Preview Day at San Diego Comic Con
By Bryan Scheidler
Preview day is basically over and like always there has been so much great stuff to see and even more teased for the rest of the week. Out of everything I saw today, the thing I was most impressed by was Amazon. It should be a no brainer that Amazon would put on a good show, but if you waited hours in line last year then you will understand why I was skeptical about this year. Last year Amazon put on a very polished sales pitch for Alexa. Yes it had a few things for their shows but really it was a giant interactive sales pitch. This year Amazon has just crushed it, with a 3 piece interactive theatrical performance. I was able to see their entire activation this year during the press preview, but I was so impressed by what was showcased I am considering waiting in line to see it again. Amazon had three interactive story activations for the shows the Boys, The Expanse, and Carnival Row. Without spoiling anything, all three activations did a spectacular job of promoting their shows, but Carnival Row was absolutely breathtaking. I was only able to see half the story and I know I missed tons on my half. This activation was better than any commercial or trailer for the show could ever be. This may be the first activation worth a multi hour wait!
The other great event on preview day took place at the Dragon Ball World Tour activation. Besides once again having a great setup, this year they brought in Sean Schemel, voice of Goku, to break a World Record. The record they attempted to break was the worlds largest Kamehameha. After some specific instructions from the Guinness rep and a pep talk from Sean, the crowd was ready. This crowd was into it and super excited to be a part of this and (assuming all participants are confirmed) they broke the record and they did it in style.
All in all Preview Day was a great showing of what San Diego Comic Con has to offer this year. Now I think I will go get in line to see the Carnival Row activation again.
The Amazon activation officially opens to general public from 9am-5pm Thursday-Sunday.
