TriXie's Travels: Hello PAC-MAN!
Published June 6, 2007
After two days of World Cyber Games action, Major Nelson joined Video Monkey and me to cover the PAC-MAN World Championship. Monday night, we went over to The Supper Club on West 47th Street where the crew was setting up for the big day.
TriXie meets with one of the all time great PAC-MAN players.
It was really exciting when the finalists arrived. We knew they were about to learn about the new PAC-MAN Championship Edition, and couldn't wait to see their reaction. They were jetlagged and nervous. Basically everyone was hyped up and sort of giddy. I was stoked to have my picture taken with Billy Mitchell.
James Rodgers looks intense, Dad slightly less so.
The finalists and their guests were so great to hang out with. I had dessert with Jason Gahler and his guest (the Ohio contingent)and berated them both for never having seen The Godfather. Thirteen-year-old James Rodgers and his father are big fans of Major Nelson's podcast, and they agree Major was very mean to me in Show 227! I also learned James has beat Guitar Hero II™ on Expert. The kid's amazing!
The very cool special PAC-MAN console.
The next morning it was back to The Supper Club. The finalists were practicing the new maps and getting ready for the rush of press that were coming to cover the championship, and find out what the big PAC-MAN news would be. When we got down to the final two players, it was very suspenseful. I squeaked a little when Carlos lost a dude with seven seconds on the clock.
The medal ceremony.
Carlos Borrego won of course, and was properly lauded. Iwatani-san himself put the gold medal around his neck. Poor Carlos had cameras and microphones in his face for the rest of the afternoon.
TriXie needs a better cell phone.
I actually missed the medal ceremony because I was out in the foyer (the only place with a strong cell phone signal) on the phone with my boss back in Redmond. Xbox.com actually goes on working when I'm not there. Go figure!
Wakka wakka wakka party time.
After that, it was time to party! About 50 members of the Xbox Community came down to meet the finalists, groove to 80s tunes, try the new Baja Chicken sandwich from Quiznos, and play the brand-new PAC-MAN maps. They might have spotted the open bar …
First, the GamerchiX torment Major Nelson.
A bunch of girls from GamerchiX came by to hang with me and DirtyDiva, (MechAngel came all the way from Albany!) which was extra cool since it was also the first anniversary of GamerchiX. So we toasted our birthday and talked about games. And a little bit about hair product. We went up on stage to take a group pic and then a bunch of people including Major Nelson and Jason Gahler (our fourth place winner) wanted their picture taken surrounded by girls.
Then, they surround Jason Gahler.
After we closed down The Supper Club, we headed over to the atrium lounge of our hotel to host some more community members for a little meet and greet.
The PAC-MAN World Championship was a lot of fun.
Andrew from Joystiq was there, Devastator (the dude wearing the Master Chief armor at the H2 launch), Douglas Buffone, dedtime, UnDunn, MVPS Thrills and Glach, Pink Sage from Gamertag Radio, the dudes from CheapAssGamer, John and Sara from Gamerscoreblog, DangerKitty and WonderMonkey, chiX FantasyBarb, HutSutRaw and LadyBluEyes, and my Turtle Beach boys, who came bearing headsets and swag. Who didn't show up? My lame friend Paul from World Cyber Games. Other than that it was a great time. It's so cool to meet members of the community face to face. I can't wait to do it again!
By the way, big congratulations to Christina and Jason from Xboxsolution.com, who between the party and the hotel meet and greet, managed to go to Central Park and get engaged! TriX out!
Article by TriXie
