Tag: video games

AbleGamers, helping the disabled to connect!

I’m fortunate to be fairly healthy and active. I know that if I couldn’t enjoy my sunshine-filled walks, meeting friends–if I had severe mobility difficulties–I would become seriously depressed. That’s the way I’m made.

Knowing this, I was excited to learn about AbleGamers today at San Diego Comic-Con. AbleGamers is an organization that fights social isolation by making it easier for the disabled to participate in gaming. Here’s their website.

AbleGamers has been around for around 20 years. They have helped countless numbers of people find more joy and connection in their lives.

Their mission:

Creating opportunities that enable play in order to combat social isolation, foster inclusive communities, and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities.

Their website explains it better than I can:

With your help, we are working every day to make sure people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else for positive experiences through play. With our two decades as pioneers in inclusive play, thousands of hours working with people with disabilities, leading developers and engineers we create opportunities for players to find inclusive places to play and connect with family and friends.

AbleGamers partners with various organizations, including hospitals and rehabilitation centers, to reach more people with disabilities and provide them with a nearby location to assist in setup to enter the world of gaming.

No matter how severe the disability, today’s technology allows anyone to fully connect with other gamers. Gaming controls are made in such a way that even those without use of their hands can join the online community, having fun. Many of the major video game developers work with AbleGamers to make play more accessible.

I hope you are as inspired as I am. Please check out The AbleGamers website and perhaps help these good people in their mission.

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Thursday fun begins at Comic-Con 2025!

The fun has officially begun this Thursday morning at Comic-Con 2025!

Fans are streaming into the San Diego Convention Center, long lines have formed at the many offsite activations, and cosplay has appeared everywhere downtown!

That’s Mario and Donkey Kong in the above photograph riding through the Gaslamp Quarter!

There was a Thursday morning line at the Pendry Hotel for the Donut Bar’s special donuts…

A line outside the Hard Rock Hotel for Spider-Man Magic: the Gathering.

People head toward the San Diego Convention Center past the Percy Jackson offsite in Gaslamp Square.

Check out this cool Code Vein II motorcycle!

Hot dogs!

Friendly masked Green Lantern had some cool comic books on a table along MLK Promenade.

A line of Abbott Elementary fans wait for the Block Party to open!

The line ends way over here!

Super Toucan chalk art on the bayside boardwalk!

The center of excitement: the San Diego Convention Center.

A steady stream of fans were arriving from their hotels by bus.

Get your 2025 San Diego Comic-Con shirt near the Interactive Zone at Petco Park.

Yes, there will be lots of trash.

The Thunderbolts ice cream truck would begin serving at 10 am.

A fun Phineas and Ferb photo op tucked away near the Percy Jackson offsite.

On the other side…

The Gray Sisters taxi outside the Percy Jackson offsite…

An example of cool cosplay on Thursday morning, back on MLK Promenade…

San Diego Comic-Con sights everywhere you turn! I love it!

C-3PO occupies the Coca Cola Star Wars box office!

Now that’s scary!

Heading back up Fifth Avenue. Another long offsite line. This is for The Lodge, promoting Paramount+ shows.

Hello there. This must be San Diego Comic-Con!

King of the Hill graphic at BAIT in the Gaslamp Quarter. Drinking in public gets one behind bars…

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Bad Guys, Predator, Superman and more outside Comic-Con!

New stuff outside Comic-Con 2025 keeps popping up! Look what I stumbled upon while walking around downtown San Diego this afternoon, two days before Preview Night!

First, check out the Gaslamp Quarter sign! It has been taken over by The Bad Guys 2! Some panels were on the nearby sidewalk, too. Not sure where they’re going to be placed…

Workers were putting up large frames along Harbor Drive near the trolley tracks. And into the frames go Peacemaker graphics…

Still putting up Comic-Con graphics on the San Diego Convention Center…

The Gaslamp is filling up with Comic-Con goodness. Check out some of the awesome AMC graphics…

Work continues on the Percy Jackson offsite at Gaslamp Square…

A spaceship has landed at the southeast corner of the Hard Rock Hotel. I was told there will be a Predator: Badlands screening here!

The Rookie and Abbott Elementary building wraps on Petco Park grow…

That vertical banner workers were having trouble with this morning is now attached to the corner of the Hilton’s parking garage. It promotes Little Nightmares III.

Some cool graphics have appeared on one fence at the Alien: Earth offsite by FX.

Another surprise! I was told this offsite in the courtyard beside the Hilton San Diego Bayfront will concern Superman! It’s a collaboration between DC Comics and Old Spice. I’m told there will be photo ops.

Adult Swim is shaping up slowly…

The fun Abbott Elementary Block Party is also shaping up…

The Coca Cola/Star Wars activation is taking shape at First Avenue on MLK Promenade near Harbor Drive…

The Fantastic Four mural near their offsite is about done, looking cool…

I’ve come full circle back to the Gaslamp Quarter, where STARZ wraps are still being applied to the Hard Rock Hotel…

The IGN balcony is about ready at the Hard Rock. Which celebrities will be spotted here?

I peeked inside The Lodge and found Mission: Impossible!

Outside, Happy Does’ yellow smiley face has been replaced with the Paramount mountain logo!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

More cool stuff outside Comic-Con: 2 days to go!

More and more cool stuff is showing up in downtown San Diego, with only two days to go until Preview Night of Comic-Con 2025!

I took another walk this Monday morning through the Gaslamp Quarter and around the San Diego Convention Center. Hundreds of workers are all over the place, preparing building wraps and offsite activations. A couple of offsites have newly appeared this morning, too!

Here we go!

The Fantastic Four/ Google Play offsite is becoming ever more amazing. They’ve been working on it for about a week. Whatever the heck it is, it will be sure to draw a crowd to the grassy area next to the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter!

Peanuts has begun moving into their usual location on Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade. It’s the 75th Anniversary of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and gang!

And right next door, the Doctor Who offsite promises to be amazing, too. I saw them moving tons of stuff from BBC Studios into this activation the other day.

Workers were beginning to set up an activation beside MLK Promenade at First Avenue. I learned it will concern Coca Cola and Star Wars!

I made my way behind the San Diego Convention Center.

The Abbott Elementary Block Party has made a tiny bit of progress since yesterday…

The King of the Hill offsite now has their water tower!

More activity spotted beyond the fence…

The Brawl Stars barge, location of Starr Park, is looking ever more cool. What’s inside Mike’s Mine?

A bit more activity at Adult Swim…

I’m afraid the FX offsite is almost entirely blocked by fences now. Oh, well.

As I walked to the Hilton San Diego Bayfront parking garage, some guys were having trouble hanging a long banner on the structure’s corner…

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again…

The Harbor Drive side of the parking structure has a cool new banner! It promotes Digimon Story: Time Stranger.

Building wraps are now going up on Petco Park. I recognized ABC’s The Rookie…

This spot on the grass near the Omni hotel will feature a billboard, pointing fans to the Brawl Stars offsite behind the convention center…

I see MTS has most of the Comic-Con trolley wraps now on the Green Line, which passes the convention center. Here’s one…

With only a couple more days to finish the Disney+ offsite, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is busy transforming Gaslamp Square…

The Lounge of Paramount+ is also preparing for San Diego Comic-Con’s opening. I got a peek inside. Popcorn, anyone?

Lastly, Kaluú Restaurant & Bar on Fifth Avenue is being transformed into Alice in Wonderland: Down The Rabbit Hole!

Watch for more updates!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

San Diego Comic-Con photos: 5 days to go!

Five days to go until the start of Comic-Con 2025 in San Diego!

This mid-afternoon, I walked behind the San Diego Convention Center and up through the Gaslamp Quarter to see how the many different offsite activations and building wraps are shaping up. Lots of activity!

Most of the offsite builds have materialized almost overnight.

During my walk I confirmed there will be nothing at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina Terrace this year, where Dragon Ball activations have been erected in the past. I also verified the mysterious activation on the grass by the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter is indeed for The Fantastic Four!

Here we go, starting along the bayfront boardwalk heading toward the towering Hilton hotel. You can see FX had begun applying their usual wrap. I’m sure this one will promote upcoming show Alien: Earth…

I was told this spot just before the superyacht basin will be for ABC television’s Abbott Elementary. They’ve been here previously. I’ll keep an eye on it…

A tall, long fence on the convention center side mostly conceals what will be the King of the Hill offsite…

The barge docked on the bay that will contain Brawl Star’s floating Starr Park activation is proceeding nicely. Interesting how it’s elevated…

Now I’ve come to the usual Adult Swim area. They hadn’t started setting up in earnest, at least when I passed by. I believe it’s a pirate theme again this year…

Next up, in front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, the FX offsite The Wreckage. It will promote upcoming FX series Alien: Earth…

A huge banner now hangs on one side of the Hilton parking garage. It promotes action role-playing game Code Vein II, scheduled for release in 2026…

The Omni hotel’s huge Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle building wrap is finished!

The AMC wraps on the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter also appear to be about done. (Includes my very first photo.)

The Fantastic Flour offsite activation is going to be impressive. My guess: a walkthrough of the Baxter Building???

Gen V wrap on north side of Hilton Gaslamp building is now finished and looking good…

Several cool Walking Dead Universe window wraps at the Pendry hotel were being completed as I walked past…

(I once worked at a print shop, and applying wraps without trapping air bubbles underneath can be difficult. Great work guys!)

Finally, Super 7 has become Godzilla Station!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Assassins on a trolley! Gorilla on a bus!

If you plan to take public transportation in San Diego during Comic-Con 2025, take care! Because you might be joined by assassins on a trolley, or a gorilla on a bus!

A very cool new trolley wrap has appeared in San Diego that promotes Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming espionage series Butterfly. The spy-thriller will debut on August 13, 2025. It looks pretty cool. Here’s the show’s press release.

As far as a rampaging gorilla? His name is Donkey Kong! The bus wraps–I’ve noticed three different designs on the airport route going up and down Broadway–promote Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza game on the new Switch 2.

Comic-Con is really coming to life in downtown San Diego! Stay tuned for much more!

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Pac-Man Cafe Pop-Up opens in San Diego!

The Pac-Man Cafe Pop-Up opened in San Diego a couple days ago, in time for this year’s Comic-Con!

The kid-friendly cafe, located in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, features Pac-Man themed food, merch, and lots of arcade games that can be played freely!

What’s on the menu? Everything from Team Ghosts Cake Pops to Waka Waka Rice Krispies to Blinky’s Blast Slushes to Pac-Man 45 Anniversary Shave Ice. Want to eat something more substantial? Why not devour Chomp and Cheese Nachos, Sweet Mazemen Maruchan Noodles, Pac-Ked Chicken Quesadillas…

I saw tons of merchandise for sale for Pac-Man fans, from skateboards to bag clips to Pac-Man nanoblocks. You can get a free fan club button, too, by joining the Pac-Man Discord!

I suspect the lines will be long during Comic-Con, so consider swinging by early. The Pac-Man Cafe Pop-Up is located at 323 Seventh Avenue. Its hours are 11 am to 8 pm. This super fun activation will remain open until August 3, 2025.

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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

A new San Diego trolley for Comic-Con: Brawl Stars!

Another trolley wrap has appeared in San Diego for Comic-Con 2025!

The trolleys promote an offsite activation created by mobile video game Brawl Stars that will appear during Comic-Con called Starr Park. Starr Park will be set up at the Fifth Avenue Landing, near the superyachts that dock behind the San Diego Convention Center. It will be open to the public during Comic-Con, July 24 to 27.

I’m not familiar with the game Brawl Stars. As Google AI explains: Starr Park is a fictional theme park that serves as the central setting and lore element within the mobile game, Brawl Stars. It’s depicted as a once-optimistic place, but with a darker, unsettling undercurrent, especially within its security footage and promotional materials. The park is a focal point for the game’s narrative, with updates frequently referencing its lore and introducing new content within its framework.

I can’t wait to see this offsite materialize. I’ll take photos as we approach Comic-Con!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Demon Slayer Corps returns to San Diego!

The immensely popular Demon Slayer manga and anime is returning to San Diego for Comic-Con 2025, and there’s evidence of it already, weeks in advance.

Not only are many San Diego trolley cars wrapped with cool graphics promoting the upcoming movie Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, but now advertisements for SEGA’s video game Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 have appeared up and down Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter!

Seeing how popular all things Demon Slayer are, I thought it would be fun to share some cosplay photographs from past Comic-Cons. A cool car, too!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

A new Mario Kart World trolley for Comic-Con!

Brand new San Diego trolley wraps for Comic-Con 2025 are appearing on almost a daily basis!

Today another design promoting Nintendo’s recently released Switch 2 and its Mario Kart World game can be seen running through the city!

Yesterday a different Mario trolley wrap debuted–see those photographs here. A wrap promoting Donkey Kong Bananza on Switch 2 appeared a few days back–see that here!

And there are already many trolley cars wrapped with a design that promotes the upcoming movie Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle!

And to think Comic-Con is still over a month away.

The excitement builds…

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!