And the music is just one of them!
MAGFest is hands down my favorite event of the year. The music and gaming festival not only features an endless buffet of both these things, it also has a lot more on offer as it grows each and every year.
We’ve already mentioned that Kinuyo Yamashita and Yuzo Koshiro will be attending, as well as listed all the bands performing this year, but that’s just the beginning. Join us for five reasons you need to be in National Harbor, Maryland, for four days of madness starting Thursday, January 3, 2013.
While the merchandise area at MAGFest used to be crammed into a small lobby area, it’s now expanded into an entire hall dedicated to everything from game music CDs to hand-painted 8-bit pixel art and everything in between. Whether you want to satiate your late night craving for Pocky or take home a souvenir from the event, you’ll likely spend a good amount of time (and money!) on the awesome stuff being sold.
Videogames! It’s great to meet up with a friend you haven’t seen in a long time and catch up over a friendly game of Mario Kart. Or Halo. Or Smash Bros. Whatever game it is that you like to play, it will likely be in the 24-hour game hall. Nearly every console is represented along with a ton of arcades (the newly-released DJMAX Technika 3 was available last year). And did I mention you can play ANY TIME you want?
The major draw for MAGFest has always been the music. There will be over 40 acts performing this year, including special guest Yuzo Koshiro’s DJ set and the new futuristic funk stylings of The OneUps. In fact, there are so many bands and artists performing that they have three separate stages for the event!
Of course, there will also be Metroid Metal, The Megas, Armcannon, virt, Danimal Cannon, the Video Game Orchestra, and countless others on hand playing at all hours of the night and early morning, so don’t miss out!
While the special guests often get the most attention (Yuzo Koshiro, Kinuyo Yamashita, and Chris Huelsbeck are pictured above), there are tons of others who will be on hand, including Jake “virt” Kaufman, Jon St. Jon (voice of Duke Nukem), and more. And that’s only the official guest roster.
Over 6,000 people attended MAGFest last year, and those included all sorts of people from the gaming industry, so don’t be surprised if you run into somebody you know or have heard of, or make new friends with the numerous attendees who share your passion for games and music.
If you want to know where the official Destructoid meetup is for MAGFest, this is it. Destructoid Live! is scheduled for Friday, January 4, at 3PM and will feature Destructoid staff — and of course you — in an interactive session with fun, prizes, and memories that will last a lifetime. Be sure to join us, and don’t forget to stick around for the group photo afterwards!
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MAGFest is really something special. There are other events out there that do gaming and music, but not like this. Come out to National Harbor in just less than two weeks, meet some cool people, play some games, listen to some great music, and have a great time with Destructoid and the rest of the attendees!
Get your tickets and learn more here: http://magfest.org/
Chime in and let us know your favorite MAGFest memories if you’ve attended in the past, and let us know what you’re most looking forward to this year.
