INDEPENDENT NEWS

NZ’s first Digital Entertainment Expo

Published: Wed 31 Jul 2013 02:15 PM
NZ’s first Digital Entertainment Expo
3 Firsts with DIGITAL NATIONZ
First Digital Entertainment Expo in NZ
First place for the public to play on PlayStation®4
First place for the public to play on Xbox One
Brace yourselves gamers, tech-heads and fans of great entertainment across all things digital. You’re about to launch into the future as DIGITAL NATIONZ, New Zealand’s first Digital Entertainment Expo, debuts in Auckland this September.
DIGITAL NATIONZ is a 2 day expo held at Auckland’s Vector Arena, across the weekend of 28-29th September 2013.
DIGITAL NATIONZ will provide the first public opportunity for Kiwis to experience the next generation of consoles, Sony’s PlayStation®4 (PS4) and Microsoft’s Xbox One, due for release later this year. These industry giants will each have large stands at the event, not only showing off their latest consoles loaded with the newest titles for gamers to try, but also upcoming titles for PS3, PS VITA and XBOX 360.
The past, present and future of digital entertainment, from gaming to movies and music will be well represented; the expo features a History of Video Games Museum, a Digital Artz Gallery and sneak peeks into cutting edge technologies such as 3D printers, The Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Headset and other exciting innovations.
Exhibits and events such as Robot wars, speaker sessions featuring international game development experts, panel discussions, movie and games previews, and creative technology workshops mean plenty of opportunities for hands-on involvement.
DIGITAL NATIONZ also features a LAN gaming event for 200 participants playing simultaneously throughout the weekend.
The founding partners of the event include heavy hitting industry leaders ensuring a broad range of experiences and content at the event. (see further down for list of confirmed partners)
DIGITAL NATIONZ has been created by Vector Arena’s Business Development Manager, Peter Hall, who’s been an avid gamer and gadget guy since he fired up his Commodore 64 for the first time at the age of 6. He had the idea to launch DIGITAL NATIONZ when he saw a gap in the NZ creative/entertainment digital space. “New Zealand is one of the few countries where a major electronic/digital expo doesn’t exist, the “extremes” are covered for the hard core fans of comic books and TV-series and for those who are developers and programmers, but mainstream New Zealand has nothing. I wanted to create an event heavy on content both international and Kiwi made.”
He continues,
“In short our goal is to let you engage, discuss and explore the digital world, by putting future products, prototypes and concepts in your hands right now.”
A promise DIGITAL NATIONZ is sure to deliver.
EARLYBIRD EVENT TICKETS PRICED AT JUST $14 PER DAY/$24 WEEKEND PASS AVAILABLE UNTIL 31ST AUGUST. DISCOUNTS APPLY FOR STUDENTS.
Tickets on sale from 10am on Thursday 1st August from Ticketmaster - www.Ticketmaster.co.nz - 0800 111999
www.DIGITALNATIONZ.com, Facebook.com/DIGITALNATIONZ or @DIGITALNATIONZ on Twitter for all the latest updates.
PLEASE SEE PAGE 2 OF THIS RELEASE FOR FURTHER EVENT DETAILS AND PRICING.
What to experience at DIGITAL NATIONZ:
• Robot Wars: New Zealand’s first annual BOT WARS championship of its kind, pitting robotic students from high schools and universities, hobbyists and professionals against each other in high adrenaline bouts in our stage ring. True kiwi ingenuity will be on display as the masters of the bots grind gears for the big win.
• Homegrown Tech: In cooperation with the NZGDA (New Zealand Game Developers Association), Kiwis will be able to experience the greatest from their own backyard. Never before seen prototypes and projects as well as established products (some which you may be surprised to find out are NZ made) will take centre stage at our two Homegrown areas.
• International Speakers: Speaking sessions and panels discussions featuring overseas speakers from leading international game development labels, Kiwi game development labels and tech/digital industry experts.
• Workshops: Learn how to make your own wearable technologies using microprocessors, ‘interactivity for wear or play’, or maybe 3D printing is more your thing? Well there’s a hands-on demo for that as well. Run by CoLab, AUT’s hub for Creative Technologies. Workshops will run over 2 days, starting on the Saturday and ending on the Sunday. Participation will be limited and a small registration fee of $9 per workshop will occur.
• History of Video Games Museum: Every console ever made starting with the Odyssey will be on display in this interactive museum. A great opportunity to let the new generation of gamers get a chance to connect with their older gaming counterparts’ past and get a better insight into where and how it all started.
• DIGITAL ARTZ Gallery Exhibition: An exhibition of Kiwi made game art including; concept art, cinematic footage, game play footage, poster art or box art printed and displayed along with 3D printed models of a select number of creations.
• LAN – Competitive Gaming Tournament: A LAN gaming event with up to 200 participants playing some of the most popular games. More details will be available shortly through www.digitalnationz.com or www.facebook.com/digitalnationz
• Exclusive content from several big movie and gaming studios: Including never-before-seen trailers, extended footage from blockbuster movies that are about to be released, short film premieres and game titles.
Announced exhibitors/contributors at DIGITAL NATIONZ:
The founding partners of the event include heavy hitting industry leaders such as Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation, AUT, Dell (Alienware), EB Games, Electronic Arts, Gameplanet, GDE (Mad Catz, Tritton, Cyborg, Saitek, Hori, Thrustmaster, Hercules, Playmax, Tru Blu), Media Design School, NZGDA, PlayTech, SEGA, SONOS, Turtle Beach, Ubisoft, University of Auckland and Warner Bros. Interactive.
With more yet to be revealed.
VIP at DIGITAL NATIONZ
VIP tickets will be limited and will give the visitor some great benefits.
• 1 Hour earlier access to the Expo than the general public each day!
• Guaranteed seating at speaking sessions and Robot Wars (pre-registration required)
• Access to the Retro Arcade VIP Lounge Presented by George FM, filled with old school arcade machines and a few surprises…
Ticket prices for DIGITAL NATIONZ – AUGUST EARLY BIRD:
1 DAY
ADULT: $14 (1 child under 12 years free with each adult ticket purchased)
CHILD/STUDENT/65+: $9 (a child is considered under 12 years old, student ID required)
VIP: $34 (See above for more info)
2 DAY ADULT: $24 (1 child under 12 years free with each ticket purchased)
2 DAY CHILD/STUDENT/65+: $15 (Or otherwise known as a ‘Concession ticket’. A child is considered under 12 years old, student ID required)
2 DAY VIP: $69 (limited availability)
2 DAY VIP LAN: $149 (limited availability)
2 DAY LAN: $89 (limited availability)
Ticket prices for DIGITAL NATIONZ – SEPTEMBER STANDARD PRICES:
1 DAY
ADULT: $19 (1 child under 12 years free with each adult ticket purchased)
CHILD/STUDENT/65+: $14 (a child is considered under 12 years old, student ID required)
VIP: $39 (See above for more info)
2 DAY ADULT: $34 (1 child under 12 years free with each ticket purchased)
2 DAY CHILD/STUDENT/65+: $24 (Or otherwise known as a ‘Concession ticket’. A child is considered under 12 year’s old, student ID required)
2 DAY VIP: $74 (limited availability)
2 DAY VIP LAN: $149 (limited availability)
2 DAY LAN: $89 (limited availability)
Ticket prices for DIGITAL NATIONZ – Door Sales:
1 DAY
ADULT: $24 (1 child under 12 years free with each adult ticket purchased)
CHILD/STUDENT/65+: $19 (a child is considered under 12 years old, student ID required)
VIP: $49 (See above for more info)
2 DAY ADULT: $39 (1 child under 12 years free with each ticket purchased)
2 DAY CHILD/STUDENT/65+: $34 (Or otherwise known as a ‘Concession ticket’. A child is considered under 12 year’s old, student ID required)
2 DAY VIP: $89 (limited availability)
2 DAY VIP LAN: $169 (limited availability)
2 DAY LAN: $119 (limited availability)
ENDS

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