September Madness
128 teams to compete in Counter-Strike: Source and Call of Duty 4
Heaven Media are pleased to announce a new cooperation between competitive gaming website Esports Heaven and OCZ Technology, the Californian company famous for their high quality range of hardware.
Gamers from around Europe will have until the end of August to register to take part in one of these two high-profile events, which will see over 250 keenly fought battles between some of the best teams around.
The first event in Esports Heaven’s September Madness will be the OCZ Technology Call of Duty 4 competition, which will kick off on Tuesday 1st September, with the final matches coming to a close five days later on the 6th.
The next week will see the OCZ Technology Counter-Strike: Source competition, also lasting from Tuesday to Sunday, with another 64 teams competing for pride and
glory.
Each tournament offers the winning team a prize well befitting their achievement: five Fatal1ty Edition 4GB Memory Kits from OCZ Technology. These high-performance memory kits were co-developed with the expertise of the world’s 12-time champion to meet the needs of fellow gamers, and are designed to help deliver exceptional gaming visuals and overclocking potential to ensure your high-powered gaming PC maintains unsurpassed stability.
“September is going to be a really exciting month at Esports Heaven, with so much going on all the time,” said Adam Godfrey, Business Development for Heaven Media. “OCZ are enormously respected throughout the gaming community for the quality of their products, and it’s really great to have them on-board for these events.”
“We have always been keen to show our support for esports, and this is another way of giving back to the community, helping drive cups and tournaments” said OCZ Technology’s Director of PR & Marketing EMEA, Tobias Brinkmann. “We have been really impressed by Esports Heaven since its launch, and couldn’t wait to get involved!”
These OCZ Technology tournaments will be covered by Cadred.org and Tek-9.org, two of Europe’s most influential esports coverage sites.
World Cyber Games 2009 – US finals to be staged at the end of September
The WCG National Finals in NYC are the Next Stop to Reaching Chengdu, China this November
With just under 100 days remaining until the World Cyber Games (WCG) Grand Final kicks-off in Chengdu, China, the WCG has announced key dates leading up to the showcase event for the world’s largest and most inclusive international computer and videogame festival. This year, over 700 of the world’s top eSports players from more than 70 countries are expected to represent their countries and battle it out for honor and glory at the Grand Final, known as the Olympics of gaming.
The road to the exciting and intensely competitive five-day journey that will determine the best eSports players in the world kicks into high gear as all participating Grand Final countries conduct their National Final. Included amongst them will be TEAM USA, who won the overall tournament in 2007 and finished third last year. The U.S. will determine its team for the 12 official WCG titles at the National Finals held in conjunction with the New York Anime Festival on September 25-27. Anyone who wants to participate in the USA WCG National Final this year still has time to qualify by visiting www.WCG.com/USA to register for the WCG Online Tournaments to qualify for your shot at TEAM USA.
Fans can follow all of the action for the U.S. National Final, and all other National Finals, by logging onto www.WCG.com. Additionally, if they log on in September, they can watch live as the WCG unveils the group drawings. During the live event, fans can find out the match-ups for the Grand Final.
In October, online press registration will be open during October for all media interested in attending the event. Media members can save time by obtaining their press pass on-site directly during the event, guaranteeing admission to all WCG 2009 Grand Final events.
Here comes the HERO!
Come and meet the heroes!
See you in Chengdu!
Serious Sam: The First Encounter HD – Serious Tweet Contest launched
User Generated Content Amounts to Snappy Zingers and Pithy One-Liners
Hordes of Serious Sam fans and would-be video game writers around the world can now have a hand in Serious Sam HD on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC. Brought to the masses by Croteam, Devolver Digital, cdv Software Entertainment AG, and Majesco Entertainment, an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, the Serious Tweet Contest gives gamers a chance to write their very own clever one-liner or hilarious wisecrack that Sam ‘Serious’ Stone will drop right in the middle of all the frantic, non-stop shooting action in Serious Sam HD. The lucky winner will have his or her line recorded by John J. Dick, the voice of Serious Sam, and integrated into the upcoming summer release for the entire world to hear.
“We have always admired the love and support fans have shown Croteam and the Serious Sam franchise,” said a shy, unassuming spokesperson for Devolver Digital. “This is a fantastic way to get gamers involved in Serious Sam HD and give our fans a chance to contribute to the game itself.”
So how does a budding video game writer enter a finely crafted line for a chance to hear it in Serious Sam HD? Gamers can log on to Twitter and send a brilliant tweet quip to @devolverdigital between July 15 and July 30. Croteam will choose the winning line and Devolver Digital will announce it to all followers of www.twitter.com/devolverdigital and www.twitter.com/majescoeurope in early August.
“I never get any thanks for the wonderfully poetic and emotionally layered lines I write for Sam ‘Serious’ Stone,” said an overworked and underpaid writer at Croteam “So guess what? Let someone else take a crack at it and see how hard it is. These witty remarks don’t write themselves you know.”
In addition to having the winning line appear in Serious Sam HD, the winner’s name will be immortalised in the credits of the game and forever become a part of Serious Sam lore.
Developed by Croteam, the creators of the Serious Sam franchise, and produced in partnership with Devolver Digital, Serious Sam: The First Encounter is re-tooled and re-vamped in glorious High Definition with the all-new Serious Engine 3. It is scheduled for release late summer on Xbox LIVE Arcade from Majesco Entertainment and PC from cdv Software Entertainment AG.
Play Atlantica Online this Summer – Drive Away in a New Car
Win Gaming Consoles, Computers, LCD Monitors, Graphics Cards and a New Car Just by Playing
NDOORS Interactive announced 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
X3: Terran Conflict Update 2.1 and UPLINK Competitions
Egosoft announces the X3: Terran Conflict 2.1 Update:
A Treasure Hunt Mission and Much More!
X3: Terran Conflict 2.1 is now available! In this update we see the addition of a community-developed mission, written by Ketraar. This mission is called Treasure Hunt and will have you chasing your tail around the X-Universe looking for the next clue to lead you to what is arguably the ultimate prize. Speaking to Ketraar regarding the development of the mission, he said, “The Mission Director is a great tool and as an X-veteran, I wanted to bring a little nostalgia to TC through a mission. With Xenon_Slayer on hand to provide some guidance on the tricker parts of the mission’s development, the process of making it was both educational and fun and I hope that gamers will find it as fun to play.”
Also featured in this update is a much-awaited performance upgrade, which streamlines graphics rendering to produce better frame-rates and a generally smoother gameplay. This patch will also bring further improvements to Tractor Beam towing, the Universe Trader, a number of scripts and the ‘mine minerals’ command. For those of you who like to keep things ticking along while you do other things, this update also brings a new ‘run in background’ option, so you can chat to friends or surf the Egosoft forums while your factories churn out wares! If you’re using this option, you may want to park your ship somewhere safe before you alt-tab out of the game – you could end up in an asteroid or 400km from the sector’s centre! The update also adds a number of new Mission Director variables and attributes, in addition to a couple of script commands. There will also be more info available about marines in menus, as well as more ship information available in shipyard and HQ menus.
As well as adding in new content and features, we’ve also fixed some of those annoying little bugs. Some graphical and turret configuration issues have been fixed. The patrol and defend sector commands have also been fixed. Additionally the rear turret compatibility of the Springblossom has been reverted to its pre-2.0 configuration.
X3TC UPLINK Competitions
Stats Mean Prizes!
Now that you have had a chance to get used to the fact that you can save your game stats and upload them to the Egosoft servers and then see the results of your exploits both in league tables and in your personal profile, we think it’s time to ratchet up the competition slightly – with a competition!
On a weekly basis we will invite you to upload your stats to a special UPLINK area, so that our panel of judges can determine if you have met the victory conditions for that week’s competition. The criteria for each week’s round could be anything from “the most stations destroyed” and “the most jumpdrive energy used” to “the most sectors found” during the competition period. We will tell you, of course, what the gameplay and victory conditions will be and also what prize you’ll be playing for.
You will be given a gamestart to use (so you can assume you’ll have to start a new clean game) and a goal to reach by the stated deadline. Important note: members of EGOSOFT staff and players of games with the **MODIFIED** tag in the player states will not be permitted to enter this competition.
More information available on: http://www.egosoft.com
Empire Of Sports Presents The Volkl Diamond Cup
Empire Of Sports Partners With Global Ski Equipment Brand, Völkl, To Host Permanent Online Ski Championship
Empire of Sports, the first massively connected multisport 3D game, is proud to unveil the latest in its ever growing online sports events; The Völkl Diamond Cup. In association with winter sports equipment brand, Völkl, Empire of Sports has added the Völkl Diamond Cup as a permanent feature to its already impressive line-up of resident online sports based events.
The Völkl Diamond Cup can be found in the permanent events program within Empire of Sports. There are four key stages to qualify for the Völkl Diamond Cup; the first three stages can be entered at any time during the week. The finals will be held every other Saturday and the winner will receive a ski outfit (jacket and trousers) from the Völkl Performance Wear range.
Empire of Sports provides a great interactive platform for companies to promote their brands and advertise new products online – while also reaching a wider audience. As part of Völkl’s association with Empire of Sports, two pairs of brand new Völkl skis will be made available for players’ avatars to use in-game, boosting their performance and making them look good while they’re doing it! Better still, as those ski models are part of Völkl’s range for the forthcoming 2009/10 winter season, Empire of Sports’ avatars will have access to them before the real skis are even available in the shops. So the players will exclusively be able to access the first-class quality of the equipment in May.
Empire of Sports is currently in the Prologue phase: this phase allows Empire of Sports to expand progressively, with the help and feedback of its vast community of online players.
If you are interested in entering the Völkl Diamond Cup and fancy your chances of winning a ski outfit worth £470, all you need to do is download the game client from www.empireofsports.com, register and speak with Francis in the centre of Empire of Sports!
For more information on the Völkl Diamond Cup, please visit https://www.empireofsports.com/community/en/events/permanent-events/sponsor-tournaments/voelkl-diamond-cup/index.html
To view the prizes listed above, please visit http://www.voelkl.com/index.cfm/DE/98/310 and http://www.voelkl.com/index.cfm/DE/98/312
To see a full list of online tournaments, please visit https://www.empireofsports.com/community/en/events/permanent-events/index.html
2009 Major League Gaming Pro Circuit Season Opener Comes to the Meadowlands April 3-5
World’s top pros, thousands of aspiring amateurs will meet face-to-face to crown the winners in competitive Halo 3 and Gears of War
Thousands of fans will cheer on their favorites, interact with their heroes, see the best competitive gaming live and in person
Major League Gaming (MLG), the professional video game league, is kicking off the 2009 season at the Meadowlands Expo Center in Secaucus April 3-5. Coming off a sizzling 2008 season that crowned Str8 Rippin National Champions and put the team on over 175 million bottles of Dr Pepper, Major League Gaming Nation is chomping at the bit to see who’s been practicing and who’s been slacking — and where the latest surprise talent will come from this season.
Top pros, aspiring competitors and thousands of fans will come together for three days of intense competition and entertainment; $70,000 is at stake in the Meadowlands and over $1 million in cash and prizes will be awarded over the course of the full season.
Admission to the event is $20 for the entire weekend and includes:
AMAZING PRO MATCHES START ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND GO ALL WEEKEND LONG!
Friday highlights include:
- 2008 National Champions — Str8 Rippin — Friday 4/3 at 6:45 pm
- 2008 second place finishers — Instinct — Friday 4/3 at 10:30 pm
- See the Ogre Twins face each other for the first time in their careers
- Final Boss vs. The Incredibles — Friday 4/3 at 9:15 pm
- See the hottest and most practiced team in the offseason with veteran Strongside and new comer Ace — Status Quo — face off against Karma’s new team, New Order — Friday, 4/3 at 10:30 pm
FOOD, SWAG, PLAY-A-PRO, and AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS
- Ball Park Friday Morning Tailgate — Friday 4/3, 10:30 am – 1:30 pm
- Str8 Rippin at the Dr Pepper booth all weekend long
- Team Instinct autograph and photo session with the Old Spice models –Saturday 4/4, 5 pm – 6 pm
- Customize your own t-shirts at the Stride booth
- Be an MLG Legend at the BIC Comfort 3 Advance Booth
CHEER THE BEST AMATEURS IN THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR OWN SKILLS TO THE TEST!
- See over 1600 of the best amateurs in the country try to make it into the pro bracket and get noticed by the pros
- FFA and Wingman competitions at the GameBattles Arcade — top winners will take home $500
- Show your moves on the Dance Dance Revolution stations
MLG LIVE BROADCASTS — WATCH HISTORY BEING MADE — LIVE!
- Pre-game show — Friday 4/3 at 8 pm
- Friday Night Kick Off — Friday 4/3 at 9 pm
- ESPN Saturday Night — Saturday 4/4 at 7:30 pm
- MLG Championship Sunday — Sunday 4/5 at 3 pm
For more information on MLG’s Meadowlands Pro Circuit competition, go to www.mlgpro.com.
WHO: Major League Gaming (MLG)
WHAT: MLG’s 2009 Pro Circuit Season Opener
WHEN: April 3-5, 2009
Doors open on Friday at 1:30 pm; Saturday at 10 am;
Sunday at 10 am
WHERE: Meadowlands Expo Center
355 Plaza Dr. Secaucus, NJ 07094
Major League Gaming
Founded in 2002, Major League Gaming (MLG) is the dominant media property exclusively targeting the approximately 40 million consumers in North America who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive social activity. The company exclusively represents the best professional gamers and gives millions of aspiring gamers around the world an opportunity to compete, improve their skills, and socialize through our thriving online competitive community and live Pro Circuit competitions. For more information: www.mlgpro.com.
Fallout 3 Wins Game of the Year Award at the 9th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards
Media Molecule’s ‘LittleBigPlanet’ Receives Four Awards, Other Winners Include ‘Prince of Persia,’ ‘Dead Space,’ ‘God of War: Chains of Olympus’ and ‘World of Goo’
Bethesda Softworks’ epic post-apocalyptic open-world adventure, “Fallout 3,” received the Game of the Year Award at the 9th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, presented at a ceremony this evening at Think Service Game Group’s 2009 Game Developers Conference (GDC). Bethesda also received the Best Writing award for the game.
Media Molecule’s imaginative user creation-centric platform game “LittleBigPlanet,” which was first unveiled at GDC 2007, was the recipient of the most awards of the evening, taking four awards for Best Game Design, Best Technology, Best Debut Game and Innovation Award.
Other winners included Ubisoft’s hauntingly beautiful update of the “Prince of Persia” franchise, which won the prize for Best Visual Arts, and Ready at Dawn’s portable action-adventure, “God of War: Chains of Olympus,” winner of the Best Handheld Game award. EA Redwood Shores’ shocking horror title, “Dead Space,” won the prize for Best Audio award.
Additionally, successful independent developer 2D Boy, winner of the 2008 Independent Games Festival’s Design Innovation award and Technical Experience award, snagged this year’s Game Developers Choice award for Best Downloadable game for “World of Goo.”
The Game Developers Choice Awards, which honor the very best games of the year, are voted on by developers and created for developers. They are produced and hosted by the GDC and presented by Gamasutra.com and Game Developer Magazine, with the aid of a distinguished Advisory Committee that includes many of the world’s top game creators, and each award is decided by thousands of votes from game professionals worldwide.
This year, Hideo Kojima, the Corporate Officer, Executive Producer and Director of Kojima Productions and creator of the seminal Metal Gear series was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his influence on the craft of game development and his twenty years of work on Metal Gear and other notable franchises.
In addition, Harmonix co-founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, co-developers of a groundbreaking decade-plus long line of music games culminating in the Rock Band franchise, received the Pioneer Award for their work; and Tommy Tallarico, co-founder of the Video Games Live concert series and founder of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), received the Ambassador Award for helping to advance the game audio community.
The recipients of the 9th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards are:
Game of the Year
Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)
Best Game Design:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)
Best Writing:
Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks)
Best Technology:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)
Best Visual Arts:
Prince of Persia (Ubisoft Montreal)
Best Debut Game:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)
Best Handheld Game:
God Of War: Chains Of Olympus (Ready at Dawn)
Innovation Award:
LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule)
Best Audio:
Dead Space (EA Redwood Shores)
Best Downloadable Game:
World Of Goo (2D Boy)
Recipients for the evening’s special awards were:
Lifetime Achievement Award
Hideo Kojima
Pioneer Award
Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy
Ambassador Award
Tommy Tallarico
“Over the past nine years, the Game Developers Conference has become the premiere video game award show because it gives voice to those who understand games better than anyone; the people who make them,” said Meggan Scavio, content director of the Game Developers Conference. “The games being recognized here are virtuoso efforts that have truly advanced the state of video games. Our congratulations to all the talented and hardworking teams that put so much of themselves into their art.”
For more information about the awards and all the recipients, please visit: http://www.gamechoiceawards.com/
ESCONF 2009 once again in Cologne – eSports-Connection enlarged
The „International eSports Conference 2009 (ESCONF)“ takes place at the German headquarters of Electronic Arts in Cologne from May 26th-27th this year and thus stays loyal to the Rhine metropolis. Dr. Olaf Coenen, Executive Director Electronic Arts Germany: „We are looking forward to welcoming the International eSports Conference in our rooms for the second time. We feel strongly committed to staying in touch with the eSports community and regard this part of gaming with great attention.“
From May 26th – 27th the who’s who of eSports again gathers at the ESCONF to discuss current and important developments and trends of this young industry. This year’s program will feature numerous innovations for both participants and visitors. For the very first time there will be a series of lectures addressing high school and university students, teachers, parents, politicians and media representatives. „eSport professionals“ working as team or general managers or coaches will be offered additional workshops on law and marketing. These workshops will teach the participants know-how that strengthens their skills for their tasks and responsibilities. To increase support for eSports on an international level, a meeting with associations, teams and leagues will be hosted – like last year – to let participants discuss current topics and developments. Given the great success of last year’s debut of „eSports Connection“, this feature is going to be notably enlarged hence enabling more eSport organizations to secure new deals.
Having taken over Global Games Media, Think Services Game Group Germany GmbH will continue running the ESCONF as well as organize GDC Europe in Cologne in August. Frank Sliwka, Vice President Business Development Europe: „Given the new constellation following Think Service’s takeover of Global Games Media we are starting with increased possibilities. This is already indicated by the extension of the conference program and the series of lectures and workshops. Moreover, eSports Connection will be enlarged and will also continue to increase its importance. Furthermore, Carsten Kohlenbeck will be responsible for the ESCONF for the very first time this year.“
Further information and the registration for the ESCONF are to be found on the website www.esconf.com
International eSports Conference (ESCONF)
The „International eSports Conference“ takes place in 2009 for the sixth time and is the world’s most important business and networking platform for eSport and gaming communities. This young industry presents itself in speeches, workshops, meetings, business initiations (eSports Connection) and networking events and informs and discusses current and important topics of the eSport market. Whereas speeches address high-school and university students, teachers, parents, politicians and the media, workshops are provided for eSportsmen and their managements. In private meetings, eSport organizations discuss current developments, trends and problems. eSports Connection is an exclusive speed dating event for external businesses along with companies from the eSports industry. Further information: www.esconf.com
New Feature Lets CABAL Online Players Spin for Prizes
OGPlanet, a publisher of massively multiplayer online games, announced the Nevareth Arcade System for its popular MMORPG, CABAL Online. This system, referred to as NAS for short, acts like a capsule machine, adding a fun spin to the game.
To play NAS, players must purchase or win Silver or Bronze Tickets that can be redeemed for Medals. Each spin costs 10 Cabal Medals and is guaranteed to result in a useful in-game item, but some lucky winners will receive each month’s special items. At launch, grand-prize winners can receive the dark Epaulette of Night Walkers, the cool Hip Hop Spirit costume, or even a Little Gry pet!
“The Nevareth Arcade System is going to be a huge addition to CABAL,” explained Chris Woolley, CABAL Online’s Associate Producer. “The system itself is fun, plus you are guaranteed to get a great item to use in-game. I think our players will really enjoy NAS.”
CABAL Online
In CABAL Online, players are called upon to protect the people of Nevareth from an evil entity known as Cabal. Set in a diverse environment that includes ice temples, forgotten ruins, desert hideaways, mutant forests and volcanic citadels, CABAL engages players with dynamic quests that tie-in beautifully to the game’s storyline and more than 300 dungeons to explore. CABAL includes both Player vs. Environment and Player vs. Player gameplay, with some servers designated specifically for PvP combat, and a unique Player Kill system.
CABAL Online can be downloaded at http://cabal.ogplanet.com/.