Amp
Your Game, Canada's biggest video gaming tour is stopping in
downtown Toronto this Thursday through Sunday at the Harbourfront
Centre. Presented by Mountain Dew's Amp Energy drink, Amp Your Game
is part game showcase, part tournament and part audition. While
average visitors are checking out the gaming stations, registered
players will be battling for various prizes, and the now sponsored
gaming team North of 49, now the Amp Energy Pro Team – North of 49,
will be playing against players hoping to fill the coveted fourth
spot on their team.
I
got the chance to go to the media preview for the event tonight, and
check things out before it opens to the public tomorrow. The place is
set to take in plenty of visitors from all around Toronto, and there
is something for everyone there. Visitors will get the chance to play
games on Wii, PSP, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, including a number of
popular titles that have been out since early last year, and some
fresh titles like
Battlefield: Bad Company
and
Metal Gear Solid 4
.
There are even two couches with high definition big screens set aside
for gamers to rock out in
Rock Band
,
Singstar
or
Scene
It? Lights, Camera, Action.
Of
course, if you're the spectator type, you'll want to check out the
action in the tournament area, where players will be taking each
other on for various prizes all weekend long. And be sure not to miss
out on the Search for the Pro competition, where one person will win
the fourth spot on the Amp Energy Pro Team – North of 49, and a
sponsorship from Amp Energy.
I
took the chance to speak to the members of North of 49 – Nelson
“G-SpOt” Triana, Leo “Alpha XFactor” Vitelli and Bo “The
Bo” Kovaceic – about getting sponsorship, tournament gaming in
Canada and the search for their fourth member.
North
of 49 has become the first Canadian video gaming team to receive such
a large sponsorship. As Triana put it, it's not the first Canadian
team to ever receive a sponsorship, but the first Canadian team to
receive a sponsorship “of this magnitude”. “I'm sure there's
other games, other teams that have been sponsored, but to be
sponsored by a corporation like Amp Energy/Pepsi it's a big deal, for
sure,” he said. “And we have Toshiba on board. I know, say for
example, Samsung will sponsor World Cyber Games, but they don't
sponsor teams. Whereas we have Toshiba on board, behind us, plus Amp
Energy. So it's a big deal for sure. First of it's kind in Canada.”
Having
a sponsorship has also made it considerably easier for the team to
make their way to tournaments, as they noted, the toughest part about
being tournament gamers, aside from the gameplay, is trying to get to
tournaments, as traveling to the U.S. can be quite cost prohibitive.
Vitelli, noting his shock at seeing how many people across the Canada
actually would enter tournaments if given the chance said, “I think
that's what's so amazing about this tour is, we're finding those
players that you normally wouldn't find. We're coming to their home
towns, or towns close to where they live, and they're able to get out
to us because, like I was saying before, going to the States, it
costs a pretty penny. You know? So I mean, for these players, for us
to come to their city and have them come out, we're almost shocked.
We're like, wow! Where have you been hiding all this time?”
One
particular stop on the tour that surprised them the most was Halifax,
as they weren't expecting very many, if any people to show up.
Instead, they were greeted by an entire
Halo
playing community of gamers. “Just meeting the whole community that
they have there,” noted Vitelli, speaking of Halifax as one of the
highlights of the tour, “ We went and we practiced with some of
their teams and, honestly, we met some really cool people in all of
the cities, but Halifax was really cool because we got a chance to
practice.”
The
team is looking forward to meeting more member hopefuls and get
closer to finding that one person to fill the spot over this weekend
and the coming tournament stops. The team expects a large number of
competitors and gaming fans at this stop on the tour, especially
considering the numbers they said they've seen at each of the three
previous stops. For more information on the Amp Your Game tour, check
out www.ampenergy.ca.