On June 8, 2011, six years, two hundred shows and one million people later, Video Games Live will celebrate its 200th performance with a mega-performance at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Nokia Theatre.

So, you’re part of the teeming masses who can’t attend E3 this month, eh?

Other than reading about E3 2010 (at Gamertell of course!) and play games as normal, what other gaming-related activities can you do?

Well, if you live in the LA area, you can attend a concert by Video Games Live…

Video Games Live, the concert series that features orchestras performing video game scores for a live audience, will be on television for the first time ever. Starting July 31, 2010, and continuing throughout August, PBS will air a 90-minute special that will include performances from a host of famous game franchises.

Performers for the April 1, 2010, Video Games Live PBS concert have been confirmed.

During the recording of the concert at Kenner Pontchartrain center, fans can expect to see special appearances by Ralph Baer, Marty O’Donnel (Halo), Russell Brower (Blizzard), Gerard Marino (God of War), Christopher Tin (Civilization IV), Tommy Tallarico (Earthworm Jim/Advent Rising) and Jack Wall (Myst/Mass Effect) as well as performances by Solo artists Martin Leung on Piano and Laura “Flute Link” Intravia along with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few.

On February 5, 2010, PBS (Public Broadcast Service) along with Video Games Live will be recording a performance at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra for an exclusive nationwide PBS special airing June 2010.

I had a chance talk to the CEO/Executive Producer and Host of Video Games Live, Tommy Tallarico, about this event…

Title: Video Games Live: Volume OnePrice: $16.98 ($0.99 per song download)Release Date: July 22, 2008Publisher: EMI Records Ltd. (Angel Records)Pros: An excellent collections of impressive performances. Often well-orchestrated collections and homages to game music with an honest air of respectability that even non-gamers can appreciate. The name implies there will be a Volume Two.Cons: A few segments are a bit slow and some of the instrumentation plainly mimics or masks the vocals.Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 91/100; A-; * * * * out of five.

No matter where you fall in the games as art spectrum there’s no denying that plenty of artistic efforts are put into many games’ production. Case in point is the Video Games Live tour which offers orchestral performances of video game music that would be difficult for any music snob to scoff at.

The CD (and digital download) release of Video Games Live: Volume One offers selected studio and live performances featuring the Slovak Symphony Orchestra, Crouch End Festival Chorus and various soloists as conducted by Jack Wall.

Click through for a track-by-track review…

One of Tommy Tallarico’s more successful projects, the Video Games Live concert series, is finally being pressed into a CD titled Video Games Live: Volume One. The name naturally supposes there will be at least a Volume Two, also likely to be produced under the EMI Classics label.

The tracks were recorded either live (as indicated on the track list on the full article) or at the Abbey Road Studios in London (England), where all of the songs were engineered. Performances are by the Slovak National Orchestra, The Crouch End Festival Chorus and The Video Game Pianist, Martin Leung, and were conducted by concert co-creator Jack Wall. The concert and subsequent CD will feature…

The battle to prove that videogames should be appreciated is taking the fight to the high seas. NAViGaTR (the National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers Corp.) has scheduled its annual cruise for November 14-17, 2008, from Long Beach, CA, to Ensenada, Mexico, on the CCL Paradise Fun Ship. The theme of the event is “Celebrating Video Games as Art” and the celebrity guest for the event is, once again, Cloris Leachman. Rates for the cruise start at $455 for an inside stateroom and top off at $895 for an upper suite.

Click through to check out the video ad for the cruise with Cloris spoofing the Gieco insurance commercials…

If your as passionate about video games as I am, you won’t want to miss Video Games Live concert when it comes to your town. Long have I waited to for the Video Games Live experience to play in a city near me on the east coast and this year I may yet get the chance.

Video Games Live has expanded its concert tour to include countries such as Taiwan, Brazil, Germany, France, England, Scotland, Mexico and China to name a few according to the most recent tour dates listed. According to VGL history, the show has been selling out performances since….

Video Games Live, a concert series that features classic computer and videogame music played by a symphony orchestra, will be joined by OverClocked ReMix, a fan-based organization dedicated to the appreciation and re-arrangement of video game music, this Friday and Saturday (June 29 and 30, 2007) for performances in Washington, D.C.