A celebration of WipEout - hosted by The Average Gamer, Saturday 23rd March, London

[Hellfire_WZ]

I've been dying to tell you about this for ages now :)

On Saturday 23rd March, The Average Gamer will be hosting the next of their Gaming Den events in East London. This one though will have a major difference - it will be WipEout focused!

So what can we expect?



EVERY SINGLE WipEout game ever playable on native hardware
WipEout HD Fury on three enormous HD projectors
Plus a host of other retro games as well


This promises to be an epic event for any WipEout fan, and we plan to provide a fitting celebration for a series that has had a major influence on us all. I expect if anyone brings their handhelds with them that there will be some local multiplayer madness going on too. Also, while unconfirmed at present, they are hoping to invite down as many members of the WipEout team as they can, both past and present, and also they are trying to see if Tim Wright would be able to provide live music for the event.

However, while this does promise to be one hell of a night, there is unfortunately a very sad note to all of this as well. This will be Ami's final appearance as community manager for WipEout. She has been moved onto Evolution's upcoming PS4 release Driveclub and she will be unable to continue in her role as WipEout community manager as a result of this. So as well as celebrating the series, I would also like the night to be a mark of our appreciation for all that Ami has done for the community, and for us to give her a night to remember it all by. She will of course still remain a member of the community itself, nothing can take that away from her.

So people, please do your best to make it down to London for what promises to be an amazing night. I look forward to seeing some of you there! :D

Details for the event, including address and timings, can be found on The Average Gamer's site here - http://www.theaveragegamer.com/2013/03/05/the-gaming-den-wipeout-edition/

EDIT: Along with a picture of me on the far console getting my arse kicked on Smash Bros Melee ;)

[Azurooth]

Damn damn damn, i live in the wrong country. This sounds amazing! I really wish i could be there. I would like to thank Ami for her time spent as an awesome community manager for WipEout, the best!
(why damn it did i have to be born in Sweden...)

[LJtheZombie]

This is more or less on my doorstep, so count me in.

[Dark_Phantom_89]

I don't believe this! I'm staying in East London all of next week and this event falls on the week after. Typical, as I so would have come to this. :(

Ahh well, have fun guys and take lots of pics.

[GekkoP]

Can't be there, but looks really impressive. Have fun races, guys.

[Knux_Chaotix]

Is anyone from Scotland planning to travel down??? Someone please say yes!!! Im looking to split travel costs or accommodation. I seriously want to be there.

[stin]

I would love to go but in London?, it`s a bit far from here :(

But, whoever goes there will have a blast! :)

stevie:)

[CaptSkyRocket]

Hi,

To give you a little taster of what to expect on the 23rd March, before our first gaming den last month, I wanted to test out one of the screens, with a bit of WipEout HD...

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We will have 3 of these screens in the main room, all running HD. I can't wait for you all to see it.
Personally, it's been quite an adventure for me and WipEout, from first walking into an Electronic Boutique shop in London and buying my first PlayStation game on the 29th Sep 1995, to this very event.
I've always wanted to play WipEout on the big screen, so here we are :)

I hope you all enjoy it.

Nick

[Ragsus Maxima]

Damn damn damn, I live in the wrong country.

This!! Wish I'd have a chance to be there! No doubt that will be one hell of a night.

[Colonel]

As I said to Charlie recently, I'm really sorry but I can't make this. Just bad timing for me I'm afraid, I'm weeks away from getting married, and going down to London on an expensive Wipeout mission is relationship suicide.

It's a great pity because I would love to have been there, and to meet some of you in person. Sorry guys, can't do it. I hope it goes really well, I'm sure it will be a great success. Hats off to the Average gamer for putting it together.

[Aeralys]

I am so going, mainly because F-Zero GX is there. Trolololol nah this sounds like a fantastic event! Ill try my best to make it for WipEout carnage and definitely some games of melee. It will be great to finally meet some pilots in person! Hopefully the trains aren't too bad from Bournemouth.

[Bollywood_Bandit]

I'm intending to be at this event ;)

Might have to round up some UK based players I'm in touch with, to come along.

Those BIG screens :D I'm gonna be really happy if I get to have a go racing on one of those :D

[MENGKESHI]

Oh yeah baby, see you there ppl! ACE!!

[yawnstretch]

Might be able to fly over for this...

[Knux_Chaotix]

I may well be travelling to London all by myself for this lol. Scared but I dont not want to miss this!!! Trying to convince the other half that it'd be worth skiving work for :P

[Hellfire_WZ]

If anyone is on Facebook, here's the event page. Please join if you're going, it'd be good to see who to expect there :) - https://www.facebook.com/events/453946658010798/

[AG-SYSTEMS]

It would be nice, but, I can't go anywhere. Oh well.

[terakihi]

Sounds like heaps of fun, Im sorry to miss it :paperbag

[CaptSkyRocket]

Hi,

A few more event updates:

We've got Karl Jones, the lead designer of WipEout 2048 and Fury attending the gaming den. Karl has previously worked on WipEout Pure, Pulse and HD during his time at Studio Liverpool. He is now the design director at SawFly Studios.

We've added a SEGA Saturn to the retro room line up so you can all play this version of WipEout too.

Nick

[Aeralys]

Grabbing the coach to London tonight; I can't wait for tomorrow! I should arrive at the Gaming Den for around 2:30pm. Has a time been decided for when the tourny starts (I can't find one in the description), I'm gonna need some serious practice. :D

[Hellfire_WZ]

Depends on how many people are there at the time, but I'm planning to start it around 6. Will push it back a bit if more people are arriving later.

[Jonny]

Ouh,I cant come....
it´s looking realy nice,but I´m living in Germany and I´m"under age"...:frown:

[yawnstretch]

Nice timing to have this eulogy from eurogamer: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-22-wipeout-the-rise-and-fall-of-sony-studio-liverpool

[Hellfire_WZ]

On my way into London now. If you're coming to the Gaming Den, see you there! If not, I'll try and plaster the place with pictures where I can

[Knux_Chaotix]

Gutted I cant make it :(

Hope those of you who do manage the fun filled adventure, have an epic time ^_^

[Aeralys]

I'm going to be late, mainly because I'm hungover from a party last night. Getting lost in London was quite an experience haha! See the attendees soon.

[Hellfire_WZ]

Trust me, there'll be more than enough alcohol there for hair of the dog to be an effective remedy ;)

[Aeralys]

Ahaha good. Though drunk and phantom class driving is proabaly against the law. Should pilot assist be turned on after everyone's had a few? LOL

[Hellfire_WZ]

What a night that was! Much Wipeout was played and much alcohol was consumed, and all in all it turned into an absolutely fantastic experience. Thanks to LJ, Aeralys, CHEESEE, MENGKESHI, yawnstretch, Chill and everyone else for coming along, it was great to finally meet some of you and to share some frustrating moments *coughBOMBcough* on the big screens. We noticed some familiar faces online while we were racing too, so of course thanks to all of you too :) Congratulations to Aeralys for winning the 1v1 tournament! Thanks to Nick and Debbie for making it all happen, the venue and projectors were absolutely mindblowing. And above all, thanks to Karl and Ami for coming down to top the night off. We had some good times after-hours too, especially seeing the two of them square off on one of the big screens ;)

Here's a load of pictures from last night. Please bear in mind it was dark, I only had a rather poor iPhone camera... and I was proper pissed ;)

7569 7578 7577 7576 7575 7574 7573 7572 7571 7570 7579

There was also time for some other stuff too. Plenty of retro games were there, including Soulblade, SSBM, Virtua Cop and World Cup Italia '90. Ami soon found out what happens when you try me on that last one ;)

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There are bound to be many more photos (much better than mine) on The Average Gamer in the near future, as well as an interview with Karl and Ami that is definitely worth a watch.

However, as I mentioned previously, this was Ami's last official appearance representing Wipeout. We all took this photo at the end to mark the event. Ami, thank you so much for all you've done for the community.

7581

[Aeralys]

Last night was fantastic! It was great to meet some fellow pilots after all this time and have a blast on the projector screens. The tournament had some pretty tense moments too! I got so hooked on the WOHD that I didn't spend much time in the retro room! You and Ami were going crackers on the World Cup Italia. :D These photos are nice! Can't wait to see the others and any recordings that were made at the event.

It's funny that when I was trying to sleep I could still hear the double mash up of the HD Fury menu music in my head, playing from two of the setups.

My phone camera quality is crap and has no flash so I couldn't really take photos well, I did notice this by the bar haha! 7585

Thanks to everyone that attended and made the night happen. I'll definitely be back for the next Gaming Den, to get proper pissed as well, heck I even scored a free beer as I arrived!

And thanks Ami for everything you've done for the community! I couldn't quite run off with your helmet, as much as I really wanted to. ;) 7584

[CaptSkyRocket]

Thanks to everyone who came last night. It was a real pleasure for all of us at the gaming den to be able to show off the awesomeness of WipEout.
On a sadder note, it was a fitting goodbye from Ami to WipEout with a load of hardcore 2-player matches against Karl Jones after the event had finished.

As Charlie has said, there'll be more photos, videos and interviews from the event coming to The Average Gamer.

Thank you Studio Liverpool for making so many brilliant WipEout games.
Race complete. Gold medal awarded.

[Aeralys]

*Browses Facebook* ..."The gaming den will return on the 4th May 2013. Mark those calendars people ;)"

SUCCESS! :hyper

[MegaGeeza22]

:frown: I knew i should of gone... but in a way im glad i didnt, my piloting skills are laughable at the moment and i would of been a laughing stock amongst you guys!
But im glad you all had some fun keeping Wipeout alive!

[Aeralys]

Actually we all had to adjust a bit, as there was a slight input delay due to using the large projector screens and wireless controllers. It turned into quite a challenge on Wipout 3, having to predict when to predict our predictability of cornering prediction to avoid blowing up. :D

[Chill]

I'm glad I've finally met some people from the Wipeout community in person for the first time... And I've been a big fan of the series for more than a decade!!! It was a great pleasure meeting those of you guys that were there, and hopefully won't be the last time to meet fellow pilots from the WipeoutZone and Wipeout community.. :-D

[Ami Nakajima]

*hugs*

Such a wicked night! So good to meet y'all :D

[terra-wrists]

so cool. I miss it.

[Aeralys]

A couple more photos of the event has appeared on the Gaming Den's facebook page here (https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.580168772001666.1073741830.567720379913172&type=1).

So Grid 2 is being hosted at the next one on the 4th May, more fun for us racing types then, yeah!

[MENGKESHI]

Sorry for the late reply - it was awesome! Great to meet everyone!! Thanks to everyone involved in organising! :)

[Hellfire_WZ]

An interview with Ami from the Wipeout night


http://vimeo.com/65126010

If anyone is planning to come down this weekend for the GRID 2 event, I will see you there!

[docfo4r]

Great Interview! Man I'd really love to come around, maybe someday in the future :)

[Sausehuhn]

Seems like you guys had a very good night. :) Looking at those pictures brings back the mood from Amsterdam 2007. Wow, so much time has passed since then. Can’t believe I haven’t had the chance to see any hardcore WO-Fans since this inspiring meeting.

Would have loved to be there. Ironically, I’ll be in London for a night (first time!) in the middle of this month. Well, I’m too late to the party ;)