Kotakuite Charles stopped by a New York City Best Buy location this morning to pick up Modern Warfare 2, only to encounter the stuff of nightmares - Bon Jovi fans. Also, clowns.

"Went to best buy this morning to get COD. We were greeted by Ringling Brothers clowns waiting in line to buy the Ringling Bros. game from 2K. Also waiting in line were about 30 people waiting to get the new Bon Jovi album (they were even chanting Bon Jovi for a moment....wtf). Needless to say, Bon Jovi and Ringling won today's morning crowd as there were only about 2-5 people waiting to get COD. Just another NYC moment."

Just another NYC moment? I'll be staying on the Southern half of the East coast for the rest of my life then, thanks.

Popcap Games is an official sponsor of this year's Village Halloween Parade, and they're not content to be represented by a lousy street sign. No, they're forming a Plants vs. Zombies troupe to march in the parade, inviting fans of the game, zombie groupies, and "macabre gardening types" to come celebrate with them on October 31st. The company is attempting to make this year's event the largest zombie gathering in parade history, going as far as to extending special invitations to zombie enthusiast organizations such as NYC Zombie Crawl and ZombieCon.

If I were in New York City, I would totally go as a plant.

"Plants vs. Zombies seems to inspire people to new heights of zaniness, and we have the photos to prove it," laughed Garth Chouteau, vice president of public relations at PopCap. "We wanted to give those rabid PvZ fans a fun time and place to gather and celebrate their passion for the game. What better way than marching up 6th Avenue in New York's historic Halloween parade!"

The parade kicks off at 7PM on Halloween night. If you're in the area, you probably won't want to miss it. And hey, bring the kids! It's an excellent alternative to keeping them locked in the closet all night for their own safety.

The Legendary Starfy for the Nintendo DS might have been released in North America early last month, but it's never too late to raise brand awareness. From 1pm to 3pm this Saturday, July 11th, Starfy himself will be on hand at the Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Plaza, posing for photos in a special underwater-themed area. There'll be prizes to be won, demos to be played, and yes - face painting.

We've been trying desperately to get Totilo to show up and get his face painted, and shall continue to do so long after this event has come and gone.

On Saturday, May 16th from 1pm to 4pm at the Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Plaza, Nintendo will be celebrating the return of the Punch-Out!! franchise with a 32-player elimination tournament. The winner receives a World Video Boxing Association trophy and a copy of the game two days before its Monday release. Fans not participating in the challenge can still have a good time, with giveaways, DJ entertainment, and a chance to purchase the game before anyone else in the country. Good for them!

Major exhibitors from all parts of the gaming industry will be heading to New York on February 6th to participate in the 2009 New York Comic Con, with gaming booths taking up a massive 11,000 square feet of exhibition space - 50 percent more than the 2008 show.

Some of the names showing at the con include Activision, who will be showing off some of their Marvel lineup; Konami, who are bringing Yu-Gi-Oh! and the Blue Dragon card game; Namco Bandai, who've packed up just about everything they're bringing out for the trip; and Atari, showing off Riddick and Ghostbusters.

Would have loved to cover the show myself, but somehow I managed to schedule my first vacation in two and a half years for that weekend. Oops. Check out the full press release below for a larger list of gaming exhibitors.

New York Comic Con Announces Enormous Growth of Videogame Exhibitors at 2009 Show

Officials Note 50 Percent Increase in Gaming Presence Since '08

NORWALK, Conn. - Jan. 27, 2009

New York Comic Con (NYCC) has today revealed details of its videogame industry attendance for the upcoming 2009 NYCC, which will take place February 6 – 8 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. NYCC officials note that videogames have become a huge part of show planning and that the videogame section has become the single largest growth area for NYCC since 2008. Major exhibitors from the videogame industry will be displaying their products and introducing their latest games to thousands of eager fans in booths that will occupy over 11,000 square feet of exhibit space. This represents a 50 percent increase in exhibit space for videogames as compared to 2008.

Tickets and programming information for New York Comic Con are accessible at www.nycomiccon.com and more personal insights and anecdotes about the show are available via Show Manager Lance Fensterman’s blog, www.MediumAtLarge.net.

“I am enormously pleased and gratified to see how much and how fast our videogame component has grown since last year,” notes Fensterman. “From the get go, one of our principal goals at New York Comic Con has been to build on our core interest, which is comics, by expanding outwards to include other interests. This is what defines us as a true pop culture event. We provide a wide range of stimulating activity which commands the attention of our many fans. I couldn’t be happier that videogaming is now taking a leading role in all of this.”
Some of the prominent companies and the games they will be featuring at NYCC include:

Activision: Leading worldwide videogame publisher Activision will have a robust presence at New York Comic-Con, showcasing some of this year's most anticipated videogames including their 2009 Marvel video game lineup with X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 as well as PROTOTYPE™.

Atari: Champions Online, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution.

Codemasters: Fuel on Xbox 360, Damnation on Xbox 360, Overlord 2 on Xbox 360, Overlord Dark Legend on Nintendo Wii, and Jumpgate Evolution on PC.

Electronic Arts: Spore Galactic Adventures, Godfather 2, Dragon Age, Burnout Paradise, Battle Forge and Battlefield Heroes.

Konami Digital Entertainment: Yu-Gi-Oh!, TRADING CARD GAME and Blue Dragon Role Playing Card Game.

Namco Bandai Games America: Afro Samurai®, Dynasty Warriors®: GUNDAM® 2, Naruto™: Ultimate Ninja® 4 (tournaments will be going on for this game!), Splatterhouse, We Ski™, Snowboard and much more.

SouthPeak Games: Velvet Assassin on X-Box 360, X-Blades on X-Box 360 and PS3, Roogoo: Attack on Nintendo DS and Roogoo: Twisted Towers on Wii.

TC Digital: TC Digital’s flagship game, the Chaotic TCG, will be featured throughout their booth. Fans and players will be able to take demos, hone their skills, and compete in tournaments for various Chaotic product prizes.

In addition, other well known companies in the videogame industry who will have a prominent role at NYCC include Cryptic Studios, Mythic Entertainment, Rockstar Games, Sega, THQ and Ubisoft.

“All in all, everyone who is anyone in videogames will be at New York Comic Con,” concludes Fensterman. “We are very pleased and honored to be getting such a vote of confidence from this important segment of the pop culture world.”

There are three in total. One on Broome & Crosby, one on the corner of Spring Crosby and the third - and largest, at 76 feet - on Delancey and Allen. So cheer up, Marcus! If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.

I never know quite what to where to these types of events. Sure, there will be some important people there, but it's also a party, and there will be video games. I suppose a good suggestion would be to wear something "business casual," but baby, I don't do business casual. I'm either all business all the time, or wearing my sandals. Since I have a fear of over-dressing, I decided to rock the cargo shorts and plain gray shirt.

I got there a little early and luckily witnessed what was perhaps the highlight of the night. A giant-size Pickachu mascot getting stuck trying to get out of the elevator.

Now, the invitation noted that "A-List" celebrities would be attending this particular party. I spent a lot of time on my way there thinking about who could possibly show up. I mean, who the hell would be attending this? Martha Stewart? Reggie? P fucking Diddy?

Nope. In fact only three celebrities were scheduled to show up, and only two managed to make it.

Kyle Massey of Cory in the House and Mark-Paul Gosselaar from Saved By The Bell. I was told Russell Simmons was supposed to show up as well. But I didn't see him.

Ok, I don't know who or what Cory In The House is, but Mark-Paul fucking Gosselaar? Are you kidding me? I almost fainted as I saw him walk through the door. I consider Saved By The Bell to be among the best television shows ever made. My entire childhood life was defined by that show. He wasn't there promoting a game or anything, just hanging out with his son playing some video games. He's a real cool guy (like you didn't know that already!) and he even let me interview him about his gaming habits for awhile casually by the bar. I'll be posting it soon.

I got a chance to get some hands-on time with upcoming Wii games. Mushroom Men and Rock Revolution in particular. Impressions of those will be going up soon, too. Check out the gallery of the night's affairs below.

Sightseeing in Liberty City [Matthew Johnston @ Flickr]

This Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and noon to 2 p.m. Mario (not that creepy Denver Mario, the real deal) will be at the Sheraton Hotel, 811 7th Avenue between 52nd and 53rd streets, helping New Yorkers into cabs and dropping some cash to help pay for their rides in the city.

I hear that this won't be the only city that Mario is handing out rides in. More details to come.

Also, as I reported last week, tonight is the launch party for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII at the Sony Metreon Center in San Francisco. The event goes from 6pm - 9pm and space is limited to 200 people.

And if that's not enough for you, our own Crecente will be attending and telling you all about his adventures at the Tecmo event in New York. Launch events, ho!

Mr. Simmons will be fake-rocking onstage with the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II alongside one of five expert-level plastic guitar shredders.

From Xbox.com:

Gene Simmons of the legendary rock band KISS, along with five of the top Guitar Hero II gamers in the country, will rock out in a Guitar Hero II JamFest. The player with the best song—and highest score on the Xbox Live Leaderboard—will play the signature KISS song "Strutter," one of the popular game's classic rock tracks, with Simmons.

Looking at the five Guitar Heroes and Heroines makes me think Gene is seriously going to push to get either Kelly Law-Yone or Felicia Williams to rock out with him. It's just a gut feeling.

The whens and wheres are at the official announcement. Michael McWhertor

Guitar Heroes to Take on Gene Simmons [Xbox.com]

Anyone interested in possibly netting some swag, getting their hands on the Pokemon-esque DS game and hanging with the Nintendo World Store crew should hit up the party between 11 AM and 4 PM. Michael McWhertor

Nintendo World Store

A momentous occasion in the life of any child: Getting a Club Nintendo membership card. The Japan-only club lets folks accumulate points and then trade them in for exclusive goodies. He's excited as he's all about Mario — Even though I'm trying to steer him towards Sony and Microsoft. And the shirt? Picked that up at the Nintendo World Store in New York City. Brian Ashcraft

To all of you who came to the party, thanks for coming and we hope you had a great time and lots of booze. To those of you couldn't make it, hopefully you can catch us when the newly formed Incredible Kotaku Seven in One Roadshow with Traveling Bestiary and Carnival Sideshow comes through your town. Flynn De Marco

[photo courtesy Niznoz'z Flickr gallery]

For those coming to our Barcade dealio, heads up. Here are the straight-from-Japan prizes I picked up. Got a lucky 13 number of game-related stuff. I don't know how we're going to do it: If this will be a lot, individual prizes or what. I am sure turning you all on each other will be involved.

Rather than going to Den-Den Town, you should know that these were purchased at the 7-11 a short five-minute walk from my house. Not sure if that makes them more cool or less, but take it for what it's worth.

Oh, the misses was worried that nobody would want these goodies. That true? Brian Ashcraft

Prizes For You Kids [Kotaku]

Don't forget that Funde Razor is 8 p.m. tonight at Brooklyn's fabulous Barcade.

Where else are you going to have a chance to drink, play classic arcade games, rock out with Guitar Hero on a big screen and raise money for sick children?

So get on over there, Kotaku needs a presence. I want to hear about all of the rowdiness and Kotaku chanting that went on from Joel when I talk to him tomorrow. Brian Crecente

Funde Razor

The new York event will take place at the Toys R Us in Times Square, while the LA event will happen at the GameStop in Universal CityWalk. Both midnight events will feature live music and entertainment, games, "special guests from Nintendo" and a countdown to the sale of the first Wii.

"Who'll be the first person to line up?" asks George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Will it be a Zelda fan in New York or a soccer mom in Los Angeles? We're going to make sure these events help everyone feed off one another's energy and enthusiasm."

"Toys "R" Us Times Square will be the first store in the United States where customers can both experience, and purchase Wii, Nintendo's new revolution in gaming," says Ron Boire, President, Toys "R" Us, U.S. "As a family oriented store, we are thrilled with the potential of the Wii system to bring parents and kids closer together. There is no better place to launch this truly innovative gaming console than The World's Greatest Toy Store."

"Just like our retail outlets, Wii has something for every kind of gamer," says Steve Morgan, President, GameStop Corp. "As the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, we're ready to kick off the celebration at midnight on Nov. 19th, and help show the world a new way to play."

Sounds like there's going to be a lot of cold people in a few weeks. I'm still waiting to hear what Sony is planing for the launch of the Playstation 3. Brian Crecente

NINTENDO HOSTS CROSS-COUNTRY LAUNCH EVENTS TO SATISFY CONSUMER DEMAND FOR WII

Thousands of Video Game Fans Expected at Toys "R" Us Times Square in New York and GameStop in Los Angeles

REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 2, 2006 - With just 17 days until the worldwide launch of the Wii game console in the Americas, Nintendo is throwing big bashes to celebrate the momentous occasion. From New York to Los Angeles and untold places in between, shoppers won't have to wait long to be the first to buy Nintendo's revolutionary new Wii video game console when it goes on sale at the stroke of midnight the morning of Sunday, Nov. 19. However, video game fans will have to get in line fast, as demand is high for this season's hot holiday product.

Toys "R" Us Times Square in Manhattan and GameStop at Universal CityWalk in Los Angeles will host official Nintendo midnight launch events to satiate rabid fans who can't wait to get their hands on Wii. The events will feature live music and entertainment, fun, games, special guests from Nintendo - and a countdown to the moment that will change the way video games are played forever. Other retailers nationwide are expected to hold their own midnight launch events, so consumers should check with their local retail stores that sell video games.

"Who'll be the first person to line up?" asks George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Will it be a Zelda fan in New York or a soccer mom in Los Angeles? We're going to make sure these events help everyone feed off one another's energy and enthusiasm."

"Toys "R" Us Times Square will be the first store in the United States where customers can both experience, and purchase Wii, Nintendo's new revolution in gaming," says Ron Boire, President, Toys "R" Us, U.S. "As a family oriented store, we are thrilled with the potential of the Wii system to bring parents and kids closer together. There is no better place to launch this truly innovative gaming console than The World's Greatest Toy Store."

"Just like our retail outlets, Wii has something for every kind of gamer," says Steve Morgan, President, GameStop Corp. "As the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, we're ready to kick off the celebration at midnight on Nov. 19th, and help show the world a new way to play."

Wii launches Nov. 19 in the Americas at an MSRP of $249.99. Its unequaled Wii Remote lets players control the action on their TV screens through the motion of the controller itself. It's designed for young and old, novices and experts. For more information about Wii, visit www.wii.com.

The worldwide innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Nintendo DS , Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube systems, and upcoming Wii console. Since 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2.2 billion video games and more than 375 million hardware units globally, and has created industry icons like Mario , Donkey Kong , Metroid , Zelda and Pok mon . A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site at www.nintendo.com.

The store will have a dozen Wii kiosks up and running with a bunch of games playable including Wii Sports and Excite Truck. To kick-off the launching of the kiosks, the store will be throwing a party from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. All Nintendo says about the party is that they will be giving away some "great prizes." Could one of them be a Wii? Brian Crecente [Thanks Matthew]