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
