Sugar Gamers

Local song bird/rapper entertainer Nikki Lynette joined the Sugar Gamer ranks a short while ago and for her latest video for “My Reputation” she wanted the Sugar Gamers at her side.

 It was a full day of makeup (special thanks to Kat DeJesus and Juanita Bell for beating our faces), colorful costumes and even a little choreography.  

You’ll notice some very fetching headsets and gaming glasses courtesy of our local pals at SteelSeries.  Not only does the gear look great, SteelSeries accessories are legit gaming gear, creating the ultimate gaming experience.

Nikki Lynette is one busy bee.  Dropping hot video after hot video leading up to the release of her mixtape.

I don’t want to spoil the video but you might see the talented little lady flexing her gaming skills.  To keep up to date on Nikki, head to nikkilynette.com.  We want to thank Nikki for indulging her geeky side in this latest video by hanging out with us for the day.  

The internet is aflame with the story that GameStop removed an OnLive code for a free download from the “Deus Ex” box.  There are always two sides to a disagreement and I’d like to start with Square Enix and OnLive.

Onlive has been pushing their wares pretty hard this past year and dropped some serious cash at E3 to heavily promote the release of “Deus Ex.”  OnLive’s biggest challenge is getting gamers to give it a shot.  A great way to do that would be to slip a free download in the console version of a hot release.  This was definitely the kind of mass marketing OnLive had been waiting for, but according to GameStop they forgot their manners.  GameStop PR released the following statement.

 ”Regarding the Deus Ex: Human Revolution OnLive Codes: We don’t make a habit of promoting competitive services without a formal partnership. Square Enix packed the competitor’s coupon with our DXHR product without our prior knowledge and we did pull these coupons. While the new products may be opened, we fully guarantee the condition of the discs to be new. If you find this to not be the case, please contact the store where the game was purchased and they will further assist.”

OnLive is absolutely competition as through all this huffing and puffing we all learned that GameStop had made the handsome purchase of Spawn Labs which is a streaming company and now has plans to create a game streaming service of their own.  Well, there’s nothing like free press.

I have to admit that if I was GameStop and didn’t know I was selling OnLive coupons, I’d be a little miffed.  It was just a wee bit sketchy, surely GameStop has the right to know exactly what it is they’re selling.  On the other hand, opening games and throwing away coupons is a little dramatic, and now you’ll have gamers rummaging through dumpsters looking for codes.  I have a feeling there could have been a financial solution drafted up to make everyone happy.  As of today I heard the game is on recall and there has yet to be any statement from Square Enix or OnLive. 

Oh, and in case you didn’t know because of all this political corporate nonsense, the game is astonishing and at this point I don’t care how you acquire it, just play and enjoy.

Chicago was brimming with con activity this year with the addition of two new events; Tech Week and Anime World.  

Kicking it off this year was C2E2 who brought us the star of “Thor,” Chris Hemsworth (thank you!) and Chicago’s first True Blood Panel.  Also on the docket was “Power Play,” the official Sugar Gamer after party at Sakura Karaoke Lounge.

Read More →

Wizard World brought amazing celebs and a long list of talented comic book creators this year.  Despite wind, rain and smoldering humidity, cos players and fans flocked to Chicago Comic Con in droves.  Attendees noticed some positive changes in the Wizard World format.  Costume contests for adults and kids and a zombie march gave the floor a little extra action besides long lines for the celebs.  Of course one of my favorite attractions was the Sugar Gamers booth. 

As I recommended several times on twitter and fb this weekend, the Sugar Gamer booth was the place to be.  Some very notable characters and guests made sure to stop by:

We grabbed a few new ladies to hop onto the Sugar Gamer train of gamin’ fun and let them show off their skills on Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat and Bulletstorm.

Nikkie Lynette and Joanie Kraut from Steel Series made it a point to crash our table and we weren’t complaining.

We had a great staff of veteran and newbie Sugar Gamers to bring the energy all con long.

This year we had an awesome upgrade in equipment thanks to our pals at Game Pazzo (http://gamepazzo.com/).  Thanks a bunch guys, we had a blast.  Didn’t get a chance to visit us this year?  Stay tuned the site for all the latest Sugar Gamer news and events. 

Remember this number, 3833, it’s the number of our Wizard World booth and let’s face it, what other booths would you visit?  …Well, maybe Pam Grier, Christopher Loyd, Patrick Stewart…Felicia Day……Bruce Campbell…just stop by when you’re done standing in line.

Along with the nifty celebrity lineup, Wizard is bringing a heavy hitting lineup of over 20 Eisner Winners.  Perhaps Wizard is tired of being labeled the wrestler con so they decided to drop the hammer hard and bring in over 500 comic book creators to let us know they’re here first and foremost for comic book fans.   I have a feeling this tactic might work, just a guess.  

Some of you may remember the fun times we had last year

Well this year we’re getting a few new upgrades.  Our pals at Game Pazzo (http://gamepazzo.com/) are hooking us with some gear to allow us to get a little game on at our booth.  You might also get invited to some very exclusive Sugar Gamer events and you’ll see some brand new faces.  I’ll tell you right now, if you’re a lady nerd and you saunter by 3833, there’s a good chance a few Sugar Gamers will tackle you in hopes that you’ll join our ranks, don’t panic, they’re just being affectionate.

July 28th was a swanky black mask affair at Lure Izakaya Pub (http://www.lurechicago.com/) thrown by none other than Sugar Gamers.  We brought Mortal Kombat and an all time Sugar Gamer favorite, Soul Calibur and rode out the crazy rainstorm in true geek style.  

There to cover the madness was VGTV who tracked down one of our celebrity guests, pro gamer Triforce who brought with him an Empire Arcadia fighting stick as a tournament prize, what a peach.

Other industry players who made an appearance were the lovely Joanie from SteelSeries and Rigo Cortes, our friendly CM from Warner Bros.  SteelSereies and Warner Bros. provided us with some amazing tournament prizes including two copies of MK, two headsets and a gaming mouse and pad.  Needless to say, tourney winners went home very happy campers. 

We were lucky to have the ideal venue that gave us a sweet gaming setup and thanks to Ultimat Vodka, the drinks kept coming.  Lure sports one of the most unique and scrumptious menus in Chicago not to mention a very sleek atmosphere.

 We’d like to thank the staff at Lure for letting us run wild and taking very good care of us.  If you missed all the black mask action and wanna hang with us, you can hunt down our booth at Wizard World this week. 

This was Tech Week’s maiden voyage to attempt to bring together investors, strategic partners and technology enthusiasts to our own Merchandise Mart.  Chicago for one reason or another has been left off the map when it comes to tech expos, and now we’re making up for lost time.

Tech Week was a week long festival celebrating technology right here in the City of Wind.  Starting off with a four day expo and full conference schedule in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, the floor was packed with innovators, amazing speakers and tech fans.  Speakers of note were Craig Newmark (Craigslist) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Head Engineer at Google). 

Sugar Gamers naturally had to hop into this lion’s den of geeks.  Representing the gaming aspect of the tech industry was Downer’s Grove Game Pazzo (http://gamepazzo.com/).  Us being huge fans of the 13,000 sq. foot gamer’s paradise, we decided to man Game Pazzo’s Tech Week station to bring the gaming fun.  

Once the expo floor closed the parties began.  Common known fact: geeks love to party, HARD.  

Tech Week is an excellent step in letting the tech industry know that Chicago has arrived.  If you didn’t catch the action this year, make sure to be there next year (http://techweek.com/).