Pangya World Championship with Global Events Contest and Merchandise Available to Players around the World

1st Annual Pangya World Championship will be held on Jan. 22, 2011 at Akiba Square in Tokyo, Japan.

Hello Kitty outfits

In commemoration of this inaugural event, SG Interactive will be hosting a contest on Facebook with potential prizes for Pangya players worldwide, as well as offering brand new, PWC-themed in-game merchandise.

Super VS Battle 20-X Fighting Games Championship

NeoEmpire.com proudly presents Super VS Battle 20-X!

We invite everyone to attend what undoubtedly will be one of the most exciting fighting game events the World has ever seen. Do you have what it takes to participate in this epic battle?

Super VS Battle 20-X will be an apocalyptic 3 day extravaganza taking place on the 20th, 21st and 22nd August 2010 at the Byron Hall which is part of the Harrow Leisure Centre.

Blur video game: win a BMW 125i motor on PlayStation Network - PC X360 PS3

Starting Wednesday, 4th August, PlayStation Network users across Europe will get to experience powered-up racing in the demo of Activision‘s Blur – and get a chance to win a BMW 125i series car!

Guinness World Records honours the best of video gaming at E3 2010

Guinness World Records®, the global authority on record-breaking achievements, traveled to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center to recognize the best of the video game industry. During the premier three-day tradeshow for computer and video game products, top interactive companies were officially honored for their record-breaking achievements by Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer's Edition Editor Gaz Deaves.

Play Atlantica Online this Summer; Drive Away in a New Sports Car!

NDOORS Interactive announce details of a Mega-Event for their hit MMORPG Atlantica Online. Starting today, the contest, ‘Unlock Your Way to Atlantica’, will reward one lucky player with a brand-new 2010 Scion tC and other lucky players with various real world prizes, totaling over $30,000 in giveaways! To enter, players must create a free Atlantica account, or use an existing character, and spend time playing the 100% free-to-play game. Users will play the game to earn keys that can then be redeemed for valuable in-game items. Players who are eligible will be entered in a raffle drawing for real-world prizes including game consoles, LCD monitors, computers, high-end graphics cards and a brand-new Scion tC sports coupe. Certain restrictions apply.

Once ‘Unlock Your Way to Atlantica’ kicks off, players will immediately be able to start earning keys. Players will earn one key for spending one hour of time playing Atlantica Online. Players can earn a maximum of one key per day. Once a key has been earned, it can be redeemed via the Atlantica website to unlock a treasure chest containing a random in-game prize item. Some of the in-game prize items will only be offered during this exclusive promotion.

• The Mega-Event has seven phases known as ‘milestones.’ Each milestone represents a chance to win real prizes.
• When all of the game’s players redeem a pre-determined number of keys, the milestone will be hit and a raffle drawing for real world prizes will take place.
• Players must redeem one key during each phase
• The server whose players redeem the most keys will receive a 200% experience boost
• Certain restrictions apply. Please visit the official website for details.

The event ends when the players hit the final milestone and redeem all 2,000,000 keys. There are a finite number of keys for each phase so it’s important for users to play early and play often to increase their chances of winning in-game prizes and to be eligible for the raffles. Check the Atlantica website for information on when milestones have been hit and when raffle drawings will take place.

The full prize list for the Mega-Event includes:

• 1 – Grand Prize: 2010 Scion tC sports coupe
• 5 – Alienware 750i*
• 5 – BFG Tech GeForce GTX 295
• 5 – Playstation 3 80GB
• 5 – XBOX 360 Pro
• 5 – Acer H233H bmid 23" LCD Monitor
• 5 – Nintendo DSi Systems

‘Unlock Your Way to Atlantica’ begins June 23rd. For more information, or to sign up and play, visit: www.playatlantica.com/ao

Newly unveiled Alienware M17x Laptop up for grabs!

Heaven Media are pleased to announce that gamers will have the chance to compete for the ultimate prize, to celebrate the new top-of-the-range gaming laptop from Alienware.

The new Alienware M17x laptop combines brains with brawn to give you the ultimate Hi-def mobile gaming and entertainment powerhouse.

With mind-blowing graphics, the latest generation of processors and its new industrial design, you'll have the universe bowing before you.

The first of two stages of the competition, “Frag ‘till you drop”, takes place in the Outer Perimeter of Area-51 – and qualifying through this stage will require both a steadfast aim and an unyielding endurance. Each contestant will have to play on official Area-51 ranked Counter-Strike: Source deathmatch servers, and the top 51 will proceed into the next stage of the tournament.

These 51 highly talented gamers will be Inside Area-51, battling to prove themselves as the best of the best, as they follow the basic instruction: “Don’t get Left 4 Dead!” Contestants will be facing hoards of zombies in the popular Valve first person shooter Left 4 Dead, with a score table based on achievements and kills.

In addition to this competition, the Enter Area-51 mini-site will feature exclusive features and interviews on Alienware, and what has made them the world’s leader in gaming computers.

“This is our second gaming event with Alienware, after the success of Easter’s Gadget Show Live,” said Adam Godfrey, Business Development for Heaven Media. “With the previous event limited to professional players only this event opens up to the masses, anyone can take part and stand a chance to win a fantastic M17x gaming laptop.”

Anyone can register for the competition now, and find out more about Alienware, at http://Area51.Cadred.org

Win All-Expenses Trip, Plus Two Tickets to American Idol Season Finale 7 - Free and Live on MyGame.com

King Tells American Idol Fans - You're Going to Hollywood – On Us

King, the world’s leading online social gaming company, announced today its second annual American Idol contest. The contest is free and open to all players that register on MyGame.com, and submit their American Idol game scores. The winner will be drawn at random on May 15, 2008 by an independent judge. Winners will be selected from the top 10 highest scoring players on MyGame.com. Game play is not restricted, so players can play as many times as they like until achieving and submitting a score they are satisfied with.

“Social gaming is one of the fastest growing segments within the online gaming world and we’re delighted to bring the American Idol brand to our players for the second year,” said Toby Rowland, co-Founder and co-CEO, King.

The game is a viral, engaging experience, testing players’ keyboard dexterity and ultimately bringing players’ right into the world of American Idol – including harsh judging and audience participation. After a player logs into the game and picks their own singing avatar, they move to the audition phase, which includes cheers and jeers, and tests the player’s attempt at ‘singing’, using the arrow keys on their keyboard.

Scoring is based on players’ skills with the arrow keys, which determines its virtual singer’s ability to hit the right notes, at the right time. Upon ending, players can register for their chance to win an all-expenses trip to Hollywood to attend the American Idol Season 7 Finale.

Official Rules:

• You must be a registered MyGame.com player, over 18 years of age and resident in the US to enter.
• To enter, you must play the King.com American Idol skill game at MyGame.com between noon, Eastern Standard Time ("EST") on April 8 2008 and noon, EST on May 15 2008.
• The winner will be the player whose name is drawn at random by an independent judge after noon on May 15 2008, from Mygame.com's list of top 10 highest scoring players that play the King American Idol skill game between the above dates.
• The prize winner will win a trip for 2, including round trip air fair from the winner's normal place of residence in the US, transfers, 2 nights' hotel accommodation and meals in Hollywood and 2 tickets to see the American Idol Finale in at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on May 20 and 21 2008.
• The winner must travel on the dates specified by King. If the winner cannot travel on the specified dates, the prize will be forfeit.
• The prize is not transferable and cannot be sold.
• The approximate retail value of the prize is $3,000; the actual retail value depends on where the winner normally lives.
• You may not be eligible to win the prize due to your age, other regulations in your country or applicable travel / visa regulations.
• Employees of King.com Inc and its associated companies are not eligible to enter.
• The first name and State of the winner will be published on King.com.s website within 30 days after the prize has been won.
• You agree that by entering this competition with King.com, you are agreeing that we can use your name and image to promote King.com and American Idol.
• We regret that for legal reasons, residents of the following States are not eligible to enter: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont.
• The promoter of this competition is King Inc.

Prize of a lifetime with Princess On Ice for Nintendo DS

Princess On Ice have teamed up with Dancing On Ice 2008 champion Matt Evers to offer the prize of a lifetime to any wannabe Suzanne Shaws by presenting an exclusive one-to-one ice-skating lesson from the man himself. The winner will have a unique opportunity to learn from one of the most recognised figure skaters in the world, and garner all the tips and advice necessary to become a real life Princess On Ice.

American born Matt Evers is probably best known for his glittering performances in ITV's Dancing On Ice, where he has competed as professional partner to Bonnie Langford, Lisa Scott-Lee and most recently with winning partner Suzanne Shaw. With Suzanne, Matt achieved a perfect score of 30 for their flying routine and another perfect 30 for their favourite routine to win a tense final and be crowned overall champions.

“Matt has become a household name who we’re proud to have associated with Princess On Ice,” commented Juliette Fielder, 505 Games UK Product Manager. “We’re hoping the opportunity to pick up some tips from Matt will inspire plenty of fans to get involved!”

In Princess On Ice, players must jump, spin and pirouette their way to figure skating fame in this stylus-led rhythm game. Choosing one of four hopeful candidates, the action takes place on the lower touch screen where players must tap in time to the beat to see the results unfold on the top screen. Customisation is also the order of day, as hundreds of accessories and clothing options are unlocked as you progress through the game.

The competition will run exclusively on the Princess On Ice website - www.505games.co.uk/princessonice - from the 25th April.

Princess On Ice will be published by 505 Games for Nintendo DS on 25th April 2008.

2008 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament in Berlin Germany

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH And Upper Deck Announce Upcoming '2008 Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game And Video Game World Championships' Location

Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship will be held in Europe for the first time; Host City will be Berlin, Germany

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH and Upper Deck Europe announces Amsterdam as the host city for the 2008 European Championship

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH and Upper Deck Europe, Inc. announced today that the 2008 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament will be held in Berlin, Germany on August 9-10, 2008. Setting the stage for the largest event of its kind in the world, trading card game and video game players from North America, South America, Europe, Oceania and Asia will come together in Berlin to become the world’s best Duelist.

“With Yu-Gi-Oh! continuing to grow at a phenomenal rate, we are delighted to be hosting this year’s World Championship,” offered Kunio Neo, President for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “In bringing such an illustrious competition to Germany, we can perfectly illustrate just how important the series is to Konami, and look to introduce even more people to its delights in the coming year."

“Recognizing the increasing sales and demand from around the world, we are excited to have the World Championship Tournament for the first time in Europe,” said Nico Blauw, CEO of Upper Deck Europe.

Regional tournaments for the Trading Card Game are currently being held all over the world to qualify players to participate in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG National Championship Tournaments. In Europe, the National Champions and the top ranked European players are invited to compete in the 2008 European Championship, which will be held in Amsterdam in early July. Winners from the European Championship and other National Championship tournaments from around the world will then be awarded a chance to become the world’s best Duelist at the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship event in 2008. More information on dates and locations for Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG Regional tournament events can be found at www.wannaduel.com.

The national tournaments for the video game will be organized in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Participants will use Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2008 on Nintendo DS for intense duels. All details will be made available soon via the tournament website http://wc2008.konami-europe.net/

The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card and video games are products of strategy, where players create individual decks of cards collected from Structure Decks and Booster Packs. Two players engage in a Duel while using cards that represent powerful Monsters, magical Spells and surprising Traps. Duelists with well-constructed decks, dominating monsters, solid strategy and good fortune are the victors in the game.

With over 1 million currently active players worldwide, cards printed in nine different languages and with over 15.8 billion cards sold worldwide since its launch, the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is a global phenomenon. In Europe alone, over 2.5 billion cards have been sold since its European introduction in May 2003. The Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG is manufactured by Konami, and is distributed worldwide (with the exception of Asia) by Upper Deck.

Other Yu-Gi-Oh posts on Gamezplay

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3D Art Contest Battle of the SuperModelers win

As part of our 20th Anniversary celebration, GameRecruiter is pleased to announce the debut of our online 3D art contest, Battle of the SuperModelers! This one-of-a-kind contest is designed for 3D artists in the games community, professional or student.

Here’s your chance to create an original real-time character model of a monster, creature, robot or alien that might be found in a fantasy, sci-fi or horror game and win fantastic prizes! Our winners will include a Grand Prize Winner and three finalists.

Our Grand Prize package features the Area-51 m15x high performance notebook from Alienware, accompanied by a Cintiq 12WX pressure-sensitive tablet from Wacom. Our three finalist winners will each win a Wacom Intuos 3 (6 x 8”) pressure-sensitive tablet.

All four prize packages include a selection of two copies of the following software: Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk MotionBuilder and Autodesk Mudbox™. Each of our four winners will also receive a variety of 3D art instructional DVD’s from the acclaimed Gnomon Workshop.

All art contest entries are to be sent by e-mail. The final four winners will be judged on their final real-time model by a panel of industry judges. Fifty art entries will make it to the finals and be displayed on the GameRecruiter contest gallery page. Deadline to enter is Friday, August 15, 2008. Winners will be announced by September 15, 2008. Learn more about our contest prizes on our prizes page.

Grand Prize Package (one winner)

Our Grand Prize package features the Area-51 m15x high performance notebook from Alienware, accompanied by a Cintiq 12WX pressure-sensitive tablet from Wacom. The Grand Prize packages include a selection of two copies of the following software: Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk MotionBuilder and Autodesk Mudbox, as well as a variety of 3D art instructional DVD’s from Gnomon Workshop.

Finalist Prize Package (three winners)

Our three Finalist winners each win a selection of two copies of the following software: Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk MotionBuilder and Autodesk Mudbox, along with a Wacom Intuos 3 (6 x 8”) pressure-sensitive tablet. Each of our three Finalist winners will also receive a variety of 3D art instructional DVD’s from Gnomon Workshop.

Obscure: The Aftermath Win A Nintendo Wii Contest

Ignition Entertainment And Draven Launch "Obscure: The Aftermath Win A Nintendo Wii" Contest

Lucky Winner to Receive a Nintendo Wii, Obscure: The Aftermath And Draven Gear

Marina del Rey, CA–Ignition Entertainment USA has partnered with Southern California apparel company Draven to sponsor the “Obscure: The Aftermath Win a Wii” contest. Ignition Entertainment and Draven will award the winner with a Wii console, along with a copy of the survivor-horror videogame Obscure: The Aftermath and a complete Draven outfit. Obscure: The After math will be released for Wii, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and PC DVD-Rom on March 25, 2008.

“We’re nearing the big launch of Obscure: The Aftermath and the excitement is growing,” said Ajay Chadha,president of Ignition Entertainment USA. “This contest gives horror fans and gamers alike the chance to win an awesome game on a great console, while scoring some very cool Draven clothing.”

Draven recently supplied shoes and clothing for a groundbreaking series of live-action videos based on Ignition’ s upcoming survival-horror videogame Obscure: The Aftermath. The videos can be viewed by visiting www.obscureaftermath.com.

“Draven is thrilled to be a part of Ignition’s Obscure: The Aftermath launch,” said Chad Romiti, Marketing Director for Draven. “We’ve always felt a kinship with the gaming community and are excited to deliver one of the hottest gaming consoles into the hands of one lucky Obscure fan.”

“Obscure: The Aftermath Win a Nintendo Wii”

Competition Prizes

Grand Prize:
One Wii game system, one copy of Obscure: The Aftermath Wii software, one Draven tee shirt, one Draven hoodie, one pair of Draven shoes, one Draven hat, and one Draven backpack.

First Prize:
One Draven hoodie, one Draven tee shirt and one copy of Obscure: The Aftermath Wii software.

Second Prize:
One copy of Obscure: The Aftermath Wii software.

The contest is now open and entries may be submitted to the official contest website at www.draven.com/contest.php from March 24 until April 24, 2008. All entrants must be 18 years or older at the time of entry and a U.S. citizen.

Published by Ignition Entertainment and Playlogic International N.V. and developed by Hydravision Entertainment, Obscure: The Aftermath is rated “M” for Mature. For more information about Obscure: The Aftermath please visit www.obscureaftermath.com.

For more information about Draven please visit www.draven.com.

GGL LAUNCHES $40K TOURNAMENT: Warhammer $40,000: Dawn of War: SoulStorm

GGL LAUNCHES $40K TOURNAMENT Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War: SoulStorm

Strap on your armor, Space Marines, and gear up! GGL Global Gaming is proud to announce the launch of a 1v1 tournament for PC players.

WHO: GGL - The Leading Media Company for the Expansion and Culture of Videogames

WHAT: GGL’s Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War: Soulstorm 1v1 $40,000 Tournament (http://warhammer.ggl.com/)
· Ladder Format - Join anytime, for your chances of advancing!

1 Overall prize purse of $40,000

· Top player will take home a Dell XPS M1530 gaming PC; plus a limited edition, hand-numbered Dawn of War: Soulstorm art!

1 Second place finisher will receive a NVIDIA 8800 GT graphics card, Creative Labs Zen 8GB MP# media player, Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI XtremeGamer sound card, Creative Labs Inspire T6100 speakers, Creative Labs Fatal1ty Gaming Headset and THQ Game.

2 Each finalist goes home with a THQ game, plus their share of PC gaming hardware from Creative.

WHEN: TODAY!

o Registration March 4th – April 13th by 8:59 PM EST
o Play from March 4th – April 13th

WHERE: Online Ladder (http://warhammer.ggl.com/)

Win a Wii contest paves the way for first ever Wii Optimized Chat

WiiWasHere, the best place on the net to store all your Nintendo Wi-Fi codes, challenge friends, and earn Achievement Coins is giving away a Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl!

November 29, 2007 – On the heels of the first ever Wii Optimized Chat system launch, WiiWasHere is proud to announce a contest that will reward the most dedicated gamers with outstanding prizes. The user with the most Achievement Coins will win a new Wii system, and the second place user will receive a new copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii.

Users simply need to sign up as WiiWasHere members and challenge friends, all for free. After each challenge, members rate each other’s performance and earn Achievement Coins, which gamers use to prove skill level and win WiiWasHere contests like the WinWii contest. Previously members were able to plan challenges for the future though an online form, now they can instantly challenge online friends via the Wii Optimized Chat! Either way, Achievement Coins are awarded upon completion of ratings.

To participate in the WinWii contest please visit http://wiiwashere.com, where you can sign up and get more information on the contest.

Limited Edition Squad Command Themed PSP Console to be won

To celebrate the launch of the new handheld strategy game Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command on Sony PSP tomorrow, THQ in conjunction with Games Workshop and a team of professional modelers has created a limited set of six exclusive Squad Command themed PSP consoles.

Only one of these incredible custom PSP’s is bound for the UK – to be in with a chance of winning this awe-inspiring bit of kit, enter our exclusive competition on THQ-Games.com – we’ve got copies of the game for runners up too.

Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command brings intense, strategic combat to handheld consoles.

In the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium, the daemonic forces of Chaos clash with the Imperium’s finest - the Space Marines. Command your elite squad of Ultramarines, equip them with over 20 ranged and close combat weapons, and pit them against the might of the World Bearers in turn-based tactical combat across fully destructible 3D battlefields.

Wage war through 15 single-player missions, or battle your friends and foes over nine brutal multiplayer maps, and engage in epic conflicts between 2-8 players.

Supporting a host of options, including game sharing, local wireless and full online play supported by online leaderboards, Squad Command offers hours of gameplay and one of the most complete multiplayer packages on handheld.

The PSP version of Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command, complete with glorious 3D graphics and hi-res cinematics hits stores tomorrow!

GUITAR HERO FANS GET CHANCE TO WIN A PONTIAC G5

Details of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Tournament Powered By The Pontiac Garage Revealed

To support the launch of Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock, Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), Pontiac and Hot Topic are teaming up on a national promotion giving Guitar Hero fans, ages 16 and older, the chance to show off their fret burning skills and win a 2008 Pontiac G5. During the one month tour, consumers around the country can play the game that everyone is talking about at Hot Topic stores in the following cities:

Date City Mall
11/8 Orland Park, IL (Chicago) Orland Square
11/12 Paramus, NJ (New York/Newark) Garden State Plaza
11/15 Buford, GA (Atlanta) Mall of Georgia
11/19 Austin, TX Barton Creek
11/26 Phoenix, AZ Metro Center Mall
11/29 Las Vegas, NV Meadows Mall
12/3 Northridge, CA (Los Angeles) Northridge Fashion Center
12/5 San Francisco, CA San Francisco Center

Qualifying will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at each stop on the tour. The top eight scores from the Qualifying Round will proceed to the Semi-Final Rounds which will immediately follow.

Winners at each of the eight stops will receive a $100 gift card from Hot Topic. Additionally, winners will submit their high score on an undisclosed song to determine the two national finalists to advance to the Grand-Finals Round. The two Grand-Finals Round participants will win a trip for two to Los Angeles where they will compete in front of the game creators at Activision for the right to drive away in a 2008 Pontiac G5.

Individuals interested in participating can pre-register for the tournament by visiting the designated Hot Topic store starting at 10:30 a.m. five days prior to the tournament date. Pre-registration will close at 5:00 p.m. the evening before the tournament date. Pre-registering is highly recommended as space is limited.

For complete rules visit participating Hot Topic stores or www.guitarhero.com.

Tony Hawk's £1000 prize

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, out 2nd November, is available on X360, PS2, PS3, Wii and DS.

Every skater has a different story. In Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, you have the freedom to create yours. Experience a Tony Hawk game that lets you create and share your own lifestyle, where the choices you make impact how your character develops and the story unfolds. Take the risks, face the challenges and reap the rewards.

But that's not all! Grind on over to the official Tony Hawk Proving Ground You Tube channel and tell us your skate stories for a chance to win a £1000 cash. The options are limitless, just be totally creative - get out there with your phone or video camera and create your story for a chance to win £1000 cash.

To enter simply upload your video to the Tony Hawk Proving Ground Group at http://www.youtube.com/group/thpg. We will then approve your movie and post it here.
The movie with the most views by 31st December 2007 wins £1000 cash, Quicksilver and Vans gear, a console and a copy of the game. The next 5 most viewed get Quicksilver and Vans gear and a copy of the game plus we have 50 games for the next top 50 viewed.

Just remember there are some crazy ass moves in the game so don't try this at home, plus don't use any licensed music, brands and games (we won't mention any names).

Every skater has a story. Create yours.

QUAKE Wars games announced

9-Week Game Night/Ladder at 50+ Intel Program Centers $5,000 in Cash Prizes in the Balance, Including 2 Weekly Drawings for All Participants

iGames, the world’s leading game centre organization, today announced Xtreme Quest $5K Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars Presented by Intel, a 9-week series of Game Nights and special competitions, beginning Thursday, November 1. The series will showcase id Software’s critically acclaimed team-based multiplayer in a variety of different contexts for gamers of all skill levels, from hardcore competitors to more casual players.

Format:

• 6v6 Ladder: One week of preseason; five weeks of regular ladder play, followed by a, 3- week post-season tournament.

• Weekly Match Play: Intel and Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars to be the featured sponsor and game on Thursday night each week with players having the opportunity to participate for 3-4 hours on that night. Match results will be entered into an ongoing ranking system that provides points for both winning as well as just participating. Players play as much as possible to accumulate ranking points with the goal of earning one of the coveted “top 8” slots for post season play.

Prizes:

• 1st Place (team total) - $1,000

• 2nd Place (team total) - $750

• 3rd Place (team total) - $600

• 4th Place (team total) - $450

• 5th-6th Place (team total) - $300

• 7th-8th Place (team total) - $150

In addition, there will also be 2 weekly drawing prizes of $50 for all participants.

For registration and rules, along with the event schedule and complete list of participating iGames centers, visit www.igames.org/xtremequest/ or contact the iGames events team at Events.

Win Joe Perry's Guitar Hero III Guitar!

Enter here

If you're someone who peruses the circulars in the Sunday paper for deals, you know that the big game featured this past weekend was Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock. It was on the cover of every company’s ad in the paper, just as it was the featured review on all the game sites.

Thanks for GameStop, Activision and Joe Perry, you’ll be able to win the game from Game Break. But wait: there’s more. You’ll be able to win Joe Perry’s guitar controller. Not only that, the Les Paul controller is signed by Perry himself.

How do you win? Just tell us which Legend of Rock you’d like to play Guitar Hero III with, and why. Folks, the why part is really important. So convince us in 150 words or less. Don’t go over 150 words or you’ll be disqualified! All entries must be received by 11:59 PM (ET) on November 6, 2007.

Make your entry funny, compelling, personal, heartstring-tugging, hard sell, soft sell, anything that will get us to want to give this prize package away to you. But don’t plead and whine. The concert will run for seven days. Next Friday, November 9th, we’ll announce the lucky winner. Good luck!

Students Create Slinky Bomb, Win $25,000 in Computer Game Contest

Three Pomona College students created a new computer game that “secretly” teaches physics concepts to middle school students and captured the $25,000 first prize in the national Hidden Agenda computer game design contest.

The goal of the contest, now in its fifth year, is to inspire college students to build entertaining games that teach middle school subjects. Final judging was based on 70 percent entertainment and 30 percent educational value.

This year two Pomona entries made the final five. The winning entry, Slinky Bomb, was built by Alexander Haro, Class of ’08; Tim Brown, ’07; and Kurt Ude, ’09. The game teaches physics through a series of ball-in-the-cup puzzles that demonstrate properties such as motion, acceleration, energy and angular momentum. Among the creators’ motivations, according to Haro, were both the prize money and the fact that Pomona teams had finished in the finals three times but never won.

The team estimates that development took about 400 hours with most of that packed into a three-week period. Brown notes that, “The last night of work was pretty crazy. We decided to add in voice-overs at roughly midnight and had them in by 6 a.m., while adding the hints features and sounds. We were hyped up on caffeine and throwing tennis balls against different surfaces to record sound effects while trying to add as many cool features to the game as we could before submitting. It was hectic, but fun!”

“The three of us had already been up for basically three days straight,” explained Haro. “Yet, somehow, we managed to have one of our most productive nights then. During that time we were able to implement the hint interface, record the voice overlays, and fix a lot of long-standing bugs.”

More than two dozen teams entered the contest, and the five finalists were invited to Austin, TX for the final judging, which included testing by middle school students.“The first day was awesome, said Brown. “Hearing and seeing the kids' excitement with the game was incredibly rewarding but it was also great to see the teachers really enjoying it. It was nice to see that our game was actually fun to play and appreciated by teachers, learning experts, and professional game developers at the same time.”

For Haro, “The memory that sticks out most was when we first arrived to the contest playing area. All of the kids were playing the games on the computers and most of them were playing Slinky Bomb…. A boy stood up and asked us, ‘How did you make Slinky Bomb so awesome?’ The fact we had built a game was an accomplishment, the fact that the kids enjoyed it so much took that sense of accomplishment to a whole other level.”

The contest judges were: NCsoft, a game development company; a team of instructional designers from the University of Texas and Enspire Learning; Marc Prensky, a digital game-based learning consultant; and the teachers and students from the Camp Wired program in Austin, TX, which teaches middle school students how to create video games.

The second Pomona College team making the Hidden Agenda finals consisted of Charles Zhou ‘08 and Edward (Ed) Burns ’08, who created CheMeteor in which players create chemical-based missiles to defend the planet.

The Hidden Agenda contest is sponsored by the Liemandt Foundation, a nonprofit family foundation dedicated to furthering education through technology. Among their goals is the hope that winners will go on to devote their talents to developing educational games when they graduate.

Slinky Bomb has already been installed on over 4500 computers, which have been given to underprivileged middle school kids in urban areas through a partnership between the Liemandt Foundation and the nonprofit Computers for Youth.

NFL Challenge to play for $100,000 in prizes

Players hit a different kind of gridiron yesterday for a chance to compete in an international tournament.

Football fans put their skills to the test in the EA Sports Madden NFL Challenge, which saw video game players going head-to-head yesterday.

"The tournament allows you to know how good you are and gives a scale to build on," said Madden fan Mike Iwankow, 25.

Iwankow came in second in last year's Madden regional tournament in Winnipeg and was eager to compete again this year.

"To be the best in a city is quite an accomplishment," said Anthony Francisco, manager of the St. James Best Buy store, where the competition was held.

The latest version of the Madden game features more realistic action, with certain National Football League players having stronger skills than others, said Iwankow.

"It's almost bang-on," he said.

About 40 players had signed up yesterday morning to participate in the Winnipeg tournament, playing the Madden NFL 08 game on Xbox 360 systems.

"They treat it like a real game. They're as fanatical about it as fans at Bombers' games," said James Deighton, one of the tourney's organizers.

PLAYS RELIGIOUSLY

One of the competitors, Clint Armstrong, 31, said the event brought more excitement to the gameplay and he looked forward to competing again next year.

"He plays the game religiously," said Armstrong's sister, Katrina Paquin, who came out to cheer him on.

Other Madden enthusiasts said they enjoy the popular video game series because of their fondness for the NFL.

"I'm a huge football fan and it's the closest you can get (in a video game)," said Nigel Russell, 18, adding he's been playing the game for about five years.

The top three players in Winnipeg walk off with televisions as prizes while the overall winner gets a paid trip to Toronto to compete in the national championship. The winner of that event will be sent to Los Angeles in December for the international final, worth about $100,000 in prizes, said Deighton.