News

Game kiosks popping up at concert venues

August 11, 2003

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- In the latest cross-pollination between games and music, Luke Skywalker and extreme snowboarders are opening for the dark-rock band Evanescence -- on kiosks, that is.

According to an Associated Pressreport, Nintendo is seeking out new audiences for its video games by using the Evanescence tour to showcase game characters at kiosks installed in concert venues.

At the kiosks, players can sample the GameCube or GameBoy Advance snowboarding game "1080: Avalanche," the futuristic racer "F-Zero GX," the latest "Star Wars" adventure "Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike" and the comical cartoon-style "Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo."

Meanwhile, Microsoft'sXbox sponsored this summer's Lollapalooza tour and set up "GameRiot" tents to let ticketholders play against each other in games such as "Tony Hawk's Underground," "Midtown Madness 3" and "Return to Castle Wolfenstein."

Sony's PlayStation 2 sets up a game-playing tent on the "Vans Warped Tour," which includes the bands Simple Plan, Less Than Jake and The Ataris. Sony shows up at some goth-metal Ozzfest concerts with a 77-foot truck loaded with game stations, the report said.