{"id":58476,"date":"2013-09-18T12:43:06","date_gmt":"2013-09-18T10:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=58476"},"modified":"2013-10-02T12:58:25","modified_gmt":"2013-10-02T10:58:25","slug":"rage-2013-cosplayers-stepping-into-the-limelight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/business\/58476-rage-2013-cosplayers-stepping-into-the-limelight","title":{"rendered":"rAge 2013 cosplay competition: dress to kill"},"content":{"rendered":"

October will see the return of SA\u2019s biggest gaming expo, rAge 2013, and with it comes the ultimate showcase for the subculture of cosplay in the country.<\/p>\n

One of the big highlights of the show will be the rAge Cosplay competition and the Artist\u2019s Alley, which is being organised by LegionInk \u2013 a South African NPO Community.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuality Cosplays take massive amounts of time and dedication and often an equal investment of cash to ensure the best possible results,\u201d explained Ray Whitcher, Co-Founder, LegionInk.<\/p>\n

\u201cCosplayers are more often than not self-funded. They generally sew and assemble their costumes with their own skill and experience. This means that the quality of the Cosplay will grow as the individual Cosplayer’s crafting skills improve,\u201d added Whitcher.<\/p>\n

Whitcher also added that cosplay expands beyond video games and is as diverse as the entire geek culture in its entirety.<\/p>\n

\u201cCosplay is as vast as pop culture itself and is pretty ubiquitous in the genres it covers, so video games, comic books, films, board games and anything else you could think of can and will supply source material for Cosplay,\u201d continued Whitcher.<\/p>\n

\"Rage<\/a>

rAge 2012 cosplayers<\/p><\/div>\n

A sign of this growth has been seen in the cosplaying participation and entrants into the competition at rAge expos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Cosplay event at rAge has grown massively over the past three years, seeing a rise of nearly 100% in entrants with each subsequent competition (it went from 20 participants in 2010, to 40 in 2011 and then to 70 last year). We’re actually expecting well over the 100 mark for this year\u2019s competition and possibly another 50 non-competitive Cosplays,\u201d said Whitcher. \u201cWhat gets me most excited is that the Cosplayers travel from all over South Africa to attend rAge, which is rapidly becoming known as the biggest Cosplay event of the year,\u201d said Whitcher.<\/p>\n

Whitcher also added that you don\u2019t have to be at rAge to take part in the cosplaying action across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe major centres have several cosplay competitions throughout the year, like Cape Town’s Free Comic Book Day, Jo’burg’s ICON, and Durban’s UMICON. These smaller events can actually function as regional qualifiers, with each competition yielding a top three, who would compete at the rAge Cosplay event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three of the country\u2019s most recognisable cosplayers, Yamaki, KomboKitten (headline image above), and Jiraiya, will be at rAge this year and will be at the NAG Magazine stand where you can catch a photograph with them.<\/p>\n

\"rAge<\/a>

rAge Expo Cosplay 2012<\/p><\/div>\n

rAge expo and NAG LAN<\/h3>\n

In addition to the cosplay on show, a huge attraction is the NAG LAN<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Microsoft SA also confirmed that the\u00a0Xbox One will be playable at rAge 2013<\/a>. \u201cThe consoles will be on display at our stand where gamers can get hands-on with the new controller and key first party titles before the official release in 2014,\u201d said Xbox SA\u2019s Graeme Selvan.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0PlayStation 4 will also be on show<\/a>, it has been confirmed.<\/p>\n

rAge is taking place on 4-6 October. Day tickets are R70 per person, and R120 for the whole weekend.<\/p>\n