Yes, both Saboten and the inaugural SaboSlam is taking place this weekend in Downtown Phoenix. Bust out your favorite cosplay or favorite controller and get ready for 4 days of immersive Japanese pop culture.

WHEN AND WHERE
Saboten Con takes place September 1 – 4 at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown while SaboSlam takes place during the same dates but at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown.

BADGES
If you purchase ahead of time (not at the door), the prices below will be in play, however, prices do go up at the door. 

The below tickets include entry into both Saboten and SaboSlam but not any additional paid events:

Full Event Badge – $65 (plus taxes+fees)
Friday Badge – $30 (plus taxes+fees)
Saturday Badge – $40 (plus taxes+fees)
Sunday Badge – $40 (plus taxes+fees)
Monday Badge – $25 (plus taxes+fees)
Children 12 and under are free with a paid adult (limit 2 per adult)

SaboSlam only badges:

Full Event SaboSlam: $40 (plus taxes+fees)
Single Day SaboSlam: $15 (plus taxes+fees)

You can purchase you badges of choice right here.

PARKING
I did a whole separate post about parking which you can check out here.

GUESTS
Over 40 guests will be attending Saboten Con and come from different industries. Guests such as David Hayter (Metal Gear Solid), Stephanie Nadolny (Dragon Ball Z), Zeno Robinson (Young Justice) from the voice acting industry. Musical guests Kohei, Daisuke Hasegawa, and Kazha to name just a few. For the full guests (including cosplayer Ivy Doomkitty and cosplayer/content creator D-Piddy), click here.

For information pertaining to autographs for certain guests, you can find more info at this link.

PROGRAMMING
A lot of fun programming and Saboten and one of the highlights of the convention. Events include an AMV contest, skit contest, the masquerade, a cosplay gala, fashion show, raves and much more. Most of the big events will take place at the Renaissance but in the panel/programming guide will list each panel/event with either Saboten or Slam, indicating where it is being held.

PANELS
Saboten is jam packed with panels with panels running LATE into the night Fri – Sun. All kinds of panels during the 4 days ranging from Chainsaw Man, PC gaming, guest Q&As, creating cosplay props, KPop, Pokemon, and a ton more. For the night owls looking for something a bit more mature, there will be 18+ panels each night. For the entire list of Programming and Panels, find it here.

GAMING
“We take pride in providing a comprehensive gaming extravaganza, complete with an array of tournaments, play tables, classes, workshops, and much more.” – SaboSlam will be full of a variety of gaming and there will be vendors/artists at SaboSlam whose offerings are specific to gaming. Tournaments will be held for games such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Street Fighter 6, casual gaming Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and more.

MISC
Typically there are no outside food vendors to speak off but both hotels have their own food and drink offerings which include offerings that are a bit more inexpensive. Downtown Phoenix is full of food choices and if you are needing ideas, you can check out this post I made for Phoenix Fan Fusion earlier in the year.

The Phoenix weather looks to be a bit milder this weekend (but still hot) and walking between the Sheraton and Renaissance can be a little bit of a pain, especially in cosplay. The convention is providing pedi cabs to take you between the hotels, free of charge. Also, they will have UV umbrellas for $5 if you wanna make the walk with a little bit of protection from the sun (or maybe rain which is in the forecast for Friday).