Russ to Speak at vgXpo

I’ll be hopping on a plane this Friday (arriving two hours early for a one-hour flight – hooray for the Theatre of Security) for Philadelphia, home of vgXpo, America’s Video Game Expo, the next in a long line of conventions to battle for the crown of “E3 Replacement.”

This one has it all: gaming, battle of the bands, demo booths and a number of panel discussions, one of which will feature me.

The panel I’m on is ostensibly about game industry culture, titled “Covering the Culture Beat,” and I’ve heard rumors that I’ll be under the bright lights with some of my favorite bloggers and fellow journalists, although at the time of this writing the panel organizer was still struggling to find co-panelists worthy of basking in my presence. Either that or he just didn’t want to tell me who’d be waiting in line to beat me with fistsfuls of penny rolls.

Such is life.

Of course, the company expects me to provide some hard-hitting coverage in return for my plane fare and generous travel allowance, so expect to see a slew of hot, juicy bits from the show floor this weekend, and into next week.

If there’s anything you’re dying to hear about, hit the comment link and tell me what to go see. I’m flying solo on this one, and without the horned avatar of Razor perched on my left shoulder, I may not know what to do with myself. Chances are I’ll spend far less money, speak with fewer Russian prostitutes and remain largely sober. Which means I’ll have plenty of time to actually see games and stuff.