Category Archives: News

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Magic Gaming delivers game kiosks to sick children at Arnold Palmer Hospital

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The Orlando Magic’s esports team delivered special gaming kiosks to sick children at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children this week.

Magic Gaming head coach Jonah Edwards and small forward Brandon “ ToXsiK” Raudenbush distributed four GO Karts, which are built by Michigan-based Gamers Outreach.

“It’s always fun to go spend time with them and put a smile on their face and take their mind off of everything they’re going through,” Raudenbush said. “I fell in love with playing games at a young age, so it’s cool to give back and make them happy.”

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Report: EA could bring back NCAA, which could mean jobs in Orlando

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Industry analysts have speculated that Electronic Arts could revive its popular NCAA football video game, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The move could mean more jobs for Orlando, as the company’s Maitland studio did the majority of the work on the title until it was canceled in 2013.

Electronic Arts will move its East Coast headquarters from Maitland during the next couple of years, the Sentinel reported.

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Orange County Library System opens 1st game jam

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The Orange County Library System on Thursday hosted the opening of its first-ever video game jam, as roughly 15 local gamers and developers opened the four-day event.

The group will spend the weekend through Sunday morning building a video game from scratch at the library’s high-tech downtown Orlando Melrose Center.

Melrose Center’s Juan Rivera said he launched the game jam after attending others in the city, including one hosted by the independent video game group Indienomicon.

“The idea of everybody working together to make a game within 48 hours, that builds the community,” he said.

Overall, six games were pitched on Thursday, with those in attendance splitting into teams that will work on them throughout the weekend.

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‘Nerdcore’ concert in Orlando a Final Fantasy homage

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Lauren Liebowitz was perhaps destined to be in a band, since her mother was a piano teacher.

But the lead singer of The Returners likely couldn’t imagine as a young girl that her dad’s video game obsession would also play into her music career.

The Austin, Texas, based band specializes in “nerdcore,” playing cover songs of the music in popular video games like Majora’s Mask, Ico and the Final Fantasy series.

“Everything we play is because one of us loves it,” Liebowitz told The OVG on Saturday. “We are doing this because we love it.”

Watch: Final Fantasy VI medley by The Returners at Ongaku Overdrive

The Returners were one of four bands to perform at The Abbey on Saturday for Ongaku Overdrive, a celebration of performers who specialize in video game music covers.

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REPORT: Orlando man makes video game machines out of wine, whiskey barrels

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Donkey Kong would be proud.

An Orlando man will be part of the annual Orlando Maker Faire this weekend showing off video game machines he has made out of wine and whiskey barrels, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

Darrin Yesbeck, 45, got the idea after staying up late with his daughter while on vacation playing Pac-Man.

He enjoyed the bonding so much, he built his first cabinet when he returned home.

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3 industry pros receive Full Sail hall of fame nods

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Three video game professionals were among the six Full Sail University alumni named to the Winter Park school’s Hall of Fame class of 2019.

Erin Eberhardt of Blizzard Entertainment, sound designer Mark Kilborn and Insomniac Games’ head of technology Shaun McCabe will be inducted in a March ceremony.

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Game-a-thon at Full Sail sails past $10K goal for Arnold Palmer Hospital

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Extra Life’s Full Sail University event raised more than $10,000.

WINTER PARK – A charity video gaming event at Full Sail University sailed past its $10,000 goal on Saturday evening and exceeded $12,000 raised for Arnold Palmer Hospital.

More than 500 gamers spent a portion of a 25-hour period that ended at about 8 a.m. on Sunday playing video games after soliciting donations from fans and friends.

“We are grateful for any support we can get but this taps into a group of individuals that sometimes get overlooked,” Stephen Dinon, Arnold Palmer Hospital’s manager of corporate partnerships, told The OVG. “We are excited that they have engaged and are just going with it.”

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Magic Gaming’s summer tourney earns NBA recognition

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The Orlando Magic’s esports outfit took home hardware in two of the league’s four categories of its end-of-season awards last month. The team received the Partnership of the Year award for its integration with Orlando Health and Local Activation of the Year for hosting one of the league’s major events at Full Sail University.

It was part of the league’s NBA 2K League Team Business Awards, handed out during the league’s NBA 2K League workshop in Indianapolis.

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