"IGN Live" Expands Lineup To Become The Ultimate Gamer Lifestyle Festival
Festival To Include the Best in New, Classic and Wireless Gaming; Top DJs; Insider Seminars; Videogame and Poker Tournaments; State-of-the-Art Theater; Art and Car Exhibitions; Free Trial Gaming Subscriptions and More
BRISBANE, Calif. - Oct. 13, 2005 - "IGN Live," the two-day festival inspired by and celebrating IGN.com's videogamer lifestyle, has expanded its lineup to create the definitive gamer event. The festival will include music, art, cars, tournaments, seminars and environments allowing for the greatest gaming and entertainment experiences possible.
Fans will be able to preview the latest games from a variety of the industry's biggest publishers, challenge other gamers for cash prizes, and meet game developer heroes to learn tips about getting into the game industry. The Dolby® HD Theater will provide a matchless way to enjoy brand new game and movie trailers, and PokerStars.com will give players a chance to prove their mettle alongside poker superstars Greg Raymer and Star Trek: TNG's Wil Wheaton, with winners receiving a trip to the Bahamas. All the while, attendees will groove to beats spun by top DJs including 8-Bit Weapon and Power 106's Mr. Choc and Turbulence.
Games
The hottest new and upcoming games from top publishers including Electronic Arts (EA), 2K Sports, Midway Games Inc., NovaLogic, THQ, Ubisoft, and Vivendi Universal Games and others will be playable throughout seven zones inspired by gaming's most popular genres, each featuring special attractions. Near the sports-focused "Norcent All-Pro Zone," THQ, whose many playable games not yet on shelves will include WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006, will be building a life-size wrestling ring. Racing game zone "The Drag Strip" will allow gamers to get behind the wheels of Action Media's coolest and craziest cars. Other titles gamers can get their hands on or see before they hit store shelves include The Outfit, Battlefield 2: Modern CombatTM, 50 Cent®: Bulletproof, Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, Need for SpeedTM Most Wanted, and many, many more.
Tournaments
Intel will allow players to compete for cash at the GameSpy Arena! Tournaments including fan favorites Battlefield 2, Counter-Strike: Source and Halo 2. EA is scheduled to offer gamers the once-in-a-lifetime chance to play against the makers of Battlefield 2: Modern CombatTM days before the game hits store shelves. Fans will also be able to participate in the ANA-LAN Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) tournament area that will have numerous prizes for its participants. This BYOC area will feature tournaments across F.E.A.R., Quake 4 and Lord of the RingsTM: Battle For Middle EarthTM.
Seminars
Game fans hoping to prove their parents wrong and turn their hours of gaming into a career will be able to hear from industry insiders and gain perspective on the opportunities available within the increasingly viable industry at the Game Developers Conference's five-session, two-day seminar "How To Break into the Game Industry." Other panels taking place at IGN Live include "The XX Factor: Girls and Gaming;" "Next-Generation Game Play;" "Videogame Journalism;" "The Future of MMOGs;" "Multiplayer Gaming;" "Games and Entertainment;" and "Videogame Education." Speakers scheduled range from executives at talent agency CAA, to developers/executives at Ubisoft, Epic Games and Trilogy Studios, to renowned IGN and GameSpy editors like Peer Schneider, Tal Blevins, John Keefer, Doug Perry, Miguel Lopez, Steven Horn, Craig Harris, Dan Adams, Jeremy Dunham, Chris Carle and Rob Semsey.
Gamer Lifestyle Activities
Activities at "IGN Live" also include exclusive wireless play areas to allow gamers with their own Nintendo DS or Sony PSP to connect with others; classic gaming areas featuring vintage arcade games on auction by SuperAuctions.com; an art exhibition celebrating the videogames of the 1980s titled "I am 8-Bit;" and music by several top DJs including game music stylist 8-Bit weapon, Power 106's Mr. Choc and Turbulence, DMC Champion Rocky Rock and others.
Dolby HD Theater
Attendees will have the chance to experience exclusive trailers of upcoming games and movies with state-of-the-art visuals and sound at an HD theater Dolby Labs is creating for the festival to seat over 250 people.
PokerStars.com Tournaments Featuring Greg Raymer and Wil Wheaton Guests of "IGN Live" will have the opportunity to play in PokerStars.com tournaments divided into 15 hands, with the chance of playing against 2004 World Series of Poker Champion, Greg Raymer, or poker professional and star of television's "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Wil Wheaton. The winners of the tournaments' two final tables will receive satellite entries into PokerStars' Caribbean Adventure, a 2006 World Poker Tour event at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas next January.
"IGN Live" takes place Oct. 22-23 at Southern California's Anaheim Convention Center. Discount tickets are now available for $15 at www.ignlive.com. Tickets will also be available at the event for $25 and at selected Southern California Best Buy stores. Tickets purchased online include free trials to GameFly's videogame rental service and IGN Insider, a total value of $23.99 for attendees.
For more information, please visit www.ignlive.com. "IGN Live" is presented by IGN Entertainment, a leading Internet media and services company focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets, and Best Buy, America's #1 specialty retailer of consumer electronics. IGN Entertainment has partnered with live event producer, Action Media, to bring "IGN Live" to life.
About IGN Entertainment
IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, Inc., is a leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 30 million unique users worldwide in the month of August 2005, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is the web's number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related website, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle websites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. and in Montreal.
About Action Media
Action Media is an integrated marketing and event production company that provides a unique, powerful gateway to the potent, yet elusive Gen X-Y audience. Producing more than 20 annual events in the top North America markets, Action Media provides
compelling original concepts and turnkey solutions for an extensive list of clients. Their event strategy is to create an interactive and entertaining environment that empowers the Gen X-Y audience to express their individuality. The current portfolio of Action Media events include their signature series and longest running show Hot Import Nights, the RC Expo (RCX), Fresh Tracks Snow and Skate Expo and Holiday Havoc. Their websites include:
IGN Entertainment, IGN.com, GameSpy, AskMen.com, Rotten Tomatoes, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, 3D Gamers, Direct2Drive, GameStats.com and IGN FilmForce are trademarks of IGN Entertainment, Inc. Other trademarks and copyrights mentioned are the properties of their respective holders.