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| It was by far
NAVA's highest attendance ever, featuring many familiar faces, many new
ones, and the requisite dose of gaming, trading, and shenanigans. |
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| It was also the "NAVA of
Cakes". For this double-sized NAVA we had twice the usual number of
game-themed cakes. Check out this one by Mike "TonyTheTiger"! I can't
imagine how much time and patience that takes. |
How's this
for topical? This one, by Frankie "Frankie_Says_Relax" specifically
addresses the day's events. The cake is shaped like a classic NES cart,
and he went so far as to create a digitized image of the three factions
who would play that day. Incredible! |
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VIDEO: Here's a familiar
sight... everyone piled around the TV's. They're competing in Super
Smash Bros Brawl for the Wii. Click
HERE for a quick video from the center island. |
Yet another challenge has
been raised at the arcade machines. |
And here's a major reason
why this event was so huge. James "The Angry Video Game Nerd" (right) made
an appearance, signed autographs and took pictures throughout the day. |
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| The downside to the
bigness: I hired a security guard to act as a sort of "bouncer". The
store was so crowded at one point that we had to ask people to wait
outside. Sorry, Nick "Apollo"! |
VIDEO: I must admit
to being behind the curve on the various YouTube phenoms, but apparently
there's been an internet battle going on between "The Angry Video Game
Nerd" and "The Nostalgia Critic". Well, all the way from Illinois, "The
Nostalgia Critic" stormed in and things got heated. Minutes later
they took it outside. The rather entertaining slow motion fight that
ensued is available on The Nostalgia Critic's site (click
here to watch). |
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| Frankie communicates via
Picto-Chat with people waiting on line outside. Now that's just mean. |
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Autographs and photos and
autographs. Nerd made a lot of people very happy. |
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The obligatory flipping
of the bird photo. |
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| What may have
been lost in the hubbub of this event was the intense game of Team
Fortress 2 that was going on in the back. All six gamers were going at
it. I like when that happens. |
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| 6pm arrives and it's time
to start our game show! Brett "Captain S", James "AVGN" and Mike "killersquirel"
line up for a head-to-head battle of gaming supremacy. |
VIDEO: Everyone gets set up for the game.
The entire event can be found on our YouTube page (part1
part2
part3) but the
guys at Press Start Comics did a great job of fleshing it out with
interviews and images from around the store (part1
part2
part3). |
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| Your MC... it's just me,
Joe. |
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Announcing the prizes and
describing the games... Maryah. |
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| Let's meet our
contestants. We learn that Mike's favorite game is Major Havoc. |
Brett throws down the
gauntlet, he's ready to rumble. |
James announces that he
is the angriest gamer ever. |
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| Brett wins the first
round trivia question and chooses the game Pac-Mania. |
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Each of the other two
will get a chance to top his score within the time limit. |
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| James seems a little
disappointed in his performance. |
Mike puts in a solid
effort. |
Good enough to take the
early lead? |
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| Scores are tallied and
James has an early lead, but there are two more rounds to play. Mike wins the
second trivia question. |
He chooses his favorite
game, Major Havoc. |
Fortunately for James and
Brett, they had a chance to practice the game a little before 6pm and
both held their own pretty well. |
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| The crowd seems
mesmerized. |
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Let's tally the scores
after round 2... |
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| Mike is still winning
after round 2 and then proceeds to nail the bonus round as well. Looks like team "Digital
Press" might walk away with a big win. |
Hating Mike. |
Final round. |
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| Mike chooses Contra which
may have backfired - he doesn't survive the 50-second time limit. |
James has clearly played
this game before. |
Mike and Brett can only
sit back and watch at this point - James' fate is in his hands. |
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| Will this photographer
capture a miracle? Hey, that guy who was at the Hindenburg probably made
a nice buck for himself, so who knows? |
In case that guy misses
it, we've got it on video. |
James puts up a huge
score but
would it be enough to take over first place? |
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| Last shot at making some
magic as Brett takes his turn, but suffers the same fate as Mike. |
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Everyone waits as the
final scores are tallied. |
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The winner gets
immortalized on the store's "Hall of Fame" (which you can see hanging
over the arcade machines), but win the game AND the special challenge
afterward and you win THIS: John Hardie's mortal soul, trapped in this
bobble-head! |
Do you believe in
miracles? A come-from-behind
victory as James passes Mike up and wins the game. |
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| There are two games left
and James has to beat Joe's score this time. He can play Vs. Super Mario
Bros or The Simpsons. |
There was some surprise
as this very NES-worthy fellow bypasses Mario and opts for The Simpsons
instead. He would need a score of 17 in 50 seconds of play. |
He doesn't make any
mistakes... |
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| And again, "The Angry
Video Game Nerd" shocks the crowd and takes the bonus prize as well. |
"Bye Bye" |
"You may now all return
to BUYING THINGS AT THE STORE" |
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Special thanks to Team Digital Press who had all hands on deck to
manage a very busy day. |
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| Joe |
Maryah |
Raj |
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| Mike |
Katie |
Matt |
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| Chelsea |
|
Scott |
