal Championship: Be a part of the first Gen Con So Cal Championship for this hot new game. Sponsored by Wizards of the Coast.

Star Wars Trading Card Game Lightsaber Tournament: Bring your Constructed deck. Sponsored by Wizards of the Coast.

Vs. System Tournaments: Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) is hosting the second installment of the $1 Million Vs. System Pro Circuit Tournament, Friday through Sunday. On Saturday UDE hosts the $10,000 Vs. System Championship Tournament in which top winners will get invited to the next Pro Circuit Tournament.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournaments: UDE will also host the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Regional Tournament Advanced Format and the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Gen Con So Cal Championship Advanced Format.

Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) will host the L5R CCG Storyline Tournament and the Spycraft CCG Hydra Sanction Events.

White Wolf: White Wolf presents a special preview of Werewolf: The Forsaken, the second game in the all-new World of Darkness (due out February 2005). An exclusive Werewolf: The Forsaken RPG Preview Tournament will run in three rounds over the course of the show. Also play in “Escape from San Diego,” a Vampire: The Requiem scenario run by White Wolf’s Camarilla Fan Club. Also, the Vampire Elder Kindred Network hosts two constructed deck tournaments.

“The World Series of Gen Con” Poker Tournament
No Limit Texas Hold ’em (known as The Cadillac of Poker”) will be the format for this huge tournament. Players will have the chance to compete multiple times for the grand prize.

Decipher: Gen Con So Cal is once again the place to play Decipher games. Decipher will run more than 15 tournaments during the four days. Events will include World Championship Qualifiers for The Lord of the Rings TCG, .hack/ENEMY TCG, Star Trek Second Edition CCG, and the first-ever World’s Qualifier for Decipher’s new game, Wars TCG.

About Gen Con
Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer fantasy, sci-fi and adventure game convention in North America. Its operations include Gen Con Indy, Gen Con So Cal and Star Wars Celebration III, and licensee for European Gen Con shows. It was founded in May of 2002 by former CEO and founder of Wizards of the Coast, Peter Adkison, who solely owns the company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company’s mission is to create The Best Four Days in Gaming! every year for its customers. For more information visit the website at www.gencon.com.

About Upper Deck
The Upper Deck Company, LLC, is a premier sports/entertainment publishing company which delivers a portfolio of relevant, innovative and multi-dimensional product experiences to collectors, sports and entertainment enthusiasts. Founded in 1988, The Upper Deck Company, LLC is located in Carlsbad, Calif.

About Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop role-playing game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on the method of playing trading card games (TCGs) and produces the premier trading card game, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of role-playing games, such as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times bestsellers. Visit the Wizards of the Coast website at www.wizards.com.