Gaming Hall

Gaming at Otakon is huge! If you thought our Video Gaming Hall in previous years was good, well you’re in for a treat since we have expanded it even more!  We're filling an entire hall of the convention center with video games from all eras, classics you remember, current games you love, plenty of games straight from Japan, and games by Indie Developers! Show off your skills and compete against your fellow con goers in casual play or enter one of our tournaments.

Hours of Operation

Location: Hall D

Operational Hours:

Arcade Machines

Back by popular demand, Tokyo Attack is making a return to the game room this year, meaning that we will also have a large assortment of Japanese arcade games on freeplay! Some of the variety of games that will be available for freeplay includes:

* List updated 7/19/2019

Indie Isles

We will have a dedicated Indie Isles area for independent gaming developers to showcase their latest work!  Come by the area, try their games and give them your support!  A list of Indie Developers already confirmed at the show include the following:

... And More!

INDUSTRY

Our friends at Nintendo and Microsoft will be present at our Gaming Hall!  Be sure to look for them during the following hours as they will have a booth with games to play and some free swag!

Nintendo - 10am to 6pm Sat & 10am to 3pm Sun

Microsoft - 10am to 3pm Fri & 12pm to 5pm Sat

In addition, we would like to acknowledge our friends at Bandai Namco for sponsoring us some of their games for attendees to play on the show floor!  Please check them out!

SPEEDRUN EVENTS

At various times during the Otakon, we will be having speed events which will be broadcasted live in our tournament area!  Come by starting at 10:30am each morning to see a speedrun! Schedule is as follows:

• Fri | 10:30am to 1:30pm | Earthbound - SNES
• Sat | 10:30am to 1:30pm | Link's Awakening - Game Boy (Played on Gamecube)
• Sun | 10:30am to 3pm | Sailor Moon - SNES

Handheld Area

Did you bring your Nintendo 3DS, Switch, Vita, or any other handheld console? Well come play and meet other fellow players in our Handheld Area!  Here is where you can either relax and play your one-player game, or go play with your fellow attendees on some multiplayer battles and races!  Located near the tabletop area, we’ll have a bunch of tables and chairs for you to sit, along with some surge protectors set up for you to charge up your handheld console!

General Rules

Be Polite and please remember:

• No Fighting
• No Abusive Behavior
• Be sure to eat/drink during the convention, but...
• Do not eat/drink near any of the TVs and Consoles
• Be hygienic (shower and deodorant)
• Do not touch the consoles
• Do not exit out of a game or go into the main menu screen
• Do not steal
• Try not to break or mistreat any of the gaming equipment
• Do not leave your personal belongings unattended
• Staff are not responsible for your personal belongings

If there is a line waiting to play, please limit your play time to the following:

Single Player Game:    

• 1 Life Set OR 3 Songs OR 30 minutes (whichever is shortest)

Multiplayer Games:

Fighters

• Winner stays
• All other players MUST give up their controller to the next player in line.
• If there are not enough new players to fill up the empty seats, then the Second (and possibly Third) placed player(s) may remain seated

Rock Band/Just Dance

• A playgroup may only play ONE (1) song. After the song is finished they MUST offer their spot to the next person in line.
• If no one wants to play your particular instrument, you may continue playing.

Any Other Music Game

• A playgroup may play one game, comprised of TWO (2) to THREE (3) songs depending on the game. After the game is finished they MUST offer their spot to the next person in line.

Please talk to a Video Game Room Staffer if:

• A piece of equipment is not working properly so that it can be fixed/replaced with a working one as soon as possible.
• You would like to switch out a game and there is an open set-up. Please be aware that we will not allow personal games to be played and that we can not comply with all requests.
• You notice someone is breaking any of the above rules so that corrective action can be taken.

Video Game Tournaments

PRE-REGISTER FOR TOURNAMENTS HERE

Otakon would like to extend its welcome our new gaming tournament hosts United Gaming League (UGL). With the stream production, event staffing, and gaming setups for consoles being provided.  For more information about this organization be sure to check out their website at www.ugl.gg

Gamers, whether it be a casual or even a professional gamer, are inherently drawn to not only playing against top-level competition but also be able to replay it from a crisp stream. Those two tenants led to the creation of the United Gaming League (UGL): an esports organization that uniquely specializes in not only supplying the hype with our supply of consoles, PCs, and broadcasting equipment but also providing the hype via our lineup of shoutcasters, social media personalities, and/or competitive gamers. Our goal is to provide a place where even the smallest of communities will have representation at our events since we are at the end of the day we’re all gamers. #UnitedWeGame

These are the MAJOR prize winning tournaments for the year of 20189, other small tournaments will be posted inside of the game room upon decision between staff members. First place prize will include an Otakon pass for next year.  Top finishers (typically top 3) will also receive prizes from our sponsors.  We will not be accepting any systems to help run tournaments unless the decision is approved by the head of the Gaming Hall. 

Many of these tournaments will take place at our dedicated tournament area that will include seats for spectators.

Tournaments sign up begin procedures have CHANGED this year and you can currently sign up for tournaments on Smash.gg here at their scheduled start times as indicated below.   If you have to go to the bathroom and/or have important matters to attend to, please let a staff member who is running the tournament know. If you leave the area and miss your turn, you are disqualified. If it is the first round, we will happily give your spot to someone who wants to play.

We welcome everyone to bring their own controller/arcade stick to minimize wait times for controllers.

Notes:

• Mario Kart 8 will be capped at 64 players and played in 4 pools that starting at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, and 5pm with the Top 8 starting at around 6pm Friday
• Smash Bros. Ultimate will be capped at 128 players and will be played in 4 pools that start a 2pm, 3:30pm. 5pm, and 6:30pm with the Top 8 starting at around 8pm Saturday.

Rules for each game are located here

TABLETOP GAMING & TOURNAMENTS

Pro-Play Games (PPG)  is a professional event management company ran by premier tournament organizers which hosts a competitive card game circuit around the United States – the Pro-Play Tour. These events are comprised of over 500 unique players at each destination, along with 3 different games. We have previously hosted events at large cons like both Otakon and Supercon, as well as at our independent series. We will host different types of card game events including free tournaments and game demos at Otakon. Our goal is to provide events for the card gaming community and give players a reason to be a part of the greater anime experience.

Pro-Play Games is a brick and mortar presence in Miami, FL – home to over 20,000 subscribers on YouTube, and over 8,000 followers on Facebook. Known heavily as a one stop shop for all TCG related accessories, cards, and games – Pro-Play Games brings the best and most competitive prices to supplement any TCG event.

Special Thanks

We would like to thank the following companies for providing prize support for our Video Game Tournaments: