ITG NAT 05 - Press Release Format

[Kunai > Jaaames]

Anyone who is even a slight gamer knows the dance-simulation series Dance Dance Revolution- or quite simply, DDR. You know, that game where there’s music, arrows, and people moving their feet in ways that make them look like they’re having a seizure? Konami’s DDR franchise has grown over the past five years to become the most successful music simulation franchise ever.

Recently, however, In The Groove (ITG) has become a hardcore alternative to DDR. Roxor Games’s new franchise not only has arrows, but throws in mines (parts of the song where if a player is touching an arrow, it detonates in an explosion of lost points) and hands (three or more arrows at once, effectively forcing a player to use both feet and their hands to hit each arrow simultaneously) as a new challenge to the game.

Roxor takes ITG seriously- very seriously. Apparently more seriously than Konami of America ever did…

On January 14, 2006 at the Circus Circus Adventuredome in Las Vegas, Nevada, Roxor with its partner company RedOctane held the In The Groove North American Tournament 2005 (NAT05). Entry as a participant was by invitation only, decided in regional tournaments across the United States and Canada, bringing together 64 of the best ITG players on the continent. The grand prize? A dedicated “In The Groove 2” arcade machine, an estimated value of $10,000.

NAT 05 was a double-elimination event, lasting approximately noon to midnight, from seeding matches to the finals. ITG programmers Chris “Foy Boy” Foy and Kyle “KaW” Ward were there oversee the event, keeping track of wins, losses, and the percentage players got on their songs. As the event continued on, breaks between matches dropped from 45 minutes to as little as 5 after nearly 12 hours of playing, leaving many players exhausted. High stamina was crucial. As one player put it, "I'm so f***ing tired."

Before finals began, “Ole”, Roxor’s guest from Germany, announced that the top three from NAT 05 would be sponsored by Roxor to compete at the “In The Groove World Tournament” in Germany this August.

In the shocking semi-finals, Mike “Lil Q” Quaintance was still undefeated, and would face "DamienKC", who managed to surpass both Ryan “DukAmok” Iyengar and Omid Farivar.

In the last match, playing Kyle Ward’s own song “Clockwork Genesis”, Lil Q beat Damien for the win, and claimed the title Best Player in North America, along with a new ITG2 machine. Damien took 2nd place with $1000, and DukAmok took 3rd place with $500. All three are being sponsored to compete in the World Tournament this August, and Omid who placed 4th with $250 plans to represent the USA in Germany as well.

Kyle Ward and Chris Foy ended the tournament by announcing that both In The Groove 2 for the "home console" and In The Groove 3 for the arcade would be coming very soon.

Video: The Last Match
Damien on the left, Lil Q on the right

(From left to right)
DamienKC, Lil Q, DukAmok


Omid


(From left to right)
KaW, Amber H., Foy Boy, Drea M.


The Brackets


Thanks to Carly for the pics!



+Kunai

[Cutriss]

Wow. Well, this is certainly *nice*, but we have more than enough threads covering the tournament, thankyouverymuch.
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