The 48-hour marathon will test participants' skills on many of the exhilarating and diverse Xbox games that will be available at launch, including "Amped(TM): Freestyle Snowboarding," "Fuzion Frenzy(TM)," "Halo(TM)" and "Project Gotham Racing(TM)" from Microsoft Game Studios; "DOA3(TM)" from Tecmo; "Cel Damage" from Electronic Arts; "NASCAR(R) Heat 2002" from Infogrames; and "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater(TM) 2x" from Activision(R). Cumulative scores for each competitor will be tracked, and at the end of the marathon the gamer with the most points in each location will be crowned the Ultimate Xbox Gamer.

The winners will walk away with bragging rights and one of three prize packages. The grand prize is a customized Ford Explorer Sport Trac with Pioneer Audio/Video systems and an integrated Xbox system. Second place is an Xbox console and Xbox games, as well as a spring break trip for four to San Felipe in Baja California, Mexico, sponsored by Official Xbox Magazine. Third place is an Xbox console and Xbox games, food for a year from Taco Bell(R) and beverages for a year from SoBe. Taco Bell will be on site at the marathon offering samples of its new chicken quesadilla, and SoBe will be serving beverages for the duration of the video game marathon at both the New York and Los Angeles venues.

Gamers who want to experience Xbox and the games at their own pace can choose the noncompetitive, free play area, which will also include prize giveaways and entertainment. In addition to the titles featured in the competitive area, gamers in the free play area will have access to "Madden NFL(TM) 2002" and "NASCAR Thunder(TM) 2002" from Electronic Arts; "Mad Dash Racing" from Eidos; "NHL(R) Hitz(TM) 20-02" from Midway; "Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee(TM)" and "NFL(TM) Fever 2002" from Microsoft Game Studios; "TransWorld Surf(TM)" from Infogrames; and Shrek(TM) from TDK Mediactive. DJs from 92.3 K-ROCK in New York and 106.7 KROQ in Los Angeles will broadcast live from the event.

"Xbox Unleashed will capture the true spirit of what it means to be a gamer: fierce competition, loads of intensity and lack of sleep," said John O'Rourke, director of Xbox Sales and Marketing at Microsoft. "We're very excited to bring gamers together for 48 hours to unleash the Xbox difference and preview some of the most highly anticipated games of all time before they are available at retail."

Head of the Line Contest

Before the marathon, gamers across the country will have the opportunity to win* a place at the "head of the line" and be among the first round of gamers to kick off the competition at Xbox Unleashed. From now until Oct. 24, Xbox.com will host an online contest at http://www.xbox.com/unleashed/. Gamers who correctly answer a series of trivia questions will be entered into a drawing from which two lucky winners will win travel and accommodations courtesy of Xbox.com to attend Xbox Unleashed (one to New York City and one to Los Angeles to be determined by Xbox).

Marathon Details

Xbox Unleashed will start in each location at 12:01 a.m. local standard time on Friday, Nov. 2, and end at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3. Event locations are as follows:

New York
Metronome
915 Broadway (at 21st Street)
New York, NY 10010