I know what you are thinking. What could make you love Oppo more than just their excellent phones? How about if they start funding NZ’s only professional football club? Well they have just gone ahead and done that by sponsoring the Wellington Phoenix.

Oppo and Spark have split the principle sponsorship so Spark has the home Kit, and Oppo has the away kit. Fortunately for Oppo they have an amazing away kit this season.

Given the uncertainty of trans-Tasman leagues this is amazing that they are supporting our glorious Nix.

If you want to be reminded about how amazing the Mighty Nix are then check this out.

And if you want to know why you should be amped for this upcoming season, well Hoops is back!

Come on you Nix! E Rere Te Keo!

The post OPPO is sponsoring the Wellington Phoenix appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

From the start, I had a Sixth Sense about the whole thing. That may have been because of the lack of spaceship branding, little to no reference to asteroids, or because of the HP Omen setup. I guess that kind of computer could possibly train astronauts to destroy a celestial threat to the planet, but we just used it to play Overwatch. And win, just FYI; take that, random small children and slightly taller children-at-heart.

The Bruce Willis lookalike was just awful. For one thing, he didn’t look at all like the B-Man, and when I tried to talk to him about upcoming projects, he kept pretending he didn’t know what I was talking about, and did I want the hot dog or not. I mean, I did want the hot dog, but despite the Fast Food Nation we live in I was taken aback.

Good hot dog, though.

The good people at Neon were also confused. I spun their wheel to win a sick Willismeister prize, but instead got a Spiderman shirt and a free month of Neon. I would also like to express my sincere apologies to the staff; I may have been slightly belligerent when I found out that, despite a decent catalogue, Neon don’t offer Armageddon to stream. I just saw Red.

While I did think I saw Ben Affleck at one point, it turned out to be Jeremy Renner from something called The Avengers, which sounds like a rip-off of the Armageddon formula. An elite team joining together to save the world? Yeah, nice try, Bruce and the gang did it twenty years ago. I also saw Matt Ryan, TV’s Constantine, who seemed to like my coat and I bet he thinks Armageddon is a classic of cinema too, he’s a cool guy.

I was running around like 12 Monkeys until a very helpful lady named Jessica told me that this was actually a general convention, rather than an Armageddon themed expo. Despite my obvious confusion and disappointment, she gave me an awkward hug and started poking at my lips, which definitely confused me more. However, compared to the entire experience, this was probably a high point.

Overall, Wellygeddon went The Whole Nine Yards, even if it wasn’t quite what I expected. My love for Bruce Willis remains Unbreakable, and Armageddon remains both Michael Bay’s best film, and Wellington’s best geekdom expo.

Read Blair’s thoughts here.

The post Jamming Wellygeddon – Part 2 appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

Thanks to Neon, Blair and Brian checked out Armageddon in Wellington over the long weekend. Blair enjoyed the experience, even though it’s been a while since he last indulged.

I haven’t been to Armageddon for many years; in fact, the last time I went it was still at the TSB Arena, and after a couple of days there I can honestly say I have been missing out.

If you are thinking of checking it out, the main thing you want to look at is the schedule. Getting photos with the movie\TV stars is behind a paywall, but they still have panels which are open to the public. Panels are basically Q & A sessions with the stars, and it is a lot of fun, even if you duck in for a short while to see them answer the weird questions the nerdiest of Wellingtonians had lined up.

They were spread out over the three days, with each star appearing twice, across two stages. The main stage was a pop-up built in the seating of Westpac Stadium, with the second being the Pavilion bar. This makes it super accessible for anyone wanting to wander in, have a watch, and duck out if it isn’t your speed. We did.

Between these main events are other attractions, such as the classic Kamehameha competition, anime screenings, and general sessions such as one about taking better photos of your cosplaying. There is enough variety that you will get out of it as much as you want.

Outside of this are the masses of stands around the concourse. Most of these are shops selling more or less the same stuff, though while browsing I broke down and dropped some coin on a sweet D.Va gun. There is a wrestling ring, and other events going on, as well as stand with comic/anime artists/ actors which doesn’t cost. So even if you’re not prepared to drop the money on a photo with Hawkeye, you can still meet some stars for your entry price, depending on your level of fandom.

Neon -shameless plug- put on a stage with a green-screen photobooth for some upcoming shows, and a prize wheel, where if you signed up for a trial you could win a pop vinyl or jelly beans. So even sponsors put in the effort to make it worthwhile weekend.

The cosplay was top notch, from Overwatch to Dragonball and back again. I wandered around with Brian, who dressed very lazily as Assassin’s Creed’s Desmond on Friday, and Supernatural’s Castiel on Sunday. He was recognised and photographed by strangers each time, which pleased him, even if he seemed a bit confused by what was going on. I’ll let him fill you in.

Overall, Wellington Armageddon was a blast, and well worth a look.

Read Brian’s thoughts here.

The post Jamming Wellygeddon – Part 1 appeared first on 8-Bit Island.