Comic-Con Main Road Trip 2010: Part 2 Balu Lodging
Comic-Con Main Road Trip 2010: Part 2
Rare's Comic-Con Main Road Trip 2010
The Comic-Con chronicles of Mr. Steve Brand and Mr. Ben Talbot representing Rare€¦
Day 3 - Thursday 22nd July 2010
Today the convention starts proper, so after a meat-free breakfast (last night's excesses still weighing heavy on our constitutions) we make the 15-minute walk back down 5th Avenue to the Hard Rock Hotel.
The morning starts pretty slowly, with most punters probably crammed into the convention Centre across the main Road, but after a couple of hours a steady stream of visitors begins showing up in the Xbox lounge. Many weighed down with their oversize bags full of tat. Kinect Sports gets a really good reception all day long. There are a lot of families in attendance, and each of them leave telling us that Kinect and a copy of Sports are now on their shopping list.
We've said it times before, but you really can't underestimate the reaction some people have when stepping in front of the Sensor for the first time. We win the €cutest punter of the day' award when one father turns up with his three-year old daughter to play. After a little adjustment of the Kinect Sensor she's able to compete in the Hurdles and has a blast doing so€¦
Aisha Tyler: Kinectification
Aisha Tyler!
After heading back to the hotel around 4:30 and making the mistake of lying down, I wake with a start at 6pm and dive into the shower as I'm meant to be meeting Ben at 6:15 so we can make our way back down to staff an evening Xbox event. I groggily step out of the lift on the wrong floor and walk past Adolph Lundgren on the stairs. Ben sees €Stone Cold€ Steve Austin in the lift and is slightly tempted to shout €WHAT?!€ before thinking better of it.
This evening event is much more of what I'd come to expect from a conference like this€¦ very loud with free booze and so very busy!
The incredible faceless woman of Comic-Con 2010
Sports is sharing a booth with Joy Ride and so we take turns swapping builds and demoing to the punters. Both games show very well with the competitive modes being particularly popular. There's a real party atmosphere in the room which suits our titles perfectly, with plenty of onlookers watching the action unfold. Xbox Lives' Major Nelson has a go at the 110m Hurdles to rapturous applause - he really gives it 110%.
Come midnight and the room is cleared, so we stroll back to the hotel for some shut-eye before starting again tomorrow. I'm hoping to have some time to visit the conference proper and get some much-needed photos of cosplay in action. - Steve
Hopefully the start of a series
Comic-Con Main Road Trip 2010: Part 3
Rare's Comic-Con Main Road Trip 2010
The Comic-Con chronicles of Mr. Steve Brand and Mr. Ben Talbot representing Rare€¦
Day 4 - Friday 23rd July 2010
It's our final day at Comic-Con and this one is set to be the most hectic and exciting yet. Steve, Elena (from Microsoft) and I have been demoing Kinect Sports to the comic-loving public - and plenty of their mums, dads and young children.
The turnout at the Xbox Experience Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel has been huge, and the response nothing short of magical. You only have to look at the smiles of wonderment on people's faces when they pick up our virtual bowling ball, or hear the chuckles when we take on the 110m Hurdles to sense that it's going down well.
Plain clothes Chief
The Hard Rock Hotel is also a fantastic place for a bit of celeb-spotting. Steve catches sight of Simon Peg, and Lou Farrago who played The Hulk in the 70s TV show walks past moments later. Exciting stuff, but not quite as exciting as when we saw Kelly Brook outside our hotel the night before.
We don't manage to snap any photos before they're whisked away in SUVs (we'd make rubbish paparazzi), but Steve does manage to get a pic with Danny DeVito. Steve was demoing Sports at Seedy Channel's late-night party, and he also saw Wesley Snipes, Seth Green and some of the cast of Glee.
Poorly lit DeVito action!
It just goes to show that Comic-Con is very Hollywood these days, but games are a big part of the show too. As well as all the families waiting in line to play Sports, we also have more people in crazy costumes, a crop of hardcore gamers and some genuine athletes. NFL players look even bigger in real life than they do on TV, that's for sure.
We've had an awesome time, and it's really rewarding to see how much everyone is enjoying Sports and their first play with Kinect. We won't forget the people of Comic-Con, their costumes and the gigantic slabs of steak in a hurry. - Ben
Benjamin Explains It All As promised: cosplay!
Rare's Comic-Con Main Road Trip 2010
The Comic-Con chronicles of Mr. Steve Brand and Mr. Ben Talbot representing Rare€¦
Day 3 - Thursday 22nd July 2010
Today the convention starts proper, so after a meat-free breakfast (last night's excesses still weighing heavy on our constitutions) we make the 15-minute walk back down 5th Avenue to the Hard Rock Hotel.
The morning starts pretty slowly, with most punters probably crammed into the convention Centre across the main Road, but after a couple of hours a steady stream of visitors begins showing up in the Xbox lounge. Many weighed down with their oversize bags full of tat. Kinect Sports gets a really good reception all day long. There are a lot of families in attendance, and each of them leave telling us that Kinect and a copy of Sports are now on their shopping list.
We've said it times before, but you really can't underestimate the reaction some people have when stepping in front of the Sensor for the first time. We win the €cutest punter of the day' award when one father turns up with his three-year old daughter to play. After a little adjustment of the Kinect Sensor she's able to compete in the Hurdles and has a blast doing so€¦
Aisha Tyler: Kinectification
Aisha Tyler!
After heading back to the hotel around 4:30 and making the mistake of lying down, I wake with a start at 6pm and dive into the shower as I'm meant to be meeting Ben at 6:15 so we can make our way back down to staff an evening Xbox event. I groggily step out of the lift on the wrong floor and walk past Adolph Lundgren on the stairs. Ben sees €Stone Cold€ Steve Austin in the lift and is slightly tempted to shout €WHAT?!€ before thinking better of it.
This evening event is much more of what I'd come to expect from a conference like this€¦ very loud with free booze and so very busy!
The incredible faceless woman of Comic-Con 2010
Sports is sharing a booth with Joy Ride and so we take turns swapping builds and demoing to the punters. Both games show very well with the competitive modes being particularly popular. There's a real party atmosphere in the room which suits our titles perfectly, with plenty of onlookers watching the action unfold. Xbox Lives' Major Nelson has a go at the 110m Hurdles to rapturous applause - he really gives it 110%.
Come midnight and the room is cleared, so we stroll back to the hotel for some shut-eye before starting again tomorrow. I'm hoping to have some time to visit the conference proper and get some much-needed photos of cosplay in action. - Steve
Hopefully the start of a series
Comic-Con Main Road Trip 2010: Part 3
Rare's Comic-Con Main Road Trip 2010
The Comic-Con chronicles of Mr. Steve Brand and Mr. Ben Talbot representing Rare€¦
Day 4 - Friday 23rd July 2010
It's our final day at Comic-Con and this one is set to be the most hectic and exciting yet. Steve, Elena (from Microsoft) and I have been demoing Kinect Sports to the comic-loving public - and plenty of their mums, dads and young children.
The turnout at the Xbox Experience Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel has been huge, and the response nothing short of magical. You only have to look at the smiles of wonderment on people's faces when they pick up our virtual bowling ball, or hear the chuckles when we take on the 110m Hurdles to sense that it's going down well.
Plain clothes Chief
The Hard Rock Hotel is also a fantastic place for a bit of celeb-spotting. Steve catches sight of Simon Peg, and Lou Farrago who played The Hulk in the 70s TV show walks past moments later. Exciting stuff, but not quite as exciting as when we saw Kelly Brook outside our hotel the night before.
We don't manage to snap any photos before they're whisked away in SUVs (we'd make rubbish paparazzi), but Steve does manage to get a pic with Danny DeVito. Steve was demoing Sports at Seedy Channel's late-night party, and he also saw Wesley Snipes, Seth Green and some of the cast of Glee.
Poorly lit DeVito action!
It just goes to show that Comic-Con is very Hollywood these days, but games are a big part of the show too. As well as all the families waiting in line to play Sports, we also have more people in crazy costumes, a crop of hardcore gamers and some genuine athletes. NFL players look even bigger in real life than they do on TV, that's for sure.
We've had an awesome time, and it's really rewarding to see how much everyone is enjoying Sports and their first play with Kinect. We won't forget the people of Comic-Con, their costumes and the gigantic slabs of steak in a hurry. - Ben
Benjamin Explains It All As promised: cosplay!
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