Alienware reveals pair of Star Wars themed PCs

Premium gaming PC suppliers Alienware has announced the launch of two new Star Wars branded systems to tie in with the forthcoming release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in cinemas.

The arrival of the two cases - a Light Side system featuring artwork of Jedi characters from the six movies, and a Dark Side system featuring Darth Vader and other evil characters - will be supported by a major PR and marketing campaign.

Alienware recently created a uniquely designed and configured case for the launch of Half-Life 2, called the City 17 system, which proved to be a major hit with gamers seeking to upgrade for one of last year's most anticipated games - but the Star Wars cases represent the first time that Alienware has partnered with a film property, UK marketing manager Mat Bettinson told GamesIndustry.biz.

"The decision to brand our computer systems isn't taken lightly and it makes sense only if there's a sizable, even fanatical, fan base," he explained. "That could easily be said of Half-Life 2 in the PC gaming enthusiast crowd but the Star Wars PC is altogether more ambitious by reaching out into the mass market across a consumer demographic that spans 28 years of loyal fans."

"We were very pleased with the performance of the City 17 branded system and hope to do more game-branded SKUs for forthcoming blockbusters games," he continued. "However the Star Wars PC is causing a splash in media outlets that were previously closed to computer manufacturers and gaming, so it's opening doors and allowing us to tell the story about high-end PC gaming. It's great for us and it's great for the PC gaming market too."

Alienware is planning to work with a wide range of media publishers to promote the new systems, as well as partnering with key hardware suppliers and potentially providing a boost to the Star Wars games, published in Europe by Activision, through a co-marketing campaign.

"Our marketing plan hinges around the fact that virtually every media publisher we talk to wants to feature the Star Wars PC in some way, particularly in the run-up to the release of the final film," according to Bettinson. "Beyond that we're working with some of our key hardware partners like AMD and NVIDIA in an ambitious marketing campaign that covers print advertisements, extensive online media buying and a national competition for a very special celebrity-signed Star Wars PC system."

"Some of our key media partners include the Sci-Fi channel and BBC Radio 1 and of course we're also hoping to involve Activision in co-marketing activities regarding the excellent Star Wars games they publish in Europe."

As for gamers stuck over whether to opt for the Light Side system or to give in to the lure of the Dark Side, Bettinson has already made his mind up. "I'd go for the dark side," he told us, "purely because I enjoyed going dark side when I played the Stars Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games, much to my wife's annoyance. I always thought our Predator chassis had an ominous sci-fi look anyway, a bit like Vader's helmet, don't you think?"

Picture Gallery: Alienware Star Wars PCs
External Link: Alienware UK