The time has once again arrived for gaming, anime and technology fans to descend upon the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg, for the annual rAge expo, taking place from 30 September until 2 October.

Highlights from this year’s event include Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation Portable replacement, the PS Vita which will be showcased at the expo. Gamers can also look forward to catching glimpses of previews of the latest titles, as Megarom Interactive will be hosting private cinema style demonstrations of games such as Tomb Raider, Hitman: ABSOLUTION (meaning that SA is one of the 1st regions in the world to get our hands on game play), as well as Darkness II.

Telkom Do Gaming, EA and Alienware will present 24-player Battlefield 3 experience, with 24 PC's being setup at the Telkom stand that sport the installed BF3 codeplayers for gamers to try out.

In addition to the chance to play BF3, the 2011 Telkom Do Gaming LAN Championships will also be taking place in a VIP section at the rAge expo. The top gamers in Call of Duty 4, StarCraft 2, FIFA 11 and Counter-Strike 1.6, will be battling it out for a total prize pool of R160 000 as well as bragging rights as the best gamers in South Africa.

Aspiring developers can also rejoice, as Game.Dev is presenting community sessions with some of South Africa’s most talented professional game developers. Developers will be available for Q&A sessions about their games, and will also have these available for testing. Nu Metro Entertainment will play host to  Paul Crocker from Rocksteady Studios, the lead narrative designer on Batman: Arkham City.

The price of a single day ticket is R50, whilst a weekend ticket will set you back R80, with children under the age of six getting in for free. Tickets for the NAG LAN go for R300.

Games that will be demonstrated at the expo:

Megarom Interactive:

• Guild Wars 2 (NC-Soft)
•  Ghost Recon Future Soldier (Ubisoft)
•  Just Dance 3 (Ubisoft)
•  Rayman Origins (Ubisoft)
•  Darkness II (2K Games)
•  Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Activision)
•  Assassins Creed Revolution (Ubisoft)

EA Games:

• FIFA 12
•  Battlefield 3
•  Need for Speed The Run
•  SSX
•  Mass Effect 3
•  The Sims 3 Pets

Nintendo will focus on the recently released The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS, but will also have the following on their stand:

• Dead or Alive
•  Resident Evil
•  Street Fighter
•  Steel Diver
•  Pilot Wings

Ster Kinekor Enterainment:

• Dead Rising 2: Off The Record
•  Dance Star Medieval Moves
•  Street Fighter vs Tekken
•  Dragons Dogma
•  Asura’s Wrath
•  Racket and Clank All for One

Nu Metro Entertainment:

•  Batman: Arkham City
•  Sesame Street: Once upon a monster
•  Lego Harry Potter
•  Happy Feet 2
•  Lord of the Rings: War in the North