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West coast gamers looking to gather with fellow enthusiasts need look no further than GottaCon, a three-day broad spectrum gaming convention held annually on the first weekend of February in Victoria, British Columbia. GottaCon brings together many related hobbies including video games, collectible miniatures, collectible trading cards, role playing games, and board games, all under one roof.

The third GottaCon has been scheduled to take place from February 4 to 6, 2011, with the convention doors open at 5:00pm Friday and remaining open until close at 7:00pm Sunday.  That's 50 hours of non-stop gaming for those who can manage to keep their peepers open and their mind alert.  If you're really determined to game until the wee hours you could go the energy drink route and consume the beverage of choice for Canada's top Halo 3 pro gamer team North of 49 (whom Kevin Garcia is a member of): AMP Energy.  Every time I have one of those energy drinks I can't sleep for hours.

Celebrating the science fiction and fantasy genres, GottaCon is a one stop hobby event for fans and enthusiasts of those genres.  The convention will once again be held at Pearkes Recreation Centre at 3100 Tillicum Rd., occupying approximately 24,000 square feet of floor space.  You can check out the facility here .

GottaCon 2011 will deliver a barrage of events to make the experience exciting, including contests, tournaments, vendors, demonstrations, and all types of games.

The founders of the event, Evan Hatch and Carson Upton, say last year's GottaCon saw just under 900 people -- which was a 50% growth from GottaCon 2009.  They expect to achieve a new attendance record of between 1200 and 1500 at next year's convention.

Looking at the GottaCon 2011 floorplan it appears the organizers have already reserved space for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 interactive game stations, a PlayStation Canada booth, and a computer game network area.  Space has also been reserved for other hobbies such as trading cards, collectible miniatures, role playing games, and board games.

A partnership was forged between GottaCon and Anime Evolution , Vancouver’s premier event celebrating Japanese animation, manga, and gaming, with each convention having a presence at the other. Animation Evolution will be returning to GottaCon 2011 to host the popular costume contest with a variety of categories and prizes to be won.

Last year's GottaCon occupied approximately 20,000 square feet and featured PC tournaments for Counter-Strike, Warcraft III, Left 4 Dead, as well as console tournaments for Street Fighter IV, Halo 3, DJ Hero, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Tekken 6, Halo 3: ODST, Gears of War 1 & 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Forza 3.

In addition to all the above listed titles, other games were available for free play at the gaming stations with a one hour time limit.  No word yet on what games will be included in next year's event, or whether the imposed time limit will be back.

For more information on the convention, visit www.gottacon.com .  GottaCon also has a Twitter account @GottaCon and a Facebook page where event updates will be posted.