The Press Release:
The 4th annual Play NYC convention — the biggest, multi-day game convention in New York — expands to a week and goes online-only this summer with the support of the New York City Mayor’s Office for Media and Entertainment, Playcrafting announced today. Apply here to become an exhibitor. Click the website to request press access (if you are press for such events).
“Playcrafting founded Play NYC in 2017 to give New York a game convention of its own,” said Dan Butchko, founder and CEO of Playcrafting and the convention organizer. “Each year, we welcome over 5,000 people and 150 games for two days, unlike any other. Last fall, we announced the 4th Play NYC. A lot of games were already confirmed for the show. It was shaping up to be our biggest yet. Then COVID-19 changed life as we know it.
“New York has been on pause. Our community has struggled through this pandemic. Yet despite trying times and ongoing tensions, we’ve seen so much hope in how folks have risen up to face the challenges of our reality. This is the greatest city in the world with the strongest people in the world. And games have the power to unite, inspire, educate, and heal. Especially now. That’s why I’m excited to re-announce Play NYC 2020. For the first time, this year’s show will be online, free to join, and a full week-long.”
The seven-day event, which kicks off on Aug. 10 and runs through Aug. 16 at Play-NYC.Com , is open to all indie developers, larger studios, and anyone interested in virtually attending. For the first time in the show’s history, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is also supporting Play NYC with an advertising campaign in July that includes bus shelters and phone kiosks throughout the city.
While this year’s event has moved online, Play NYC will still feature an eclectic mix of powerful talks, demos, and panels, and will continue to harness, elevate, and celebrate the essence and impact of New York City on the international gaming community.
Where more than 5,000 people packed the Metropolitan Pavillion during last year’s paid-event, this year’s event will take place on a variety of platforms all brought together through the Play NYC website. Among the many exciting events taking place during Play NYC 2020 will be the annual Graffiti Games installations created exclusively for Play NYC. This year’s initiative will amplify the work of Black game developers and be curated by indie game company Decoy Games .
Graffiti Games installations celebrate the diversity that makes the American gaming industry and New York City so special. Previous installations have featured the talent and stories of first-generation immigrant developers, and celebrated the voices, talent and impact of the LGBTQ community in gaming and the importance of creating safe spaces.
“Games bring people together, but they’re nothing without the people who make them. We’re honored to amplify the important voices of Black game creators through this year’s Graffiti Games. In these challenging times, it’s more important than ever for Play NYC to represent the vital contributions that the Black community makes to the art and culture of games, in New York and beyond.”
More details on this year’s speakers, live-streams, panels, and demos will be released in the coming weeks. Play NYC runs Monday, Aug. 10 through Sunday, Aug. 16. Visit play-nyc.com and follow us on Twitter @Playcrafting and #PlayNYC for more updates.
About Playcrafting:
Playcrafting is the largest network of game creators in New York and one of the largest in the U.S, with more than 30,000 actively-engaged developers. Playcrafting offers more than 50 local and industry-recognized classes and events, such as the Play NYC convention, The Bit Awards, and the largest Global Game Jam site in the U.S. These events give game creators and fans the chance to connect, learn and play. Since 2017, Playcrafting has connected the world’s biggest companies with game developers nationwide. These partnerships have generated 68 games and over $1.5 million in funding for game developers with companies like Bose, Verizon, the NFL, Facebook, IBM, and Schick Hydro. Click here for more on our brand partnerships and
to discover ways gaming can move your company and industry forward through play!
About Decoy Games:
Decoy Games is an indie game company founded by two technically talented brothers, and later joined by a long time sidekick who they have known since pre-school. With no prior professional game development experience they used their deep passion for video games and extensive imagination to start building Team Decoy. The team is currently working on Swimsanity! for a planned 2020 release.
About NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment:
The mission of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) is to ensure New York City continues to be the creative capital of the world by supporting film, television, theater, music, publishing, advertising, and digital content and ensuring those industries work for New Yorkers. The creative industries account for more than 300,000 local jobs and have an economic impact of $104 billion annually. MOME comprises four divisions: The Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting; NYC Media; the Office of Nightlife; and educational and workforce development initiatives.
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Piercing Ken Thoughts: At this point in time my head is spinning from all the announcements that I’ve been up to here on “The Chronicles” and over on PiercingMetal.com so let me keep this brief and to the point. I would rather see an event go virtual than to be cancelled all together. With video games being virtual in many cases and all of the players having computers, mobile devices and giant sized televisions in their homes this might be the best way to enjoy this convention. Let’s face it, this pandemic is taking over almost every facet of our lives and its not always safe to be out and about right now so click through on their website and make some notes about how you will access it and lets leave it at that until next year when we will hopefully be looking at this stuff in the rear view mirror with a collective sigh. Sorry for soapboxing but I am concerned as well and its sure weird for me to not be at a physical convention or concert. You can chime in down below in the comments section since that is what its for and with that being said I bid you farewell. Be safe out there, see you next time.
Official: https://www.play-nyc.com/