Sometimes I get good ideas; this is one of them. Each month I’ll be selecting an artist, interviewing them, and posting all that goodness here on Binge Gamer. This month’s artist is Juri H., an incredibly talented woman who was ultimately the only reason I didn’t regret driving to Philly for VGXpo ‘09.

Binge Gamer headed to GameX in Philly last weekend, and after a disappointed VGXPO, we weren’t sure what to expect. Happily, I can report that GameX was one of the best shows I’ve ever attended.

System Flaw, an exclusive DSi FPS that takes the gameplay to the world around you, brings arcade elements and a whole lotta skull zapping to your dual-screened handheld. And we got to play it.

The Bender comes at you with talk of racy games.. won’t someone think of the children! (Other than Animal Crossing players that is)

VGXPO and the Philadelphia Wizard World have gone all wonder twins, combining their powers (sorta) to ensure that both shows kick ass in 20-09.

If you hadn’t gone to the VGXPO in Philadelphia at the end of November, you should look into going to it next year. After all, as NBC and Lunar Tide Media have announced today, the event was quite the success.

Over the three days the event was being held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, VGXPO 08 drew 24,674 gamers. It should be noted that 4 of those were exceptionally glorious individuals who put together this quaint website. You’re welcome.

Steve Fallas, VGXPO’s Event Manager, expressed his gratification with the turnout this year:

VGXPO is an event that caters to both core and casual gamers… With our relationship with NBC we were able to market to both groups and bring together nearly 25,000 gamers to experience the rich diversity of gaming experiences. We are very pleased with both the industry and consumer turnout at this years VGXPO.

Sure, he may sound subdued, but it is important to note that he was getting “VGXPO ROXXORZ!!1!” tattooed on his forehead*.

PMS Clan founder Amber Dalton aka “Athena Twin” spoke on how VGXPO has turned into an incredible success story that can only grow bigger and better than anyone could have expected:

VGXPO’s an amazing success story… There is so much to be said for what VGXPO has become for the video game industry…the core gamers, plus the casual games audience, were here to play all the top games. Certainly, VGXPO 2009 can’t be missed by any company that markets games.

You know, we spent all three days at VGXPO, and we talked with a lot of people. In fact, we talked with a lot of people about her, and you know what we discovered? Nobody liked her.

Nobody. As one exhibitor told us, her voice was “grating on the nerves” and he had wished that she would have just “shut the fuck up for a few minutes”.**

If you were at VGXPO, tell us what you thought. And tell us if you plan to be at VGXPO 2009, scheduled for October 9th thru the 11th at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA.