Is Gaming Good At SDCC?

I don't know about you, but looking at all the fun that Fruit Brute had over at San Diego Comic-Con International this past weekend made me just a little bit envious that I couldn't be there to take in all the geeky fun. Introduced back in 1970 and only attended by 145 people at the time, the convention has grown by leaps and bounds over the years to being capped at 125,000 attendees due to fire hazard concerns. While expanding its audience, the convention has also gone onto incorporate all kinds of comic-related media, be it movies, television, and of course, games.

Over at Gamasutra, Chris Remo took a little bit of time to look at the convention, what it has to offer gamers, and how it compares with other game industry events like E3 and PAX. Remo gets some varied (and boldly direct) opinions from a variety of movers and shakers from the gaming world that includes everyone from publishing giants to indie developers to get the real scoop. For some publishers and developers it makes perfect sense to have a presence at the show, like Sony Online Entertainment being there to show off DC Universe Online or NCsoft with their comic inspired MMO City of Heroes. For others, it appears the show provides some interesting market research...

For San Diego-based The Behemoth (Castle Crashers, Alien Hominid), Comic-Con has always been integral to the company. Its past games were announced at the show, and this year's event featured the first playable demo of its upcoming (and unnamed) game.

"We always like to make this our place to show new stuff," said co-founder and programmer Tom Fulp. "The fans here are so great. We get three things: We get publicity, we get testing, and we just get good energy to keep us motivated."

Unlike many companies, The Behemoth relies on tangible playtesting feedback by watching attendees pick up the controllers at the show. "We definitely get to observe how lots of people play it," Fulp said. "You see the spots where you want to move things around, you see how people can grief each other, you get new ideas by watching what they do."

I'm not sure about you, but with E3 still not exactly recapturing its old magic (intentionally?) the thought of heading out to San Diego for an omnibus of all things nerdy doesn't sound all that bad. The chance to see things like this in person is just too tempting. What do you think? Is SDCC worth it for gaming? How do you feel about publishers branching out into previously unconventional spaces in effort to promote their wares? Hit the comments and share your thoughts.

[Analysis: Comic-Con -- What's The Verdict For Game Makers?] Gamasutra