GameRiot, the video gaming love child of last summer’sLollapalooza festival, makes its way to Dallas’ GypsyBallroom tomorrow night. Touting itself as the “world’slargest video game party,” GameRiot allows casual to hardcoregamers the chance to play new and unreleased titles in a nightclubparty atmosphere.

“The arrival of video games as a form of massentertainment is driving this,” said Matt Ringel, executiveproducer of GameRiot. “Simply, there are more people playingvideo games now. It’s also the natural maturation process.Just as people go to concert venues for artists, or movie theatersto see new releases, there is interest to get out to a live arcadeand competition and game.”

In its third year, GameRiot was launched in the summer of 2003when it toured the country with Lollapalooza. GameRiot is expectedto entertain nearly a quarter of a million gamers by the time itfinishes in late October. That’s over 80 dates in 18 citiesacross the nation, Ringel said.

“We are expecting a diverse crowd as usual from thehardcore gamers to casual players,” he said.

Spike TV, Blockbuster, Mountain Dew, Xbox, NVIDIA, AMD andGameSpot are all official sponsors of the tour.

The Dallas stopover will include former Dallas Cowboys RobertNewhouse and Leon Lett, the PMS Clan, the Blockbuster HaloChampionship, and the AMD Deathmatch.

Game junkies can check out a bunch of highly-anticipated, yetunreleased titles including “Tony Hawk’s Underground2” by Neversoft Entertainment; “Dead or Alive:Ultimate” by Team Ninja; “Sid Meier’sPirates” by Firaxis Games; “Conker: Live andReloaded” by Rare Ltd.; and “Jade Empire” byBioWare.

The Xbox area will feature numerous titles that recentlypremiered at E3, but will not be commercially available until late2004 or early 2005. These titles include “Mech Assault2,” “Forza Motorsport,” “ESPN NBA2005,” “Red Ninja” and “Men ofValor.”

GameRiot will also feature a dedicated KidZone withyouth-oriented titles such as Shrek 2. Some of the most populartitles will be featured in hourly competitions, including”Halo,” “Soul Calibur II,” “ProjectGotham Racing 2,” and the US Department of the Army’s”America’s Army: Special Forces.”

“Video games are about community and competition. We see aton of people that want to get off their couches, out of theirbasements, and into a live environment with lots of othergamers,” Ringel said.

Location: The Gypsy Ballroom, 2513 Main St, Deep Ellum

Times: Monday, September 27 6 – 9 p.m.

Single session and all day passes available at the door.

For more information check out http://www.gameriot.com.

Summer 2004 Featured Games

The following games are currently planned for GameRiot, butthe list is subject to change, based on development cycles, releasedates, and market demand.

X-BOX

Burnout 3

The Chronicles of Riddick

Conker: Live and Reloaded

Crash Twinsanity

Dead or Alive Ultimate

ESPN NFL 2K5

ESPN NHL 2K5

ESPN NBA 2K5

Forza Motorsport

Halo

Jade Empire

Kameo: Elements of Power

Leisure Suit Larry

Mech Assault 2: Lone Wolf

Men of Valor

Project Gotham Racing 2

Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow

Rallisport Challenge 2

Red Ninja

Shrek 2

Soul Calibur II

Spiderman 2

Star Wars: Battlefront

Tony Hawk’s Underground

PC

America’s Army: Special Forces

Battlefield Vietnam

Doom III

Far Cry

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Painkiller

Sid Meier’s Pirates!

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004

Toca Race Driver 2

Unreal Tournament 2004