Gaming Press Release 2017 final (PDF Version)

DRAGON CON ADDS eSPORTS TO GAMING LINEUP

 Offering Cash Prizes Up To $10,000, Video Game Tournaments Will Be Live Streamed on Twitch

 Over 140,000 Square Feet of Gaming Space Dominates AmericasMart, Featuring ‘Round the Clock Gaming Plus Panels With Top Game Designers, Voice Actors, and Industry Experts

 ATLANTA – July 19, 2017 – Dragon Con, already one of the largest gaming conventions in the nation, has added cash-prize eSports tournaments, streamed over the Twitch platform, to its slate of game-specific programming.

Some 82,000 people are expected to attend Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy, and sci-fi convention, in 2017, filling downtown over the four-day Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1 to Sept. 4, with events and activities across AmericasMart Buildings One and Two and five host hotels – Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Sheraton Atlanta.

Taking up more than 140,000 square feet in AmericasMart Building One and the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, gaming at Dragon Con will feature the full array of gaming including PC and console games, board games, miniatures gaming, role-playing games, collectable card games, and even LARP games.  There will be an expanded selection of free cabinet-style arcade games as well as arcade games from Japan and Asia not usually seen in the United States.

‘Round the clock gaming begins on the afternoon of Thursday, August 31, and runs through the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 4.

eSports, sometimes called professional gaming, has seen a surge in popularity over the past decade with the growth of spectatorship fostered by the introduction of live streaming platforms.  Twitch, Dragon Con’s broadcast partner for its tournaments, currently boasts nearly 10 million daily viewers of its eSports and related programming.

“eSports and eTournaments are fast becoming a staple of the gaming environment,” said convention co-chair David Cody.  “Just as people will go to a professional ball game or stay home to watch it on television, professional gaming attracts a large audience, including many Dragon Con fans.  We wanted to offer that at the convention.”

Dragon Con attendees will be able to see events, watching professional players and teams compete against each other live, while their gameplay is broadcast to overhead screens.  Gaming fans at home will be able to watch the gameplay via Twitch.

Tournaments, with purses up to $10,000 depending on the game and competition level, will include Street Fighter V, Revelator 2, BlazBlue Central Fiction, Super Smash Brothers for Wii U, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and League of Legends.

Key gaming guests for 2017 include voice actor Charles Martinet, who has voiced Mario, Luigi, and other characters from Nintendo’s Mario franchise for more than two decades, voice actor Mark Meer, best known for his role as Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect trilogy, and Mark Jacobs, lead designer for the Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer franchises and his current project Camelot Unchained.

Video game pioneer and American astronaut Richard “Lord British” Garriott, who created the Ultima and Tabla Rasa games, will also be on hand to talk about his latest project, Shroud of the Avatar.

The Kids Gaming Adventure, a series of 45-minute sessions designed to introduce 6 to 12 year olds to board games, collectible card games, roleplaying, miniatures, and LAN-based video games returns for 2017.  An accompanying parent is required at all times.

An expanded installation of Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator returns in 2017 as well.  This year’s Artemis simulator includes improved effects and expanded player capacity. ASBS gives up to eight people the chance to crew the Spaceship Artemis during evil alien incursions and other scenarios.

About Dragon Con

Dragon Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor Day in Atlanta. Organized for fans, Dragon Con features more than about 3,000 hours of comics, film, television, costuming, art, music and gaming over four days. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information about Twitch, please visit twitch.tv

For more information on Artemis Starship Bridge Simulator, please visit artemis.eochu.com