This year’s New York Comic Con proved what gamers have known for a long time - video games are a force to be reckoned with.

As the Convention has grown over the last three years, so has the gaming presence. Publishers realize that they can reach their key demographics, at least when that target audience takes a break from sifting through boxes of old comics.

Many game companies were at the Con. There were booths promoting upcoming titles, like “Iron Man,” “Metal Gear Online,” and even “Space Chimps.”

Numerous toy companies showcased their game figure lines for everything from “Kingdom Hearts” to the upcoming “Prototype.”

Sunday boasted a day’s worth of video game panels that offered insight into “Gears of War 2,” as well as the games industry itself.

There were even a very tiny handful of vendors offering games for sale. Basically, there was a little bit of something for everybody.

By no means is Comic Con the next E3, but it was very refreshing to see comics and games mingle for a New York crowd.

Hit the jump for many, many more pics from the floor. Read more…

With three stormtroopers behind him in the MTV News New York Comic Con skybox this past weekend, Lucasfilm’s head of fan marketing, Steve Sansweet, told us how important the upcoming “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed” game is to the Star Wars saga.

It’s not what he said or how he said it. It’s just that the whole set-up for the interview is… distinct.

(Sorry Canada and U.K. readers, IP region-blocking prevents you from seeing the first-ever MTV Multiplayer interview conducted in the presence of stormtroopers. Small consolation: it’s really short.)

I interviewed Scottish comic book scribe Grant Morrison on Friday at the New York Comic Con. The last time he and I spoke was almost exactly a year ago. Back then, we chatted about video games — how he loves playing them and how would love to help make some. (He also told me that the guys from Rockstar Games loved his toilet).

So let us shake our collective heads at the update Morrison gave me on Friday about his video game aspirations:

“Ever since I started talking about them, no one’s called me.”

Wow. And to think of all of the other (did I mean lesser?) comic book creators who have gotten calls from video game companies. So sad.

Whoever you are out there, I am better than you at only one form of “Call of Duty.”

You can probably take me in a “Call of Duty 4” deathmatch.

You can probably trounce me in “COD2.”

But on Friday I played the “Call Of Duty: Real-Time Card Game” — one hour before it was announced to the world — and since you, dear reader, did not, that means I have the advantage. For now.

Yes, there is a “Call of Duty” card game in the works. And, yes, it is fun.

I battled fellow Multiplayer blogger Jason Cipriano in it at the New York Comic Con in a match personally overseen by the game’s creator, Upper Deck designer Ben Cichoski. Ben made a good game, was a fun host and is a bit of a tease: he told us the game is partially based on “Call of Duty 5.” You know, the “COD” game that isn’t really announced yet.

So how does a “Call of Duty” card game work?

Read more…

I just got back from the New York Comic Con where many comics were being hyped, Grant Morrison was being interviewed by me in a skybox and “Metal Gear Online” was making its American playable debut.

Fitting, right?

Well… no.

Why “MGO” was at the Con is beyond me. But I don’t mind. I was able to continue a late-week personal “Metal Gear” festival that began with five minutes of hands-on with “Metal Gear Solid 4” on Thursday evening.

A Konami representative told me that the “MGO” build on the Comic Con show floor was a simplified version of the closed beta that will launch this coming Monday. There were two multiplayer maps, though the beta may have a full three.

If you’re like me and didn’t really understand what “MGO” is, it’s basically multiplayer “Metal Gear Solid” set in the world of “MGS4.” And it’s not a separate game. Not really. It will ship with “MGS4″ and is in fact going to be on the same Blu-Ray disc, according to the Konami rep who played “MGO” with me at the convention. The game will be amplified with later expansions.

Like any other “Metal Gear” game, “MGO” has a mix of the conventional and the absurd.

Read more…

One of the best reasons to go to New York Comic Con is the show exclusives. Last year I scored a set of Mr. and Mrs. Capman, and this year it looks like I will be dipping my toe into the “Metal Gear” toy pool. Checking out NYCC’s exclusives page for this year’s show, I spied a Stealth Camouflage version of Raiden from “Metal Gear Solid 2.” While I haven’t collected any of the “Metal Gear” figures in the past, it looks like it might be the right time to start. Limited to only 1400 pieces, I’ll most likely pick up two. That leaves you 1398 copies.

From the NYCC Site:

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the hit video game, this exclusive NYCC figure from Medicom is a must-have for any fan of the action-packed franchise as well as nostalgia-struck gamers from the NES-era. 7″ tall and features multiple points of articulation. Available from selected retailers on the show floor. Limited to 1400 pieces.