Schiphol-Rijk, 26 mei 2004 - Qualifying finalists from 22 out of the 24 Xbox® Live(tm) regions around the globe have been identified and will advance to the championship round in the world's first global Xbox Live "Halo 2" tournament. The United States and Japan regional contests are currently underway, with the winners being determined by the end of May. The winners from each locality will vie for the honour of being crowned Xbox Live "Halo 2" World Champion, playing entirely online via Xbox Live.
The global championship rounds will be played on Friday, 10 June in double elimination rounds. The 24 regional winners will be sectioned into four pools of six players each. The top three will move on to the next round, while the bottom three from each group will move into a elimination bracket; once a regional champion loses twice, they are eliminated. Each round will last 10 minutes. The final matches will be played on the new "Halo 2" map, Warlock. Local start times for the final rounds will be based on Greenwich Mean Time.
Having all 24 regions participate in one global tournament is a first for Xbox Live, which means that the following gamers are trailblazers in a new era of online gameplay and competition. Because each Xbox Live region was guaranteed a spot in the final round, each country has crowned its own "Halo 2" champion. Below is the list of the Xbox Live regional champions to date:
1. Australia: Cabel
2. Austria: Billykater
3. Belgium: Project BE
4. Canada: I DaMan I
5. Denmark: GermanFreak
6. Finland: Iw1K1LL
7. France: I theos I
8. Germany: Pr0gamer
9. Hong Kong: Runningboy
10. Ireland: TheBar0n
11. Italy: N3LucifeRLS
12. Japan: To be crowned
13. Korea: Oddwing
14. Mexico: MexLoco
15. Netherlands: King Tuur
16. New Zealand: Bob69er nz
17. Norway: ZpiKey
18. Singapore: tidusSG
19. Spain: IlopsI
20. Sweden: Shellman
21. Switzerland: Otcho Boy
22. Taiwan: I Kobegod I
23. United Kingdom: o0Lethal0o
24. United States: To be crowned
The worldwide champion will receive, in addition to the country champion prize package, a 50' Samsung Flat Screen DLP HDTV, a Samsung HighDef DVD Player, a personalized Xbox Live Halo 2 Worldwide Champion Trophy featuring a 24 karat gold Halo 2 game disc, and the local equivalent of $1,500 in cash.
"Halo 2" is one of the highest rated and top selling video games of all time, with more than 6.7 million copies sold worldwide since November 2004. It was also one of the most profitable entertainment initiatives of the past year, pre-selling 1.5 million copies in the U.S. and taking in more than $125 million in its first 24 hours of release - that is more than any opening weekend for a major motion picture in history. As Xbox Live continues to redefine online gaming, "Halo 2" features superior online multiplayer capabilities, evidenced by the fact that Xbox Live gamers have logged a record-breaking 240 million hours playing "Halo 2" since its launch. To date, more than 2 million unique users have played "Halo 2" online on Xbox Live.
Now in its third generation of transforming and uniting Xbox game communities, with more than 300 games planned by the end of 2005 and now with presence in 24 countries worldwide, Xbox Live, which has over 1.8million members world wide, 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 Xbox
Xbox (www.xbox.com) is the video game system from Microsoft that brings people together for the most exhilarating game and entertainment experiences. Xbox delivers an expansive collection of breakthrough games, powerful hardware and the unified Xbox Live online service. The tag line, "It's good to play together," captures the spirit of Xbox as the social hub of the new digital entertainment lifestyle. Xbox is now available in the UK for an estimated street price of £99.99.
About Xbox Live
Launched in November 2002 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 to unprecedented heights. With a rapidly growing community of more than 1.8 million subscribers, 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 Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the Xbox® video game system and Windows and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse games for Windows (www.microsoft.com/games/), including such franchises as "Age of Empires®," "Flight Simulator" and "Zoo Tycoon®"; Xbox (www.xbox.com/), including such franchises as "Halo®," "Project Gotham Racing®" and Zone.com (www.zone.com/), the official games channel for the MSN® network and home to such hits as "Bejeweled" and "OutSmart(tm)."
About Bungie
Bungie Studios was founded in 1991 with two goals: to develop games that combine brilliant technology, beautiful art, intelligent stories and deep gameplay, and then sell enough of those games to achieve its real goal of total world domination. Over the past 10 years it has produced games such as the "Marathon Trilogy" and the first two "Myth" games, hailed as classics by critics and gamers around the world. Released in 2001, "Halo: Combat Evolved" has achieved phenomenal success on the Microsoft Xbox video game system and is also available for the PC. More information on Bungie can be found at www.bungie.net.
Microsoft
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is opgericht in 1975 en is een bekend innovator op het gebied van software, diensten en technologie voor zowel zakelijk als persoonlijk computergebruik. Het bedrijf levert een brede reeks aan oplossingen en diensten die mensen en organisaties overal ter wereld in staat stelt hun ambities te verwezenlijken.
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