Gamertell

WonderCon is the premiere comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention that has graced San Francisco, California, since 2003. Usually held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, just a few blocks from Union Square, WonderCon has grown significantly in size over the past few years thanks to its inception into the Comic-Con International family.

WonderCon boasts a huge assortment of vendors who sell anything from back issues of comic books to home-made steam punk goggles and everything in-between. Those who purchased more than $50 worth of goods were treated to an exclusive Chun Li figure. In addition to being able to purchase rare and unique items at fairly competitive prices, attendees have the option to stand in line to request an autograph or original sketch from some top comic book artists in the industry.

This year, WonderCon was held at the Moscone South Center from February 27 to March 1, 2009. Surprisingly, there was a handful of video game booths that decided to grace WonderCon attendees with their presences - Capcom, EA Games, Namco Bandai and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.

Capcom provided attendees with by far the most impressive video game booth on site. It was located smack-dab in the middle of the convention hall and outfitted itself with huge banners advertising the recently released Street Fighter IV as well as its other upcoming hits (Resident Evil 5, Bionic Commando, Monster Hunter 3) in addition to units where players could play demos of each of these games. The booth also sported a mini-Capcom store where fans could buy a plethora of different Capcom mechandise that inlcuded video games, figures, art books, and more. Affluent and impoverished attendees alike were encouraged to purchase $50 or more worth of merchandise to be able to receive an exlusive Chun Li mini-figure. Furthermore, in honor of the spirit of WonderCon’s comic book roots, Capcom invited Long Vo (Studio XD, Udon Comics) to grant patient fans autographed original sketches.

The EA Games booth was located directly across from the Capcom booth area. Paling in comparison, EA Games featured a cylindrical kiosk where interested attendees could play such games as Mirror’s Edge and Burnout Paradise as well as a big flat-screen where players could also experience Burnout Paradise’s party mode. As I passed by this booth, I couldn’t help but become enamored with the grotesque amount of children who decided to cut class and make camp right in front of EA Game’s 50-something inch flat-screen.

Almost unrecognizable and located next to the Viz Media booth and another, was the ClubNamco booth.  I literally passed this booth several times before realizing what it actually was thanks to the lack of proper signage. Unfortunately, there weren’t any playable games but the booth did feature a lot of wearable merchandise and Pac-Man paraphernalia for sale. Some of the workers wore impractical Pac-Man hats in an attempt to earnestly to entice attendees to purchase these articles which would truthfully only be suitable for public wear during Halloween.

There was a fairly impressive yet empty Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon set that resembled a medieval throne room complete with matching thrones and a makeshift fireplace at the front of the diorama. This booth was offering participants the chance to win a replica falchion sword from the game and even tried to entice a bigger audience by using the age-old art of seduction, which at a convention means putting a fairly good looking girl in a revealing costume.

Site [WonderCon] Photo Gallery [WonderCon 2009]

NOTE: All photos by Janine Dong.

Check out the gallery: Wondercon 2009