Top StarCraft II Players Battle at Inaugural D.I.C.E. IPL Showdown Event

CALABASAS, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO – January 23, 2013 - The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) and IGN Pro League (IPL) today announced they are joining forces to produce the first D.I.C.E. IPL Showdown event (#DICEIPL).  Four of the world’s top StarCraft II players will battle it out for a $10,000 prize pool and the title of Fight Club champion on Thursday, Feb. 7th, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. PT, in the Vinyl Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.  Following the Showdown, ticket holders are invited to attend that evening’s 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards (#DICEAwards), the premier peer-based video games awards show, which will be hosted by self-proclaimed nerd and video game enthusiast Chris Hardwick. Tickets to the two events will be open to the first 500 individuals who sign-up for the D.I.C.E. IPL Showdown through Eventbrite (details below).  Included with the ticket will be full access to the D.I.C.E. IPL Showdown, and balcony seating for the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.  Attendees have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend an evening cheering their favorite game makers as they take the stage to claim their D.I.C.E. Award for the best games of 2012.

The four top StarCraft II players competing in the head-to-head battles at the D.I.C.E. IPL Showdown are:

• Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizenis one of the most accomplished real time strategy players of all time, winning more than 38 live events, including 6 World Championships. Having a storied past in WarCraft III, Grubby has shown promise recently in StarCraft II, playing in the GSL for the first time this year. He is now living and training in Korea with two time GSTL champions FXO. Grubby is known for his great game knowledge, being a great analytical caster as well as premier player. Grubby still hopes to capture his first international live event.
• Pedro "LucifroN" Moreno Duran is one of the best StarCraft II players from Spain and quickly becoming one of the best players in all of Europe. LucifroN broke into eSports near the end of WarCraft III's international scene when it was very difficult for unknown players to make a splash. He won more than $10,000 in prize money very quickly without having much of a following or being internationally reknown. He capitalized on his success early in the StarCraft II beta, winning several international tournaments, but then stopped playing competitively to focus on his academic studies.  Playing alongside his brother and teammate Juan "Vortix" Moreno Duran, recently he has come back in full force. He won the WCS 2012 Spanish Championships and then finished 3rd in the WCS European Finals. He has since gone on to perform well in several international championships, including representing the World in the “GSL Korea vs World All Stars” match.
• Donghwan "viOLet" Kim is another former WarCraft III player who had a breakout performance towards the end of the game's run. Having really found his stride in StarCraft II, viOLet won the MLG Spring Arena 2 to claim his first premier international title. He has been a consistent online performer and live tournament player since early 2012. His most recent accolades include a 2nd place finish in IPL5 followed by a 2nd place finish in the North American Star League Season 4 the next week! These two finished earned him $35,000. viOLet looks to claim another title and continue to establish himself as one of the top Zerg players in the world.
• Sasha "Scarlett" Hoshyn came to prominence by winning the Playhem "Sponsor Me!" Tournament that gave her entry into IPL4. She did not waste her free trip as she pulled huge upsets against Terious and Ddoro before losing in the third round in a close match against Oz. She then pulled off a great victory against DeMusliM to knock him out of the tournament. Her most notable feat is winning the Battle.net North American Championship following a win in the same series for Canada. Both were won with relative ease, and Scarlett won a combined $30,000 for her efforts.  She has continued to perform well in international events, but has been unable to take down a major international title.

For more information on D.I.C.E. IPL Showdown please visit www.IGN.com/ipl.  For more information on the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards please visit www.interactive.org. To claim your ticket for the event, please visit http://diceshowdown2013.eventbrite.com/.

IGN Unveils New "Integrated Content Everywhere" Ad Unit

SAN FRANCISCO – January 7, 2013 – IGN Entertainment, the world’s leading video games media company, today announced the launch of the new “Integrated Content Everywhere (I.C.E.)” dynamic ad unit that allows sponsors to align their brand messages with IGN’s content within the unit to deliver a more powerful, relevant brand experience for users.  The unit launches this week with Speed Stick®, IGN’s official sponsor for CES 2013, featuring real-time updates and on-the-ground coverage from the show. Based on the IAB’s Rising Stars 300x1050 Portrait Unit but taking it a step further, the unit feeds in related content and social elements and partners it with branded elements, messaging and pre-roll video.  Brands are able to engage users with initial in-ad messaging and move with them as they click-through the unit to IGN articles, videos and live stream links, giving the advertiser multiple touch points and longer engagement time with the user.

“While Gamers are passionate about their games, they are also very engaged with the content around those games.  We feel this unit will be a unique and very effective way for brands to align with content, which will also enhance the user experience,” said Charlie Barrett, EVP of Sales, IGN Entertainment.

The unit will run as run-of-site rotationally across IGN Entertainment.  Clicking on the content within the ad unit will direct users to other parts of IGN.com, driving additional engagement for brands.

About IGN Entertainment IGN Entertainment is the leading Internet media and services provider focused on the video game and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN’s properties reach more than 57 million unique users worldwide, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore. IGN’s network of video game-related properties (IGN.com, 1UP.com, GameSpy and others) is the Web’s #1 video game information destination. IGN also owns the world’s largest men’s lifestyle website, AskMen.com, and men’s entertainment site UGO.com. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices across North America, Europe and Australia.

IGN Pro League Becomes Official eSports Home of Capcom's Fighting Games

SAN FRANCISCO – November 30, 2012 – The fighting game genre has found a home on the professional gaming (eSports) circuit as the IGN Pro League, the professional gaming league presented by IGN Entertainment, teams up with Capcom to bring its most popular fighting game franchises exclusively to the IGN Pro League (IPL) tournament line-up in 2013. The addition of Capcom’s Super Street Fighter® IV Arcade Edition and Street Fighter® X Tekken® to IGN’s eSports mix will draw in the growing fighting game community, put the pros of the popular genre center stage and address the question: can virtual fighters rival actual fights as the new major spectator sport on the Las Vegas strip.

“We believe virtual fighting game tournaments can become a new standard form of entertainment on the Vegas strip, and Capcom is the undisputed champion of the fighting game genre,” said David Ting, founder of the IGN Pro League.  “We’re thrilled to partner with Capcom to help grow the eSports scene among the fighting game community, so that everyday players can be discovered and share the limelight with fighting game pros like Mike Ross and Justin Wong.”

“With the positive reception of the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary global tournament series, Capcom has been more focused on the competitive scene than at any other point in our company’s history, and we’re constantly exploring new ways to provide bigger and better tournament experiences,” said Matt Dahlgren, Senior Product Manager at Capcom.  “We’re hyped to be partnering up with IPL to push the fighting scene forward and believe their creative vision will both spread the passion of fighting games to new players while providing fresh opportunities for the existing community.”

As part of IPL, Capcom will be able to offer pro fighting gamers one of the largest prize pools in the history of Capcom® fighting games.  IPL will work closely with Capcom to set the bar for top notch 24x7 coverage to the fighting game genre.

To kick things off, IPL will host exhibition matches for Capcom fighting titles, featuring the world’s top fighting game pros, at its next major tournament event, IPL 5, taking place November 29-December 2 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.  The exhibition matches will introduce the fighting game community to the eSports circuit, while enticing IPL’s other prominent communities – for games like StarCraft II and League of Legends – with what’s to come on the fighter front in 2013.

The IGN Pro League, the professional video games league presented by IGN Entertainment, has become a major contender in the North American eSports market since its launch in April 2011.  Its last major tournament event drew in more than 10,000 spectators and logged a record-breaking 346,000 concurrent online viewers.  With the IGN Pro League franchise, IGN’s goal is to help legitimize video gaming as a profession that can produce the next generation of sports celebrities.

About Capcom Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld and wireless devices. Founded in 1983, the company has created hundreds of games, including best-selling franchises Resident Evil®, Street Fighter®, Mega Man® and Devil May Cry®. Capcom maintains operations in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Korea, with corporate headquarters located in Osaka, Japan. More information about Capcom can be found on the company web site, www.capcom.com or www.capcom-unity.com

Capcom, the Capcom logo, Resident Evil, Mega Man and Devil May Cry are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd., in the U.S. or other countries. Street Fighter is a registered trademark of Capcom U.S.A., Inc.  All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

About IGN Entertainment: IGN Entertainment is the leading Internet media and services provider focused on the video game and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reach more than 57 million unique users worldwide, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore.  IGN's network of video game-related properties (IGN.com, 1UP.com, GameSpy and others) is the Web's #1 video game information destination.  IGN also owns the world's largest men's lifestyle website, AskMen.com, and men's entertainment site UGO.com.  IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices across North America, Europe and Australia.