ScreenBurn
Where bloggers fear to tread
By Carson Barker, Fri., March 2, 2007
ScreenBurn Arcade
March 10-11, noon-6pm
Why wax philosophical about gaming all day? Take a break, and enjoy the fruits of the industry's labors. Brush up on your button pressing, and hobnob with professional and amateur gamers. It's all about sensory overload, just like SXSW, except this is free and open to the public. Here are the highlights:
Seagate Technology
With video games demanding more digital power each year, Seagate has a head start.
The well-known hard-drive company will offer gaming kiosks beefed up with the latest gear. Imagine a futuristic telephone booth with enough power to handle your supercharged hand-eye coordination.
Ubisoft
Not only are they releasing six new games this March, but the makers of Splinter Cell will demo a surprise Nintendo DS release at ScreenBurn that they claim is for "people of all ages who love music and making their own!" That's pretty much everybody at SXSW.
"Ashen Empires'
The newest release from Pixel Mine Prod-uctions is a 24/7 massively multiplayer online game in the vein of World of Warcraft and God of War. Start an account for free, and be their guest until they kick you out at 6pm.
Frag Dolls
The all-girl gaming team (see right) stole the show at a Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow battle, where they beat out all other teams, and that was their first public appearance. Attendees of ScreenBurn will get the chance to compete against the female supergroup in a game of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 for prizes.
Killer Network Interface Cards
Sometimes the electronic world's best assassins need more than fully automatic weapons and hordes of ammo to raise their body counts. They need computer cards. Bigfoot Networks will demo their latest aid to killing machines in various systems, so ScreenBurners can mass-murder without slowing down.
Evo Championship Series
Evo will challenge ScreenBurners to compete for cash prizes in games like Mario Golf and more. Winners will be given the prize money instantly, along with the possibility of competing in the Evo World Finals in Las Vegas.