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Plano, TX (PRWEB) September 1, 2009

As one of the leading consumer brands to successfully cross over into the world of video games, Doritos tortilla chips — a flagship snack brand within PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division — today announced it will once again offer the creative opportunity of a lifetime to video game lovers with the chance to design a new Xbox LIVE? Arcade game. Today marks the return of “Unlock Xbox”, a ground-breaking video game design contest that puts the creative control to design an Xbox LIVE Arcade game in consumers’ hands.

The Unlock Xbox contest, which is driven by a collaboration between the Doritos brand and Microsoft, originated in 2007 and led to the creation of the record-breaking “Doritos Dash of Destruction”, the first consumer-created Xbox LIVE Arcade game, which went on to become the fastest Xbox LIVE Arcade game to reach one million downloads.

Now, people in the United States are invited to submit game concepts that embody the big, bold and intense spirit of the Doritos brand, for the chance to have their idea developed into an Xbox LIVE Arcade game for the Xbox 360. Fans can review the submission terms and enter their ideas via video submission through October 4, 2009 at http://www.unlockxbox.com.

“We are always looking for new ways to connect with fans and give them unique opportunities to express their creativity in a way only Doritos and our partners can deliver,” said Ann Mukherjee, group vice president, marketing, Frito-Lay. “Many of the people who love Doritos also love gaming, and this innovative program gives our fans a chance to live their dreams.”

Ten quarter-finalists, which will be chosen by the Doritos brand and Xbox 360 and announced by Xbox’s Major Nelson, will embark on the journey of a lifetime as they compete to transform their game concept into a reality. From in-person pitch meetings at Microsoft Game Studios with the “Godfathers of Gaming” including Kudo Tsunoda, to an online voting round, gamers will get to experience the incredible process of bringing an Xbox LIVE Arcade game to life. Ultimately, two will be developed into Xbox LIVE Arcade games available for download in fall 2010, with one fan-selected grand prize winner scoring a $ 50,000 gaming consultant project for Doritos.

“By bringing their brand to the Xbox LIVE audience, Doritos has the opportunity to reach a subscriber base of more than 20 million.” said Mark Kroese, general manager of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Advertising Business Group. “The first ‘Doritos Dash of Destruction’ game was a record breaker in terms of first week downloads. We’re excited to see what this round of creativity brings.”

Giving video game fans and Doritos chip-lovers everywhere even more reason to get in the game, between November 29, 2009 and December 31, 2009, visitors to http://www.unlockxbox.com will have a chance to instantly win great prizes as they log on to cast their vote among the finalists. Promotion details and rules will be available on http://www.unlockxbox.com during the promotion period.

Further supporting its commitment to gaming fans, the Doritos brand also is announcing a partnership to bring pro football’s combine concept to the competitive video game world. The Doritos MLG Skills Combine will be a nationwide, multi-day competition where amateur players are put through their paces by MLG League officials and pros, with an eye towards evaluating their potential for participation in the MLG Pro Circuit.

Frito-Lay North America is the $ 12 billion convenient foods business unit of PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. In addition to Frito-Lay, PepsiCo business units include Pepsi-Cola, Quaker Foods, Gatorade and Tropicana. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate Web site, http://www.fritolay.com and the Snack Chat blog, http://www.snacks.com .

PepsiCo offers the world’s largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate more than $ 1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade – also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in over 200 countries. With more than $ 43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 people who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.pepsico.com .

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Eugene, OR (PRWEB) January 26, 2006

GarageGames, the leading publishing label for independent games and professional game makers, is pleased to announce the launch of Marble Blast Ultra on Xbox 360 Live? Arcade.

?Multiplayer functionality and HD graphics represent an amazing evolution in the Marble Blast franchise, and unveiling Marble Blast Ultra alongside the launch of Xbox 360 is a historic moment for GarageGames and independent game developers,? said Mark Frohnmayer, President of GarageGames. ?We hope Xbox 360 users have as much fun playing Marble Blast Ultra as we have.?

Marble Blast Ultra is the latest in the classic Marble Blast series. It is an online multiplayer arcade action masterpiece that is suitable for players of any age. The game takes place in a futuristic ‘astrolabe’ arena suspended high in the clouds, where players compete with each other by navigating their marbles through moving platforms and dangerous hazards, collecting rare gems and power up enhancements, all in an effort to complete each course in record time. Adding to the fun and excitement, players may compete with up to seven opponents in ultra blast multiplayer mode, where the race to collect gems combines with full on marble bashing to see who ultimately wins all the marbles.

?We are thrilled that Marble Blast Ultra is now available on Xbox Live Arcade on Xbox 360?, said Ross Erickson, Games Portfolio Manager for Xbox Live Arcade. ?This enhanced version of Marble Blast represents a quantum leap forward in graphical fidelity and gameplay fun over the original Marble Blast. GarageGames has done a fantastic job of taking advantage of the unique technologies in Xbox 360, creating a great single-player and multi-player experience for Xbox Live Arcade.?

“Marble Blast Ultra has an extremely high fun-factor and a high level of visual polish that we were able to achieve in a relatively short timeframe using our Torque engine technology,” commented Jay Moore, GarageGames and Torque Evangelist. “The Torque Shader Engine allowed us to quickly and easily take advantage of the extensive graphical capabilities of the Xbox 360, while our award-winning netcode delivers high quality and fast-paced Live! play, while maintaining rock solid performance.”

The Torque Shader Engine for Xbox 360? video game and entertainment system from Microsoft enriches the game through the use of its graphical features – marbles reflect the world using dynamic cube maps and power-ups glow using the glow shader. Marble Blast Ultra is a visual feast of refractive glass, vividly colored tile, reflective metal, and glowing checkpoints set within a multi-layered, animated sky.

The demo is available for free directly on the revolutionary Xbox 360 Live? Arcade service, which allows for delivery of a wide variety of smaller scale, unique titles that quickly deliver a healthy dose of fun. The full version is available for only 800 points.

About GarageGames:

GarageGames’ mission is to change the way games are made and played. GarageGames provides the technology, community and market to empower game makers to build commercial quality multiplatform games. GarageGames is located in Eugene, Oregon and on the web at http://www.garagegames.com and is the annual presenter of IndieGamesCon.

Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

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Grants Pass, OR (PRWEB) December 1, 2004

Silver Creek Entertainment announced today two of their addictive games titles, Hardwood Solitaire? and Ruckus Buck’s Dangerous Mines?, are among the first games launched with the new Xbox? Live Arcade.

Xbox Live Arcade is a new service that lets Xbox Live members play broad-appeal, casual games on the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft.

“Hardwood Solitaire and Ruckus Buck’s Dangerous Mines are a perfect fit,” says Jonas Stewart, Creative Lead for Silver Creek Entertainment, “the Xbox Live Arcade is squarely aimed at a segment of players we’ve been successfully serving for 10 years, the casual gamer.”

Of the seven offerings launched with Xbox Live Arcade on November 3, 2004, IGN.com gave Hardwood Solitaire the highest rating, stating the game ??is the best deal of the Live Arcade launch titles.? In the review of Dangerous Mines? game concept, they stated, ?The idea is pretty smart.?

Dangerous Mines is an all-new version of the classic Minesweeper offering 2 new modes of play. FreeEdge gives players the ?edge? to work off of, since the squares along the boarders are cleared. This lets you avoid the Click-Click-Boom problem associated with the original Minesweeper, as you attempt to find a decent opening. Gauntlet mode offers another twist, as you race against a clock clearing rounds of boards. This makes every second count.

Hardwood Solitaire has withstood the test of time, as one of the longest running electronic solitaire collections available. In its 10th year, this rebuilt incarnation continues to offer one of the best-looking design concepts. SCE is known for its great graphics (in 2001 they won the Best Visual Arts award at the Independent Games Festival), and this version takes the classic to a new visual level. The game?s 3D graphics give a natural, life-like feel with features such as swaying rows, as you move a long row to another pile. The Hardwood Solitaire collection offers over a 100 Solitaire games, including Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, and Yukon, as well as original solitaire games you can?t find anywhere else.

The Xbox Live Arcade disc is free ($ 4.99 U.S./$ 7.99 Canadian for shipping and handling.) Microsoft will send the disc to enable your Xbox console to play free trials of the games, Including Hardwood Solitaire and Dangerous mines, as well as an entirely free version of Ms. Pacman. More information about Xbox Live Arcade can be found at http://www.xbox.com/livearcade

Hardwood Solitaire http/:http://www.hardwoodsolitaire.com is also available on PC, with Dangerous Mines http/:http://www.DangerousMines.com currently in development for PC and Mac OSX. All of Silver Creek games also being brought to Mac OSX in the coming weeks. For more information about these and other Silver Creek Entertainment games, visit http://www.silvercrk.com

About Silver Creek Entertainment:

Silver Creek Entertainment has been making high-end casual games since 1994. They are the winners of the Best Visual Arts award from the Independent Game Festival, in 2001. Products include Hardwood Solitaire, Hardwood Hearts, Hardwood Euchre, Hardwood Spades, and Ruckus Buck’s Dangerous Mines. Players can find SCE games on Windows, Mac OS X, and Xbox. Silver Creek Entertainment is located in Grants Pass, Oregon and on the web at http://www.silvercrk.com or http://www.hardwoodgames.com

About XBOX LIVE

A new frontier in imagination and extraordinary interaction, Xbox Live offers rich online gameplay. The world?s only unified global online console games service, Xbox Live is continuously innovating to provide members with unparalleled experiences. This unique service unites gamers together in a dynamic community where they can experience the best online games, exclusive programming and continuous downloadable content. Xbox Live launched in the United States in November 2002 and is available in 24 countries. Please visit http://www.xbox.com/live for more information.

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Eugene, OR (PRWEB) September 13, 2005

GarageGames® announced the availability of Orbz for download on Xbox® Live Arcade (XBLA), a new social experience that brings popular retro classics and broad appeal games directly to your Xbox® video game system over the Xbox Live service.

Orbz is an action/arcade game set in colorful and realistic 3D environments. Developed by 21-6 Productions and published by GarageGames, the object of the game is to shoot your orb at targets located throughout 25 distinct courses in a race to score the most points. Game play consists of intense online action and strategic single-player challenges. The rapidly growing community of Orbz players just adds to the experience, with over 2,500,000 matches played to date.

?We have always dreamed of developing an Xbox version of Orbz and it?s hard to describe our excitement seeing the game finally reach a brand new audience of console gamers.? says Justin Mette, President of 21-6 Productions and lead programmer on Orbz for XBLA. ?The game plays fantastic with an Xbox controller and competitive play over Xbox Live with integrated voice support just plain rocks.?

Orbz for XBLA is a drastically improved version of its PC counterpart with double the number of courses and orbs to unlock, 6 new power-ups, an entirely new series of single-player challenges, and an overall visual upgrade.

?We are really happy with the way Orbz for XBLA turned out and are excited to see it join the ranks of other Torque-based games ThinkTanks and Marble Blast now on Live Arcade,” said Joe Marushak, GarageGames? Creative Director. “It is great to finally see a delivery mechanism on the consoles that is designed to deliver to the consumer the types of games we want to make.”

The Xbox Live Arcade disc is free ($ 4.99 US/$ 7.99 Canadian for shipping and handling.) Microsoft will send the disc to enable your Xbox console to play free trials of the games, including Orbz. The full version of Orbz is available by download for only $ 9.99. More information about Xbox Live Arcade can be found at http://www.xbox.com/livearcade.

About 21-6 Productions:

21-6 is an independent game studio based out of Denver, Colorado best known for their award winning game Orbz which is available on the PC (Windows/Mac/Linux), hand-held, coin-op arcade, and now Xbox Live Arcade. With games like the soon to be released TubeTwist and the futuristic racing game GravRally in the pipe, the ?indie? studio continues to follow through on their mission to create fun, casual and unique experiences that appeal to all styles of gamer. To learn more about 21-6, visit their website at http://www.21-6.com.

About Xbox Live:

Now in its third generation of transforming and uniting Xbox game communities, with more than 300 games planned by end of holiday 2005 and now with presence in 24 countries worldwide, Xbox Live has set the bar for online games entertainment. As the first global, unified online console games service, Xbox Live continues to take online gameplay and entertainment to unprecedented heights. With a rapidly growing global community, Xbox Live offers best-in-class games, intelligent matchmaking, tournaments, unique programming and integration with Xbox.com there is simply nothing else like it. The service continues to provide more and more ways for members to meet, interact and stay engaged with each other.

About GarageGames:

GarageGames mission is to change the way games are made and played. GarageGames provides the technology, community and market to empower game makers to build commercial quality multiplatform games. Known for bringing the Torque Game Engine to independent developers for $ 100, GarageGames is located in Eugene, Oregon and on the web at http://www.garagegames.com. GarageGames is also the presenter of the annual IndieGamesCon (October 7-9th, 2005).

©2005 GarageGames.com, Inc., Torque and Torque Game Engine are the trademarks of GarageGames.com Inc. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live, the Live Logo, and the Xbox logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

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