Archive for the ‘Press Releases’ Category.

Iron Storm XI - Registration now OPEN!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PITTSBURGH– Pittsburgh LAN Coalition, Inc. (”Pittco”) plans to hold its eleventh major event, IRON STORM 11, on August 8 and 9 at the Castle Shannon Firehall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittco is opening the doors for 200 gamers for 24 hours of non-stop gaming, competition, camaraderie, and fun.

Pittco’s Iron Storm attracts gamers from throughout the greater Pittsburgh area, the eastern seaboard, and even into Canada. There are 200 seats available, and registration is open immediately.

“Iron Storm 10 was our second largest and most successful event,” Pittco President of the Board Sean Potter of Turtle Creek said. “More than 160 gamers, staff, and spectators enjoyed the competitive tournaments, the prizes from our gracious sponsors, and the atmosphere of gaming and fun.”

Pittco’s largest event was Iron Storm 8, but Iron Storm 10 was just seven attendees shy of that record.

“We have even been lucky enough to have people from all of the country, as well as Canada and Europe attend our events,” Nik Parenti, Pittco Executive Manager and Iron Storm event organizer, said.

Regardless of the number of attendees, Pittco promises to have more PC and console gaming action than ever before.

Prepaying for the day-long event costs $25, and the walk-in door price is $35. Pittco recommends prepaying for the event not only because of the cheaper price, but because choice seating is available to those who registered beforehand.

Iron Storm 11 will be held at the Castle Shannon Volunteer Fire Department located at 3600 Library Road Castle Shannon, PA 15234. Pittco has enjoyed this location for more than three years.

Pittco announced six official tournaments for Iron Storm 11: three PC games and three console games. 1v1 Starcraft: Brood War, 5v5 Counter-Strike: Source with $25 buy-in, 4v4 Left 4 Dead are the PC tournaments. 4v4 Halo 3 and 4v4 Gears of War 2 are the Xbox 360 tournaments, with 2v2 Super Smash Brothers Brawl for the Wii tournament.

A fourth official PC tournament featuring a freely available, open source first person shooter may also be organized, ensuring that every attendee will be able to play something at Iron Storm, regardless of their budget or choice of operating system.

In the past Unreal Tournament 3 and 2004, Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, Battlefield 2 and 2142, Day of Defeat, Call of Duty 4, WarCraft III, and Quake 3 have been organized as pick-up tournaments by staff and attendees. If there is a popular game that a gamer desires to play, odds are that that gamer will find someone at Iron Storm who wants to play it with them.

Several well-known gaming groups announced their participation in Iron Storm 11 planning, as well. Rec0il Gaming, a primarily console gaming group from Pittsburgh, will be providing several Xbox 360 consoles and monitors for attendees. Can’t Stop This, a gaming group spawned from within Pittco, will be organizing the Quake 3 Clamato Bowl tournament in which gamers will compete to win a case of Bawls, or be second place and drink a clam and tomato juice beverage known for its pungent smell and unique flavor.

In addition to our gaming tournaments, Pittco will be hosting many other things to do at the event, including Pittco’s heralded “Ice Head Competition”, held at the end of every LAN party. The goal of the Ice Head Competition is to see who can hold their breath the longest, upside down, in ice cold water. Ice Head, Karaoke and Extreme Musical Chairs are just a few tournaments that Pittco is planning to organize throughout the event.

Also at Iron Storm 11, Pittco will giving gamers a chance to win some serious cash and prizes in its 50/50 ROFL(Raffle). Pittco will be supplying the raffle with several hundred worth of the latest and greatest computer components. Sponsors for these items will be announced soon.

The Pittco staff is positive that having some of the latest games mixed in with old fan favorites will draw a bigger crowd to the event, as well as win over many new prize and equipment sponsors. Past sponsors include Gigabyte, CPU Magazine, Alienware, Cooler Master, Crucial, Slappa, NZXT, and Thermaltake, as well as Pittsburgh locals King of the Mountain Electronics, ThinkComputers.org, and BIOSLEVEL.com.

Registration for the event is now open, and is accessible via Pittco’s website (http://www.pittco.org/register/). The cost of the event will be $25 pre-paid, or $35 at the door. Drinks and snacks will be made available to everyone, and pizza will be provided for an small, additional cost.

For more information, contact Greg Baden, Pittco sponsorship manager, or Colin Dean, Pittco Board secretary. See also http://www.pittco.org.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH LAN COALITION, INC.
Pittsburgh LAN Coalition, Inc. (”Pittco”) was founded in 2003 to organize the greater Pittsburgh LAN scene. The mission of Pittco is to provide a safe, entertaining, and competitive environment for video gamers of all ages. Since its inception, Pittco has held twelve events and has received much attention in the LAN party community. Its web site is www.pittco.org.

GIGABYTE Unveil New Single-GPU Flagship Radeon™ HD 4890 Graphics Card

GV-R489-1GH-BTaipei, Taiwan, April 2, 2009 – GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards today is pleased to launch their latest  graphics card. Building on the ultimate kernel of ATI Radeon™ 4890 art-of-the-state single-GPU architecture and advanced GDDR5 memory technology, the GIGABYTE GV-R489-1GH-B delivers seamless frame rates with massive graphics processing muscle for any tomorrow’s demanding applications. In addition, the GIGABYTE GV-R489-1GH-B features a wide range of the latest graphics technologies, including TeraScale graphics engine, Dynamic Geometry Acceleration, Quad mode ATI CrossFireX™ multi-GPU support, UVD 2 and PowerPlay™. Just take crazy control over your game and max out the settings at your will.

The GIGABYTE GV-R489-1GH-B features ATI’s latest TeraScale graphics engine, boasting it’s over one teraFLOPS of GPU computing power with 800 stream processors and nearly one billion transistors. With 1GB GDDR5 memory, the GV-R489-1GH-B provides twice the data per pin of GDDR3 memory at the same clock speeds. In combination with 24x custom filter anti-aliasing (CFAA) and high performance anisotropic filtering, the GV-R489-1GH-B is able to create true-to-life graphics for everything from grass to facial features so you can max out the settings of the most demanding next generation games or revitalize your favorite titles. Also, with ATI Stream Technology, every user can easily use the massive paralel processing power of GPU for physics, attificial intelligence, stream computing and ray tracing calculations, and tackle demanding tasks like video transcoding with incredible speed. Deservedly, the GIGABYTE GV-R489-1GH-B graphics card provides DirectX 10.1 graphics capabilities to support Shader Model 4.1 for life-like realism and stunning 3D gaming effects.

Benefiting from Avivo™ HD video and display technology, the GV-R489-1GH-B fully supports UVD 2 for decoding processing-intensive content for 1080p HDTV and HD video with additional support for dynamic contrast and enhanced DVD upscaling. The GIGABYTE GV-R489-1GH-B also provides advanced connectivity to TVs and displays with HDMI with 7.1 digital surround audio support. Delivering the ultimate solution for high definition home theaters, the GV-R489-1GH-B is able to take full advantage of Blu-ray functionality with dual-stream, picture in picture (PIP) capabilities and one-cable HDMI™ connectivity.

For breakthrough efficiency of power consumption, the GIGABYTE GV-R489-1GH-B is equipped with ATI PowerPlay™ technology, maximizing performance per watt by delivering the highest level high performance when needed and conserving power when the demand on the GPU is low. GIGABYTE graphics products are also 100% RoHS compliant, from manufacturing to on the store shelves, GIGABYTE provides greener computing solutions with better power efficiency.

For more details of the GIGABYTE GV-R489-1GH-B, please visit the GIGABYTE VGA website at:
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/VGA/Default.aspx

SLAPPA increases presence in Professional eSports Market

March 12, 2009, CHARLOTTE N.C. — Earlier this month SLAPPA Distribution announced they have partnered with professional eSports organization and current Intel Extreme Masters III Champions Fnatic, and today SLAPPA showed further commitment to the eSports community by announcing the sponsorship of Pro Gaming team Paragon of Virtue (POV) and a working partnership with E-Sports Entertainment (ESEA).

Now that SLAPPA is the title sponsor and the official bags and cases for team POV, the team will be sporting co-branded shirts and hoodies, and will use exclusively SLAPPA gear at their tournaments.

“When POV approached us we liked their desire and confidence” says SLAPPA president Dominick Martinetti. “These guys have a laser focus on becoming one of the top 3 teams in the U.S., and I connected with their drive to be the best. I hope that as their sponsor, SLAPPA can help POV achieve every goal they have as a team.”

Colin DeShong, POV Executive Director added, “As the 2009 season begins, we are excited to have SLAPPA partnering up with our team for all our endeavors. It’s one thing to be considered ‘professionals’ in the game, but it’s another to actually exude professionalism in one’s appearance. We’re confident that with SLAPPA by our side, we’ll be turning heads in both arenas.”

In addition to adding team POV to the team roster, SLAPPA is now getting active with E-Sports Entertainment through www.ESEA.net. Martinetti continues, “Over the past six months, SLAPPA has been sponsoring LAN tournaments such as Lanapalooza, Fites, the Pittsburg Lan Coalition and many others, so when the opportunity to partner with ESEA came up, we were very enthusiastic about working together with them. ESEA has a great community and together we have come up with some cool cooperative programs, such as exclusive SLAPPA product bundle offers, sponsoring tournaments and ‘Play with the Pros’ events. We are very excited about working with Craig and the ESEA team.”

“I was immediately drawn to the design, quality, and commitment to innovation that SLAPPA brings to all of their products” says Craig Levine of E-Sports Entertainment. “When we were presented with the opportunity to bring SLAPPA products to the ESEA community and the opportunity for fans to play alongside POV using our premium gaming environment I was very excited.”

Continue reading ‘SLAPPA increases presence in Professional eSports Market’ »

GIGABYTE Extends Ultra Durable VGA Range with GV-N250ZL-1GI Graphics Accelerators

Taipei, Taiwan 03 03, 2009 – The latest GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA graphics accelerator GV-N250ZL-1GI uses high quality components and provides unrivaled performance
GIGABYTE Technology Co. LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today launched the GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA graphics accelerator GV-N250ZL-1GI. Supporting NVIDIA’s latest processors-GTS 250, GIGABYTE GV-N250ZL-1GI features 1GB GDDR3 memory and 128 stream processors to enable gamers to enjoy enhanced gaming performance. In addition, the GV-N250ZL-1GI is equipped with the latest NVIDIA SLI® , NVIDIA PureVideo® HD, NVIDIA PhysX™, NVIDIA CUDA™ technology and Microsoft DirectX 10. Output interfaces support Dual-Link DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI with HDCP. The GIGABYTE GV- N250ZL-1GI gives gamers ultra stable and ultra cool gaming resolutions.

Continue reading ‘GIGABYTE Extends Ultra Durable VGA Range with GV-N250ZL-1GI Graphics Accelerators’ »

GIGABYTE Released Latest Unique Technology Ultra Durable VGA

Taipei, Taiwan 03 03, 2009 –
GIGABYTE Technology Co. LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today launched the latest GIGABYTE unique technology: Ultra Durable VGA. GIGABYTE latest innovative technology-Ultra Durable VGA features 2 oz copper PCB board, Samsung/Hynix memory, Japanese solid capacitor, Ferrite Core Chokes, and Low RDS (on) MOSFET to deliver incredibly low GPU temperature, unrivaled overclocking capability, low power switching loss, and guaranteed longer life. Compared with traditional graphics accelerators, Ultra Durable VGA graphics accelerators can lower GPU temperature by 5%~10%, lower power switching loss by 10%~30%, and increase overclocking capability by 10%~30%. GIGABYTE Ultra Durable VGA graphics accelerators can provide truly both “high-performanced” and “green” graphic card resolutions.

Continue reading ‘GIGABYTE Released Latest Unique Technology Ultra Durable VGA’ »

SLAPPA partners with Professional eSports team FNATIC

With an eye on the gaming market, SLAPPA focuses on partnering with the best

March 3, 2009, CHARLOTTE N.C.— SLAPPA Distribution today announced that they have partnered with professional eSports organization Fnatic, and together the two organizations will be working closely to further enhance the eSports market.  SLAPPA will be supporting the Fnatic professional team, made up of some of the best squads in the world, such as, Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Dota and COD4, and will also work with the Fnatic squads to develop a complete line of professional gaming gear.

Now that SLAPPA is the official provider of bags and cases for Fnatic, you will see the Fnatic squads sporting SLAPPA gear at their tournaments, but that’s not all the two will be doing together.

SLAPPA president Dominick Martinetti explained in more detail, that the two companies are developing more gamer-specific products together, and will even be co-branding some models.  “Over the past 6 months, we have been blindsided by a large number of eSports teams and tournaments who want SLAPPA to enter the world of gaming.  As the number of inquiries grew, we realized that the SLAPPA product philosophy was seen as a perfect match for the gaming world.  My objective then was to partner with the best in order to develop world-class product for gamers.  Now that we are partnered with Fnatic, I’m very confident that we are on our way to building great gear for gamers.  We bring expertise in the case and bag market, and a very strong brand name that stands for quality and innovation.  Fnatic brings the best gamers, practical knowledge on the needs of gamers and a brand name that is synonymous with winning. I’m very excited about what this partnership will produce”, says Martinetti.

Business Development Manager of Fnatic, Neil Kirk has this to say:
“SLAPPA designs and creates professional gear for individuals that want and demand high quality, long lasting items.  eSports is no different and it is with great delight that we see this relationship beginning to give gamers who want to achieve the highest ranking and best results the same.  Our squads strive for and in most cases achieve those same goals; they are professionals in the world wide phenomenon of electronic sports. Our expertise, coupled with SLAPPA’s knowledge and professional gear will bring to market a great product for gamers, helping make our players even more of a force to be reckoned with. We are looking forward to commencing this relationship and the successes it can bring.”
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About SLAPPA

SLAPPA’s line of cd cases, dvd cases, laptop bags and backpacks are made with the highest quality materials, unique designs and patented technologies that when combined together, “break the mold” in a category otherwise flooded with mundane products.  For more information please contact SLAPPA at slappa.hq@slappa.com.

About Fnatic

The Fnatic Team is a professional video gaming team, consisting of players from across the globe that all make a living through competing in video game tournaments. The Fnatic Team has been ranked as the world’s number one Counter Strike team for the past 2 years, and have world class squads in other games such as World Of Warcraft, Defence of the Ancients, Call of Duty 4, Warcraft 3 and Starcraft. Fnatic is committed to the growth of Video gaming as an Electronic Sport, and will continue to be at the forefront of this ever expanding and maturing market. The Fnatic team has established itself as a vibrant, well coordinated outfit with a clear vision for the future of competitive gaming and as a brand has a global reach. The Fnatic team was founded in 2004 and has won many world titles as well as supporting numerous of the world’s most successful gamers over the years including Laurens “Lauke” Pluijmaekers, Sander “Vo0” Kaasjager, and more recently the famous Counterstrike team with the likes of Patrick “f0rest” Lindberg, and the World of Warcraft squad with Rumay “Hafu” Wang. For more information visit the company on the World Wide Web at www.fnatic.com.

Registration for ISX now open

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.

Register Now

Fuel Your Game! BAWLS Guarana Forms Exclusive Partnership with GameFly

MIAMI-July 31, 2008 - BAWLS Guarana, the drink of choice for video gamers everywhere, today announced the launch of a partnership with GameFly, the leading online video game rental service. Through this new affiliation, BAWLS will give customers a chance to try GameFly free for 30 days and GameFly users will receive substantial, limited-time discounts on the purchase of BAWLS Guarana/GameFly co-branded products.

“As a continued supporter of the video game community, partnering with GameFly is a perfect fit for BAWLS Guarana,” commented Founder and CEO Hoby Buppert. “GameFly’s easy-to-navigate site, expansive inventory and growing popularity will be a big hit among our customers, the majority of whom are avid gamers.”

On July 8th, GameFly users will receive a $2-off coupon for co-branded BAWLS/GameFly 16 oz. can 4-packs - available exclusively at Target stores nationwide. BAWLS customers can also find 30-day GameFly trial subscription codes inside BAWLS/GameFly specialty branded 4-packs - available at Target stores nationwide this month.

“BAWLS Guarana is an excellent partner for GameFly. They are huge supporters of the video game industry and their beverage appeals to GameFly’s members,” said Sean Spector, GameFly Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, Business Development and Content. “This promotion will allow us to connect with new customers via the on-pack promotion and special one month offer. It will also introduce BAWLS to our members by providing exclusive discounts on all BAWLS Guarana/GameFly co-branded products.”

No stranger to the video game world, BAWLS Guarana is the nation’s largest supporter of video gaming, sponsoring over 1000 gaming events each year. BAWLS Guarana is also the Official Energy Drink of some of the world’s largest gaming events, including QuakeCon 2008 and PAX 2008 and is a supporter of Child’s Play - a global charity created by the video game community.

About GameFly

GameFly™ is the leading online video game rental service. With a choice of more than 5,000 titles, GameFly offers the widest selection of games for the PlayStation® 2, PlayStation® 3, Xbox™, Xbox 360™, GameCube™, Game Boy™ Advance, Nintendo DS™, Nintendo Wii™ and PSP™ without the hassle of due dates or late fees. With plans starting at $15.95 a month, GameFly subscribers can rent one to four games at a time and keep them for as long as they like. Subscribers manage their GameQ™ online and receive games directly from the U.S. Postal Service via first class mail. GameFly is also a great source for high quality, used video games at exceptional prices. For more information and a free trial, please visit www.gamefly.com

About BAWLS

BAWLS is the brainchild of entrepreneur Hoby Buppert, CEO of Hobarama, LLC, who named the beverage for the caffeinated “bounce” the drink packs. Widely distributed to local supermarkets, convenience stores (7-Eleven, Speedway/SuperAmerica), Target, Microcenter stores and gaming venues; BAWLS is a premium, non-alcoholic, carbonated beverage made from the guarana berry harvested in the Amazonian Rainforest. The caffeine found in BAWLS Guarana contains the same amount of caffeine as coffee and nearly three times that of traditional sodas due to a naturally occurring form of the stimulant found in the guarana berry. BAWLS’ unique refreshing flavor tastes like a citrus infused cream soda and its popularity continues to grow among caffeine-deprived, refreshment-seeking techies, students, professionals and athletes in need of a Bounce. For more information, visit www.BAWLS.com

Gaming Accessories Industry Just Got Better, As SteelSeries Aquires Ideazon In An Asset Transaction

CHICAGO, July 29, 2008 - The leading manufacturer of innovative professional gaming gear, SteelSeries, today announced its acquisition of certain assets in Ideazon, Inc., the North American-based developer and manufacturer of gaming peripherals and technologies. This acquisition further strengthens SteelSeries’ peripheral technology and will help expand the company’s broad support within the gaming community.

“SteelSeries has brought together two rapidly growing companies in the gaming space, making SteelSeries one of the fastest-growing gaming peripherals manufacturers globally,” said Bruce Hawver, CEO of SteelSeries. “No other organization works as closely with both gamers, and now software creators, in order to create arguably the most responsive gaming products in the world, optimized for gamers’ preferences, as well as specific gaming publishers and specific titles.”

SteelSeries has achieved success and recognition over the past few years in working with and establishing new professional gaming events, like Iron.Lady and King of the Hill, as well as its support of more than 1,200 events globally. Ideazon has helped enhance the gaming experience through its relationships with top game developers and publishers, but its start in gaming also came from the gamers’ perspective and has grown from there.

“Ideazon’s game-branded line of PC peripherals is incredibly popular and enjoys a dedicated following,” added SteelSeries’ Hawver. “Their products truly complement our own by extending our reach to a broader audience of gamers. Our combined expertise with competitive gamers will help speed the development of game- branded products by linking the game developers with the strongest group of pro gamers in the world.”

SteelSeries supports more than 200 professional gaming teams globally and has involved many more pro and competitive gamers during its product development process. Ideazon has also inspired a community of gamers in terms of both sponsorships and event support.

“This acquisition will further establish SteelSeries as a leading global gaming peripherals manufacturer,” said Jacob Wolff-Petersen, Founder of SteelSeries . “No other organization works as closely with gamers and industry partners, or has a more comprehensive line of products to support every type of gamer. The synergies between Ideazon and SteelSeries are evident in the design, relationships and industry influence that both companies bring to the table to create this new gaming powerhouse.”

The new combined organization will be headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark with offices in North America and Asia.

About SteelSeries

SteelSeries is a leading manufacturer of gaming peripherals and accessories, including headsets, keyboards, mice, software and gaming surfaces, available in more than 75 countries. SteelSeries, whose motto is “winning is everything,” has been on the forefront of professional gaming gear since its inception in 2001. The company has set a new benchmark for gaming accessories around the world thanks to continued innovation and product development in cooperation with leading professional gamers, the world’s most demanding IT consumers, who actually make a living based on the quality of SteelSeries products. SteelSeries’ development strategy is simple: Only products that take performance to the next level will be introduced. This ensures optimum performance and durability across a variety of gaming and other demanding applications. For more information, please visit www.SteelSeries.com.

About Ideazon Inc.

North American-based Ideazon Inc. develops, manufactures and markets the next generation of gaming peripheral technologies that enhance the gamers experience. Working with the gaming community - with partners, game developers and publishers - Ideazon develops its entire line of Precision Gaming Tools to maximize comfort, control, and in game dominance. Since its beginnings in 1999, the company has grown to be an industry leader in gaming technologies and has assembled an impressive list of technology partners including Activision Blizzard, Eidos Interactive, Electronic Arts, NCsoft Corporation, Microsoft Game Studios, NVIDIA and Sony Online Entertainment. For more information, visit the Web site at www.ideazon.com.

Iron Storm 9 - Registration is now open!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PITTSBURGH– Pittsburgh LAN Coalition, Inc. (”Pittco”) plans to hold its tenth event, IRON STORM 9, on August 16 and 17 at the Castle Shannon Firehall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittco is opening the doors for 200 gamers for 24 hours of non-stop gaming, competition, camaraderie, and fun.

Pittco attracts gamers from throughout the greater Pittsburgh area, and even into Canada. There are 200 seats available, and registration is open immediately.

“We have been continually growing throughout almost every event,” Dan Wright, Pittco president, said. “At Iron Storm 8 we received our largest attendance level yet, surpassing the 150 mark plus staff.”

This surpassed Pittco’s previous record of 130 plus staff at Iron Storm 7.

“We have even been lucky enough to have people from all of the country, as well as Canada and Europe attend our events,” Sean Potter, Iron Storm 9 organizer, said.

Regardless of the number of attendees, Pittco promises to have more PC and console gaming action than ever before.

Prepaying for the day-long event costs $25, and the walk-in door price is $35. Pittco recommends prepaying for the event not only because of the cheaper price, but because choice seating is available to those who registered beforehand.

Iron Storm 9 will be held at the Castle Shannon Volunteer Fire Department located at 3600 Library Road Castle Shannon, PA 15234. This is the same location where the four prior events where held.

In the past UT3, Unreal Tournament 2004, Counter-Strike: Source, Counter-Strike 1.6, Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, Battlefield 2/142, Day of Defeat, Call of Duty 4, World of Warcraft, WarCraft III, and StarCraft have been played. If there is a popular game that a gamer desires to play, odds are that that gamer will find someone at Iron Storm who wants to play it with them.

The tournaments at Iron Storm 9 will be similar to previous events with a couple of new additions to the lineup. Some of the main tournaments are the 5v5 Counter-Strike Source with a $25 buy in per team, 5v5 Call of Duty 4, and 1v1 Unreal Tournament 3 DeathMatch. Pittco will also run a 5v5 Battlefield 2/142 tournament if there is enough interest. In addition to these main events, Pittco will be hosting some classic game tournaments which include a 1v1 “Clamato Bowl” Quake 3 tournament and a 1v1 StarCraft: Brood War tournament.

For console gamers attending the event, Pittco hopes to have an array of eight HDTVs. Tournaments for Halo 3, Guitar Hero 3, and Super Smash Brothers: Brawl will be taking place on these HDTVs.

In addition to our gaming tournaments, Pittco will be hosting many other things to do at the event, including Pittco’s heralded “Ice Head Competition”, held at the end of every LAN party. The goal of the Ice Head Competition is to see who can hold their breath the longest, upside down, in ice cold water. Ice Head, Karaoke and Extreme Musical Chairs are just a few tournaments that Pittco is planning to organize throughout the event.

Also at Iron Storm 9, Pittco will giving gamers a chance to win some serious cash and prizes in its 50/50 ROFL(Raffle). Pittco will be supplying the raffle with over $500 worth of the latest and greatest computer components. Sponsors for these items will be announced soon.

The Pittco staff is positive that having some of the latest games mixed in with old fan favorites will draw a bigger crowd to the event, as well as win over many new sponsors for prizes.

Registration for the event is now open, and is accessible via Pittco’s website (http://www.pittco.org/register/). The cost of the event will be $25 pre-paid, or $35 at the door. Drinks and snacks will be made available to everyone, and pizza will be provided for an small, additional cost.

For more information, contact Dan Wright, president of Pittco, or Sean Potter, IS9 organizer.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH LAN COALITION, INC.
Pittsburgh LAN Coalition, Inc. (”Pittco”) was founded in 2003 to organize the greater Pittsburgh LAN scene. The mission of Pittco is to provide a safe, entertaining, and competitive environment for video gamers of all ages. Since its inception, Pittco has held nine events and has received much attention in the LAN party community. Its web site is www.pittco.org .