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POCAHONTAS – Pocahontas-area residents will have the opportunity to play newly released and upcoming video games in a few weeks, and it’s all thanks to a local teen.
Parker Aden, 19, of Pocahontas, said his video entry was one of four winners from across the nation in PlayStation’s Road to Greatness contest.
According to the contest’s website, the tour goes across the country, but four finalists have the opportunity to argue for their town to be a stop on the tour.
What makes Pocahontas unique, according to Aden, is that it’s the only finalist town that’s not a big city.
“What’s crazy is that there are three other winners,” Aden said. “There’s Denver, a place on Long Island and then there’s Orlando. I’m the only small town that won this year and the only person in Iowa the semi’s going to.”
In fact, Aden said as far as he can tell this is the first time PlayStation has even visited Iowa.
He explained the contest as being an opportunity for PlayStation to let people try out their new video games.
The games are inside a big truck.
“When they get to town, it expands out and people can go inside and try out new and unreleased games and play and see what they’re all about,” Aden said.
PlayStation selects four towns to visit every summer. To be selected, Aden said those interested need to make a video and explain why their town should be selected.
In his video, Aden said he went around to different locations in Pocahontas and highlighted the town for the company.
“My whole life, I’ve been a PlayStation fan and talked about how rural Iowa doesn’t get a lot of cool experiences that big cities do,” he said.
One particular highlight he noted is that there’s not really anywhere near Pocahontas where video game fans can try out new games.
“One of the things on the truck is a PlayStation virtual reality headset,” Aden said. “The nearest place to try it out is Des Moines.”
“We just don’t get a lot of cool experiences like this and I wanted PlayStation to come,” he added.
Aden said he became really anxious when he learned he was a finalist. Representatives from PlayStation came to Pocahontas to interview him and get more information on the town.
“It was nerve-wracking waiting,” he said. “Once I found out, I was super excited and ecstatic to share the news with the community.”
PlayStation will be coming to Pocahontas on Aug. 27.
In addition to the semi, Aden said PlayStation has also rented the Rialto Theatre and the Family Fun Zone bowling alley for more events.
Since learning his video won, Aden said he’s been spreading the word about the event on his Facebook page.
“I just want people to know about it,” he said. “So if they’re into gaming or want to see something super cool they can try it out.”