Fantastic Arcade

****FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE****

Austin, TX-Wednesday, September 1, 2010-Fantastic Arcade, the new independent games festival presented by America's largest genre film festival Fantastic Fest, today announced their four-day schedule of game tournaments. Produced by Arcade UFO, the Fantastic Arcade tournaments will feature different games daily, from 11 am to 7 pm, September 23-26.

Join us for all-ages game competition, cash prizes, giveaways and massive fun at Fantastic Arcade, with featured tournaments for game titles Street Fighter IV, Left 4 Dead 2 with special mod, Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution, plus indie games Canabalt and Niddhogg. Prizes include an Epiphone electric guitar from Epiphone Guitars, Onitsuka Tiger shoes from ASICS, Guitar Hero accessories from Game Over Videogames, Moviestorm subscriptions, T-shirts, games and cash. No entry fees required for competitions. Show up early for pre-lim rounds. Finals held at 6 pm daily. For complete rules and prizes, visit: http://www.fantasticfest.com/arcade/fantastic-arcade-tournaments/

Ryan Harvey with Arcade UFO says, "I wanted to team up with Fantastic Arcade as soon as I heard what was being offered and realizing we share such a similar vision. Arcade UFO runs smooth events for competitive gamers on a regular basis, so I am delighted to be supplementing Fantastic Arcade with a kick-ass tournament lineup! Trust me, if you've never been to a Fantastic series event, you'll want to make this your first, especially if gaming is any part of your entertainment-related diet."

John Gross, franchise creative director for Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas and tournament master for Left 4 Dead 2 adds, "Imagine killing hoards and hoards of zombies in your favorite karaoke room, movie theatre or even bowling lane….Fantastic Arcade is letting you do just that! For the duration of the game festival, participants will be able to explore every nook and cranny of the Highball and the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema South Lamar, fighting the undead of Left 4 Dead 2 in an insanely fun 4-player survivor map created by indie gamer ZapWizard and the Austin Modders."

Canabalt, Sponsored by ASICS

Thursday, September 23, 6 pm to 7:30 pm

Canabalt, the hit online flash/iPhone indie title by Austin-based Semi-Secret Software co-founder Adam Atomic, is all about how far you can go . . . with just one button: Jump. In some apocalyptic future, you're running, and everyone knows that when you're running you can only escape by jumping from one skyscraper to the next. Obstacles can slow your character down, but you'll need all the speed you can get to make those jumps! Start practicing Canabalt at 12 pm on Thursday, and join us for Happy Hour at 6 pm (sign-ups start at 5:30 pm) for an epic tournament to determine just who is best prepared to run away from the robot apocalypse!

Niddhogg, Sponsored by GameOver Video Games

Friday, September 24, 1 pm to 7 pm

Niddhogg is an indie game of old-school dueling with fantastic visuals, smooth animation, and a virtual tip-of-the-hat to classics like Karateka and Prince of Persia. Throw down with us in a Double Elimination VS Tournament and show the world your classic fencing and hand-to-hand skills. You've been waiting for decades to get revenge on that punk at the arcade you couldn't beat at Karate Champ, and this is your chance. Join us Friday at 1 pm (sign-ups at 12:30 pm) to compete and play the finals at The Highball Happy Hour at 6 pm!

Left 4 Dead 2 with special Fantastic Arcade Mod! Sponsored by ZapWizard

Saturday, September 25, 12 pm to 5 pm

This is Left 4 Dead 2 like you've never seen it before! The Alamo Drafthouse, the Highball and the whole shopping strip have been overrun with zombies and it is up to you and your 3 teammates to defend the projection booth, bowling alley, karaoke rooms and stores from the undead apocalypse. This modded playing field feels so eerily familiar, you'll think twice about walking back and forth between the two venues for fear of running across a horde, or worse-a Tank! Survival gameplay will be available throughout Fantastic Arcade with a tournament taking place on Saturday from 12 pm-5 pm complete with prizes for teams who survive for certain amounts of time. Come by and complete with your friends or strangers you've met at the festival!

Dance Dance Revolution, Sponsored by Moviestorm

Saturday, September 25, 1 pm to 7 pm

Dance Dance Revolution, or "DDR" as anyone who has ever played a video game knows it, has been a staple for arcades and consoles since 1998. Over 10 years later, there's still no better game to break a sweat to. Saturday at 1 pm (sign-ups start at 12:30 pm), we'll start our good ole' fashioned dance-off; the Top 3 Finalists will show off their moves for our entertainment during The Highball's Happy Hour at 6 pm.

Super Street Fighter 4, Sponsored by ArcadeUFO

Sunday, September 26, 12 pm to 7 pm Broadcast live on the web!

If you haven't been on the Internet for the past two years, you may not have noticed the phenomenon that is Street Fighter 4 and just how much of a renaissance it brought to the fighting game scene in the United States. Live streams on the Internet for Street Fighter 4 events happen several times a week, with major events drawing tens of thousands of viewers from around the world. Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong have pretty much become household names. Austin's own Arcade UFO is bringing us the Fantastic Arcade Cup, which will pit 16 of the Southwest's best against each other in a deadly single-elimination tournament with cash prizes for the top placers. A Live Stream will be broadcast online for the whole Internet to ride the hype.

12 players will be pre-qualified for the event from satellite tournaments around Texas, but 4 more warriors will have a chance to participate in the finals, determined by a Single-Elimination event starting Sunday at 12 pm (sign-ups start at 11:30 am). Leave your pads at home; this event will take place on an authentic Japanese Vewlix Arcade Cabinet, the standard for tournament play in Japan's national Street Fighter championships.

Guitar Hero, Sponsored by The CW Austin, 101X and Epiphone Guitars

Sunday, September 26, 1 pm to 7 pm

Guitar Hero revolutionized the peripheral-based music game in the United States as the first title to bring a plethora of well-known licensed songs to Western gamers. Just in time for Fantastic Arcade 2010, we'll see the release of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, the sixth consecutive title in the series. If you consider yourself a true Warrior of Rock, you'll want to be at The Highball on Sunday at 1 pm (sign-ups at 12:30 pm) to compete for the title. Our Top 4 contestants will shred their hardest for Happy Hour at 6 pm! Tune into 101X FM on Friday nights for a chance to win your own Fantastic Arcade-branded Epiphone Special II electric guitar during the No Control show with on-air host Chuck.

More than 4,000 attendees are expected to visit Fantastic Arcade over four days for hands-on gameplay action in a fun, high octane environment at top Austin entertainment venue, the HighBall. Fantastic Arcade sponsors include Alienware, Microsoft Game Studios, Halo Waypoint, G4, AMD, Dell, 101X, Austin Chronicle, The CW Austin, GDC Online, IGDA Austin, SXSW Screenburn, and The Guildhall at SMU. Tournament sponsors include Arcade UFO, ASICS, Epiphone Guitars, Game Over Videogames and Moviestorm.

Attendees at Fantastic Arcade will have a choice of a single day pass for $20, with access to all Fantastic Arcade films, panels, parties, happy hour and game demos for one day, or a basic $10 pass that provides access to the game demos and arcade for a single day. The VIP Fantastic Arcade Pass for $60 provides access to everything for all four festival days, plus a limited edition Fantastic Arcade T-shirt. Fantastic Arcade tickets can be purchased online now at www.fantasticfest.com/tickets-2/.

About Arcade UFO

www.arcadeufo.com

Arcade UFO is the only independently owned coin-operated arcade in Texas. Since 2008, we have followed in the footsteps of the legendary Einstein's Arcade to both carry on the scene for dedicated regulars and to expand the appeal of arcade gaming by importing new arcade cabinets and titles directly from Japan. We supplement this with a cozy and intimate atmosphere, friendly attendants who are passionate about arcade gaming, and ardent fidelity towards the Japanese Game Center.

About Fantastic Fest

www.fantasticfest.com

Dubbed "The Geek Telluride" by showbiz bible Variety, Fantastic Fest is also known as the "Comic Con of film festivals." Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the United States, showcasing eight days of offbeat cinema from independents, international filmmakers and major Hollywood studios. The 2009 edition hosted over 70 world, U.S. and regional premieres of the latest sci-fi, horror, fantasy and cult films from around the world. Fantastic Fest is scheduled for September 23-30, 2010.

For more into or to secure a media pass for Fantastic Arcade, contact Fiona Cherbak, ThemePark Studios, (512) 916-9633 or fiona@themeparkstudios.com, or contact Mike Plante, Fantastic Arcade creative director, at mike.plante@fantasticfest.com. For more information, visit www.fantasticfest.com/arcade.