Gaming Fans Press Start at Wizard World St. Louis This Weekend

ST. LOUIS - March 30, 2016 - PRLog -- Video Gaming fans have a lot to look forward to this weekend as Wizard World St. Louis will feature a major fan experience gaming area with free to play games, pre-release game demos and eSports tournaments for several favorites all weekend with finals played on the Streaming Gaming Stage on the Wizard World show floor at America's Center, as well as a few fun bonuses such as fun sessions with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star James Marsters and features with top gaming pros like Gootecks and Justin Wong.

"St. Louis is an awesome event on our tour and getting better each year," says Patrick Bradley, Wizard World's EVP.  "We're privileged to work with favorite local brands like the St. Louis Cardinals and national gaming partners like Twitch, to continue to upgrade the fan experience."

Friday is a great day to get acquainted with three of the games that will be firing up all weekend. At 4 p.m., Gootecks and Wong will treat fans to some one-on-one training on Capcom's Street Fighter V. That's followed at 5:30 with free play of Tekken 7, Bandai Namco's latest offering, before most fans will ever see the game. Then at 7, Marsters takes on all comers in a variety of games.

Saturday is a full day of gaming goodness, starting at 10:30 a.m. with Street Fighter V Bootcamp, when Gootecks and Wong get fans ready to battle the competition. At noon, Tournament play begins for Bandai Namco's Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, with spots in the Final 8 up for grabs. Then at 2 p.m., Tekken 7 players hit the Gaming Stage for a tournament with $3000 on the line. Halo universe stars Steve Downes ("Master Chief") and Jen Taylor ("Cortana") will do a special Q&A for fans at 4 p.m., followed by Street Fighter V tournament play at 5.

Sunday, it's the Top 8 finals of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 at 10 a.m., Tekken 7 at noon and Street Fighter V at 2 p.m.

Esports tournaments will be promoted on the Twitch front page all weekend for tune-in on the Wizard World Gaming channel:  twitch.tv/wizardworldgaming

On Saturday Night, it's the Launch party for the upcoming and much anticipated Dark Souls III video game at the Official Wizard World After Party at Budweiser Signature Club, upstairs at the Dome at America's Center, beginning at 8 p.m. Bandai Namco will provide lucky party goers with exclusive  Dark Souls III giveaways.

The Gaming area will be abuzz all three days with goodies and giveaways from Wizard World Gaming's partners including Bandai Namco, Newegg, Capcom, ASUS and live streaming on Twitch. Origin PC and Mad Catz will also have a presence all three days.

In addition to Marsters, Downes and Taylor, "Doctor Who" stars Matt Smith, David Tennant and Billie Piper, "Daredevil" trio Charlie Cox, Jon Bernthal and Elden Henson, Elizabeth Henstridge ("Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."), William Shatner ("Star Trek," "Boston Legal") and Mike Colter ("Jessica Jones") headline the roster of celebrity guests scheduled to attend the pop culture extravaganza, the fifth event on Wizard World's calendar of comic con & gaming cons in 2016.

Wizard World comic & gaming con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, cosplay, comics, television, sci-fi, toys, video gaming, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Wizard World St. Louis show hours are Friday, April 1, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday, April 2, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday, April 3, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Wizard World is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event.  Fans dressed as every imaginable character - and some never before dreamed -  will roam the convention floor. The famed Wizard World St. Louis Costume Contest will take place on Saturday night.

For more on the 2016 Wizard World St. Louis, visit http://wizardworld.com/stlouis.html

About Wizard World (OTCBB: WIZD)
Wizard World, Inc. (www.wizardworld.com) produces comic, gaming and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, television, cosplay, comics, graphic novels, toys, video gaming, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. A first-class lineup of topical programming takes place at each event, with celebrity Q&A's, comics-themed sessions, costume contests, movie screenings, evening parties and more. Wizard World has also launched Wizard World Store (www.shopwizardworld.com), CONtv, a digital media channel in partnership with leading independent content distributor Cinedigm™ (NASDAQ: CIDM), and ComicConBox™ (www.comicconbox.com), a premium subscription-based monthly box service. Fans can interact with Wizard World on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and other social media services.

The Wizard World 2016 schedule is available at: http://wizardworld.com/searchby/city/.