StreetPass Princeton began its monthly gatherings last month, and then, the event focused on AR Cards, a QR Code Challenge, and a Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition mini-tournament. For the full write-up on that event, check it out here.
The new venue...
This second monthly gathering was different all around. Whereas last month took place at Princeton's Panera Bread, this month's event took place in the back of Quakerbridge Mall's Gamestop. Displays were pushed off to the sides, and a table was set up near all the attendees, complete with food for all, or at least most of the people there. We were told that hotdogs were available, but by the time we got there an hour later, all of them had been eaten. However, what we did get to eat was part of a large cake, complete with StreetPass Princeton's new logo!
The event's cake, beside StreetPass Princeton's new logo.
Around the store, people could see a number of black-and-white designs taped to displays and counters. These codes correspond with particular Pokemon which appear when using Pokedex 3D, which became freely available when the Nintendo eShop opened earlier this month. While there were no AR Cards or QR Codes for people to use, the Pokemon codes were welcome, even if there were a few which repeated themselves around the store. Attendees could also send other pokemon to each other using wireless connectivity.
I remember Snivy being a little bigger in the stats...
The main focus of the event was not Pokemon, nor was it the recently-released Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. The event's top priority was a Dead or Alive: Dimensions tournament, and for a $5 buy-in, players fought valiantly for Gamestop gift cards. In the end, Sou Sol was able to reign supreme as La Mariposa, but everyone else still had a good time. From fourth place, winners received $5, $25, $50, and finally $100 in Gamestop gift cards. Even if people lost, there was also a redemption tournament to keep people playing, so long as they kept away from the boss characters!
A few gamers playing Dead or Alive and chatting up games.
After the tournament was completed, StreetPass Princeton raffled off a handful of Dead or Alive character cards, but the biggest raffle-off was a commemorative Mario Galaxy coin, complete with a small certificate of authenticity.
StreetPass Princeton was not the only one giving away stuff at the event, either. NintendoWorldReport's Neal Ronaghan arrived with T-Shirts and copies of Papaya Studio's Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion, which he gave away with some trivia questions to some attendees at the show. He also initiated a few matches of the game through 3DS's Download Play, of which we took part. While Download Play consisted only of four characters and one level, it was enough to have a few fun matches while the Dead or Alive tournament concluded.
One aspect of last month's event remained the same: the musical choice. 2B A Master, a pokemon-focused music album, was still playing in the background, and occasionally StreetPass Princeton head Rob Oehlberg would start singing along, particularly with the PokeRap. The other attendees were perhaps not as enthusiastic about it, but the overarching attitude was pretty good, even as the show was heading toward the end.
The turnout was pretty good, considering how tight the location and how tournament-focused the event was. People from all ages and groups came to the event, whether they spoke with the rest of the attendees or not. We even got to see Jordan White from StreetPass NYC drop by before we had to leave. Overall, while there is room to improve and grow, it was still another successful event for StreetPass Princeton.
3DS owners young and old showed up and had a fun time.
Oehlberg told us that the event had just over forty people attend, and considering how cramped that Gamestop can be at times, that was quite a feat! There are plenty of interesting events coming up on the horizon for StreetPass Princeton, and he let us know what to expect. Next month's event is expected to come July 17th and take place back in the Princeton area. He said for us to plan for a barbeque at the park and to look out for zombies! There is something special coming soon for a later StreetPass event, but he told us to keep that secret.
In the meantime, here's hoping everyone enjoyed the event, and to those out there not near another StreetPass group, make your own! You never know what small community of gamers can arrive together with a common delight.
Hotdogs were available, but we could not prove it by the time we arrived!
A highlight for us: we found Victini, attached to Punch-Out!! for Wii.
Seems fitting, in a way.
StreetPass Princeton's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StreetPassPrinceton
StreetPass Princeton's Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/SPprinceton
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