By Crystal Harrell
From June 21-23, the Palm Springs Convention Center will host GameACon–a celebration of the vibrant gaming culture and beyond. GameACon is more than just a convention, as the ultimate destination for gamers, the event brings an epic fusion of gaming, anime, art, comics, and cosplay to life in an immersive, dynamic, and exhilarating experience.
Ben Fox co-created GameACon with his brother Ari ten years ago, working in the casino and transportation business for over 25 years and wanting to create an event focusing on video game development, to help developers get their games play tested and to draw in the general public.
“The minute we started drawing in the general public, we started adding tournaments and cosplay contests and all kinds of other stuff, because that’s what the community wanted. Our focal point is building something by the community, for the community. When I moved here three years ago, I grew up and lived in northern New Jersey. We’ve held a lot of events there. We’ve done GameACon in Las Vegas., we’ve done it in Queens, New York, and now it’s in Connecticut as well,” shared Ben.
Whether you’re a hardcore gamer, casual player, indie developer, or pop culture fan, GameACon has something for everyone. Attendees can dive into the latest game releases, meet their favorite creators, participate in intense esports tournaments, and bask in a diverse array of panels and workshops.
GameACon offers a safe and enjoyable space for attendees of all ages. Guests are invited to be part of the excitement as the event showcases indie games and honor outstanding creations with prestigious awards. GameACon proudly stands as the Sundance of Indie Games, celebrating innovation and creativity in the gaming industry.
This is the second year that GameACon is being held in the Coachella Valley, with the first iteration taking place at the Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage ballroom in 2021.
“GameACon has definitely grown since its last Coachella Valley visit. The first year was a lot of fun, but the space was limited. I do believe as far as visibility goes, we’re double of where we were at when we were hosted by Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage. They were very helpful, great partners, a they’re still a partner of ours and one of the sponsors for this year’s event. It was fantastic. People had a great time and they’re going to have a great time this year, too,” said Ben.
The best of Palm Springs and SoCal’s vendors will be open for shopping for a huge array of fan gear—from handmade art to costumes, merch, stickers, video games, Pokemon, art, comics, t-shirts, TCG, cosplay, anime, indie developers, and collectibles.
Guests can marvel at the creativity and dedication of cosplayers from diverse fandoms or immerse themselves in virtual worlds and cutting-edge VR experiences. Attendees will discover unique and collectible gaming and pop culture merchandise, while witnessing the crowning of champions and outstanding contributions to the gaming world.
Special guests include professional actress and content creator, Briana White, who is the voice of lead character Aerith Gainsborough in the hit video game series Final Fantasy VII Remake, which sold over 7 million copies, Veronica Tylor, the voice of Ash Kethcum in Pokemon, and four-time Emmy Winner Jon Bailey who has thousands of voiceover credits. Additionally, John Eric Bentley is known for voicing Barrett Wallace from Final Fantasy VII Remake, Nick Fury in various Marvel video games and some animated series. He also acted and voiced in several works including Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, MultiVersus as LeBron James, and Whiplash from Turbo F.A.S.T.
The GameACon organizers are also working within the educational system and with different school districts on programs for all ages that support the development of ESport programming and technology within middle schools and the high schools.
“We’re supporting the educational department now and schools that want to publicize this mainstream passion—to make people understand it a little more when their kid comes home and says, ‘mom, dad, I want to be a video game developer,’” shared Ben.
Living here in the Coachella Valley, Ben has found that a lot of valley locals have to travel to the Los Angeles area to experience gaming and fan conventions. Fox wants to bring that experience here locally to cater to that growing demographic.
“Instead of all these people here having to travel to LA or to Ontario, we want to have our own community here. The more people that get involved here for this, the better. I kind of look at this like we’re building it for ourselves, but we’re also really building it for everybody else too. That’s what’s so exciting about it,” said Ben.
A Single Day Pass, Weekend Pass, and a Buddy System of four 3-day badges are available to purchase. For more information on the event or how to register, visit www.gameacon.com.
