The Pittsburgh LAN Coalition

Hooray!

Pittco has secured a group rate for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Video Games Live on July 11 at 8:30 p.m. and July 12 at 2:30 p.m. at Heinz Hall in downtown Pittsburgh.

There are several pricing levels; you can sit wherever you would like:

1. $80.50
2. $48.50
3. $40.50
4. $32.50
5. $24.50

There are also student tickets available for $15 in the Gallery and $25 in the back of the Orchestra. Check out the seating map for more information. It seems that those who spoke up first will be in the student sections or in the level 4 and 5 seating.

To order tickets, call the PSO at 412-392-4900 and tell them that you are with Pittco. They’ll confirm the group rate and take your payment information.

If you are going, you should post something in the forum thread—some folks might organize a group dinner somewhere around Heinz Hall before or after the show.

If you have any questions, please contact Colin Dean at cdean@pittco.org or (724) 216-6371. Please note that we are not chaperoning this event—children under 18 should probably be accompanied by a sibling or parent. Pittco won’t be responsible for minors.

Here’s a blurb about the show, in case you missed the first email:

Video Games Live™ is an immersive concert event featuring music
from the most popular video games of all time. Your Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh perform
along with exclusive video footage, synchronized lighting, solo
performers, electronic percussionists, live action and unique
audience-interactive segments to create an explosive entertainment
experience!

Video Games Live™ bridges a gap for entertainment by exposing new
generations of music lovers and fans to the symphonic orchestral
experience while also providing a completely new and unique
experience for families and/or non-gamers. The show is heralded and
enjoyed by the entire family. It’s the power & emotion of a symphony
orchestra mixed with the excitement and energy of a rock concert and
the technology and interactivity of a video game all completely
synchronized to amazing cutting edge video screen visuals,
state-of-the-art lighting and special on-stage interactive segments
with the audience.

Created and produced by industry veterans and world famous video game
composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, Video Games Live™ features
the best music and exclusive synchronized video clips from the most
popular games from the beginning of video gaming to the present.
Games include: Mario™, Zelda®, Halo®, Final Fantasy®,
Warcraft®, StarCraft® II, Sonic™, Metal Gear Solid®,
Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Cross™, Myst®, Tron, Castlevania®,
Metroid®, Interactive Frogger, Interactive Space Invaders,
Interactive Guitar Hero™, Harry Potter and the Order of the
Phoenix™, Civilization IV, Tomb Raider®, Medal of Honor™,
and more!

Okay, so the “bring the rain” reference has nothing to do with ISXI per say, but i did happen to see Transformers 2 over the weekend and that line is pretty epic…

So, if you haven’t noticed it’s getting close to crunch time. If you haven’t already registered , do so. And for all you console players out there when you register make sure you choose a seat, it makes it a lot easier for the staff to plan out the seating arrangements.

Just a few notes for this upcoming LAN: Burgh.net, a server/co-location company right here in the heart of SWPA, has stepped up to offer us some of the finest latency-free PC gaming. This time around you’ll have more public servers than your little eyes can stare at. Also, expect this LAN to have the largest console gaming section in LAN in Pittsburgh. Since we’ve started to focus on console gaming, this section of our LAN has grown 10 fold. ISX sported over 75 console gamers alone… i expect to see more!

Remember everyone, it’s cheaper to pre-register than to register at the door. there’s no sense in paying $10 more than you have too. Also for you console teams out there that dominated at the last LAN and half price admission was part of your prize, send a PM to saberwolf of BobK in the forums and we’ll get you set up with the right payment.

Console Gaming / PC Gaming / Jackass Tournaments / Great Prizes / Fun With Friends … what else could you ask for?

This is Pittsburgh’s Biggest LAN Party… and we plan on holding that title for years to come!

From Steam:

We’ve just announced that Left 4 Dead 2 is coming later this year! It’s a much larger game than the original, and features new co-op and versus campaigns, all-new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, as well as melee combat.

Check out the teaser trailer!

Left 4 Dead 2, the sequel to the best-selling and critically-acclaimed co-operative multiplayer thriller, promises to set a new benchmark for co-operative action games and become one of 2009’s marquee titles. Set for release on November 17, the title adds melee combat to enable deeper co-operative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaw, frying pan, axe, baseball bat, and more. Featuring new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original with more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, and maps for Survival mode available at launch. Left 4 Dead 2 is targeted for release on Xbox 360 and the PC on November 17, 2009.

Maria Sciullo of the Post-Gazette wrote a wonderful article about Pittco’s recent event, Iron Storm X.

Read Videogamers come together in Castle Shannon for 24 hours of competition at post-gazette.com.

See more press coverage of past Pittco events on our new Media and PR section.

Rec0il gaming is having their next Halo 3 event this Saturday. For those of you who don’t know Rec0il gaming was at Iron Strom X and provided a lot of equipment for the console section.  Pittco thinks them greatly for their support and we hope that all of you will support them as well.

The event will be held at:

Duq. Annex Vol. Fire Co. #2
1620 Pennsylvania Ave,
West Mifflin, PA 15122

What: HALO 3 Tournament

On Saturday March 28, 2009 with registration opening at 1:00PM.

Entry fee is $40 per team, or $5 for spectators.

Check out Rec0ilgaming.co for more information.

Greetings Gamers!

Iron Storm X is only a week away and if you haven’t registered or paid, you might want to do so NOW. Pre-registration will end Thursday, March 19 at 11:59 pm. After this, the only payment option available is cash or check at the doors.

You’re all probably wondering what we’ll have for prizes at the LAN. Lets just say I’m going to need to get a U-Haul to bring it to the LAN. Please take the time to check out our sponsors since they are providing all of the following worth over $5000!:

Slappa

Estimated Prize Cost: $1000+
Everyone will be receiving a Neo Jacket from Slappa!

• 80 x Neo Jacket - Celtics
• 80 x PSP Neo Jackets - Magic
• 2 x BulkHead 4:1 PRO Laptop Travel Bag
• 3 x PSP HardBody Daily White/Silver

Gigabyte

Estimated Prize Cost: $500+

• 1 x GV-NX96T512HP Video Card
• 1 x GA-EP45-UD3R Motherboard
• Lots of swag!

King of the Mountain Electronics

Estimated Prize Cost: $150

• 1 x PNY VCG981024GXEB GeForce 9800 GT 1GB Video Card

Cooler Master

Estimated Prize Cost: $780

• 3 x CM 690 Cases
• 3 x RS-750 Power Supplies

FSP Group USA

Estimated Prize Cost: $470

• 1 x Kingcraft 1000
• 1 x FX600-GLN-E
• 1 x FSP300-1E01 (BoosterX3)

NZXT

Estimated Prize Cost:

• 1 x Avatar Gaming Mouse
• 1 x Case
• 1 x Case

ThinkComputers.org

Estimated Prize Cost: $400+

• NZXT Cases
• Laptop Coolers
• And More!

In Win

Estimated Prize Cost: $200+

• 1 x F-430 Case
• 1 x AL-13 03 Case

Crucial

Estimated Prize Cost: $100

• 2 Stick Pack of Ballistix
• Other Swag

SilverStone Technology

Estimated Prize Cost: $100

• 1 x Raven Gaming Mouse
• 2 x AeroSlots

MotherboardPro.com

Estimated Prize Cost: $500+

• 25 x DFI Backpacks
• Other swag

Jinx

Estimated Prize Cost: $150

• Tons of Stickers
• 2 x Hats
• 5 x Shirts
• 15 x Lanyards

Computer Power User Magazine

Estimated Prize Cost: $500+

• 8 Gift Certificates
• 200 Magazines

Velocity Micro

Estimated Prize Cost: $100

• Assorted Swag

AMD Game

Estimated Prize Cost: $100

• Assorted Swag

Thermaltake

Estimated Prize Cost: $50

• Assorted Swag

Pictures of the Prizes! Click for a bigger view.

Continue reading ‘Iron Storm 10 Prize List - Don’t Forget To Register and Pay!’ »

The internationally-known Pittsburgh LAN Coalition (Pittco) officially announced today the opening of registration for its latest event, IRON STORM X from 2 p.m. on March 21 to 2 p.m. March 22 at the Castle Shannon Volunteer Fire Hall in Castle Shannon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Iron Storm X is the eleventh LAN party computer and console gaming event which Pittco has held in its more than five years as an organization.

Pittco will seat up to 200 gamers at the 24-hour event. Gamers will compete in a variety of tournaments and competitions in order to prove they are the best player of their favorite games. Tournaments will be formally announced closer to the event, but will probably include Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Counter-Strike: Source, and Unreal Tournament.

Several hundred dollars in prizes will be given to winners of these contests. Past prize sponsors include Alienware, ATXPowerSupplies.com, Bawls Guarana, BDA Gamer, CPU Magazine, Danger Den, Evo-G, FSP Group USA, Razer, Patriot Memory, Red Bull, Slappa, Steel Series, TRENDnet, and Velocity Micro.

In addition to its own dedicated servers, Pittsburgh-based computer review web sites ThinkComputers and BIOS LEVEL will be lending some of their dedicated servers.

Light snacks will be available for free at the event, while water, soft drinks, and pizza will be available for a nominal free.

Admission to the event costs $25 for pre-registration on its web site, www.pittco.org, or $35 for on-site registration.

Registration is open now.

Big Win For Future Anti-Video Game Battles

Dear Pittco,

When asked to combat an anti-video game threat, VGVN members like you continually come to the defense of video games by voicing your concerns to state officials where anti-video game laws are being considered. Before many of you spoke up to defend video games, many of these state officials never even heard a counter-argument to the stances of many vocal video game critics.

Recently, the Pennsylvania Task Force on Violent Interactive Video Games released a landmark report to the state legislature which makes the case for NOT enacting video game regulations. The report is a comprehensive study with input from a diverse group of participants including experts on First Amendment issues, social science, clinical psychology and members of the game and entertainment industry and law enforcement.

The lengthy report is available here (PDF). The report praises the industry’s efforts to address concerns about game content and raising awareness about the rating system. Most importantly, the report outlines three recommendations for Pennsylvania:

• The Pennsylvania General Assembly must avoid enacting restrictive legislation similar to those that have been invalidated by federal courts.
• The General Assembly should consider devoting resources to the establishment of a publicly funded consumer education program on video and computer games.
• The task force calls upon the academic community of this Commonwealth to pursue more scientifically based and objective research on the positive and negative effects of video games and other modern media on children and young adults.

This is a positive signal that our voices are being heard, and hopefully other states will look to Pennsylvania before deciding to take on video games again! If they don’t, we will be there to defend video games, and we hope we can count on your support!

Thanks,

The Video Game Voter Network

New processor technology immediately available in both direct and retail systems from Velocity Micro

Richmond, VA – Nov 17, 2008 – Velocity Micro, the premier independent builder of custom, high performance computers, notebooks, and workstations, announces today the immediate availability of ultra performance desktop PCs powered by Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition processors.  Faster and more efficient than their Core 2 predecessors, Intel Core i7 processors provide increased performance in gaming, digital media creation, and multitasking.  By combining their trademarked precision craftsmanship and the record breaking performance of this revolutionary processor, the Intel Core i7 processor-based offerings from Velocity Micro set the new standard in power and productivity.

“We’ve always made it a priority to provide our customers with the very latest technology,” said Randy Copeland, President and CEO of Velocity Micro.  “With the launch of the Core i7, we’re able to fulfill the immediate need of our enthusiast customers, giving them a remarkably fast PC that blows the doors off of everything else we’ve ever built.”

With increased memory bandwidth and new Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, Velocity Micro’s Intel Core i7 processor-based systems promise seamless gaming and multitasking.  Additionally, the eight available threads of the Intel Core i7 processor, twice as many as the Core 2 Quad, translate into astonishing performance increases for the digital media creator. And with immediate availability of both direct and retail offerings, Velocity Micro will be a major provider of Intel Core i7 processor technology in North America at launch.  Velocity Micro will offer systems with the mainstream Intel Core i7 920 and 940 processors, and the Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition, in a variety of Edge™, Raptor™, ProMagix™, and Vector™ lines, starting at $1699.

“We’re excited to work with Velocity Micro on the launch of the Core i7,” said CJ Bruno, Intel VP & GM, Americas Sales & Marketing Organization.  “We’ve worked diligently to develop the most advanced processor on the planet, and have succeeded with the Core i7.  Velocity Micro customers will be extremely impressed with the performance of this processor in gaming, digital media creation, and multitasking applications.”

To configure or find a retail provider of Velocity Micro PCs powered by Intel Core i7 processors, visit www.velocitymicro.com.

ABOUT VELOCITY MICRO, INC.

Velocity Micro, Inc. is the premier high-performance personal computer provider in North America. Founded in 1992, Richmond, Va.-based Velocity Micro custom builds award winning gaming, mobile, multimedia, home office, small business, pro workstation, and visual supercomputer solutions. Velocity Micro consumer systems are available at Best Buy, MicroCenter, Circuit City, and select Staples retail stores nationwide, as well as online vendors Amazon.com, Newegg.com, TigerDirect.com, CompUSA.com,  and many others. For more information on Velocity Micro, please visit www.velocitymicro.com or call (800) 303-7866.

Velocity Micro has earned over 45 industry awards, including 11 PC Magazine Editor’s Choice awards. CNET, Maximum PC, Mobile PC, PC World, Computer Gaming World, Computer Shopper, and PC Gamer editors have all chosen Velocity Micro systems as some of the industry’s best-performing, highest-quality, and most reliable PCs.