Not a lot of people move to Southern California purely for the gaming conventions scene, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. Along with having a large game development community, Southern California is home to both conventions and expos that both nerds and casuals can enjoy. Here are just some of the events that are happening in SoCal.
Independent Gaming Conventions: IndieCade
IndieCade is a gaming convention the welcomes both gamers and developers to enjoy independent games. The convention is meant to support the independent game industry, and foster creative and innovative gameplay. They have a global focus and make sure to include game developers from anywhere games are made. The convention also strives to promote emerging technologies developed by independent production crews. Basically, if you love anything indie gaming, this is the place to be! You can also see IndieCade at other gaming conventions, such as E3.
Company Gaming Conventions: BlizzCon
Do you love MMORPGs? Do you drool at the thought of a new RTS? Do you even know what these letters mean? If so, BlizzCon is right up your alley. BlizzCon is an annual convention that attracts over 25,000 people to the convention center. Even if you aren’t a huge player of games like World of Warcraft or Hearthstone, you can still enjoy the vibrant energy of the event, and gawk at people who spent hundreds of hours on incredibly ornate cosplay. Don’t play World of Warcraft, and still want to go. Just make sure that you say “Warcraft,” and not “wow.” You don’t want a hoard of people correcting you all at once.
The Mother of All Gaming Conventions: E3
The largest event of all is the Electronic Entertainment Expo, held annually at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Among different gaming conventions across the world, this is the one that typically garners the most hype and press attention. Close to 50,000 people attend the event, and many of those in the crowd are journalists, bloggers, YouTubers and developers. The biggest studios are the ones that hog most of the attention, but you can also find a large variety of smaller studios and independent developers on the convention floor.
Do you have a favorite gaming convention or expo? Tell me all about it in the comments!