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Offering our New 75 N 1 Multicade Arcade Game complete with 75 of the best arcade classic games of all times. This is a wonderful addition to any game room. Never out of style and you will be able to always add more games to this as they come out. Upgrades with more games will be as little as $100 from The Game Gallery. Call today for this sale and get FREE SHIPPING, call 1-800-966-9873. Summer is coming and a great way to keep the kids entertained. Check out all our new items for the season when you get a chance. There are a lot of new products to choose from. And remember we are always taking trade-ins.

by Shankar Gupta, Monday, Apr 11, 2005 7:00 AM EST
IN A NOD TO THE popularity of video games, Massive Incorporated, a video game advertising network, today will announce the signing of 12 new advertisers, including Paramount Pictures, which will promote the movies "The Longest Yard," "Aeon Flux," and "The War of the Worlds." Other advertisers include Coca-Cola, Intel Corp, Universal Pictures, Comcast G4, Nestle, Honda, T-Mobile, UPN, New Line Cinema, Verizon DSL, and Dunkin' Donuts. "Blue chip large advertisers are investing media dollars behind this medium. I think we're at a point where it seems that the medium has been legitimized," said Nicholas Longano, Massive's chief marketing officer. Massive currently has exclusive, long-term deals with 12 publishers, and is slated to place ads in 40 titles.
Amy Powell, Paramount's vice president for interactive marketing, said video games present a new opportunity to reach consumers. "In order to reach that elusive audience that's slowly but surely migrating away from television and other media, we think it's a smart way to find them," said Powell.
Another appeal of video games is that players are completely immersed in the game, giving advertisers an audience engaged with the medium--and presumably, with the ads. "There are no distractions--when you're playing your video game, no one bothers you," said Longano, a gamer himself.
Massive inserts the ads in games in places where the characters would naturally expect to see them--on billboards, for instance, or posters, scattered throughout the game world. For example, in "Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory," Massive currently is serving ads for an upcoming Paramount Picture, "The Longest Yard," which will be released on May 27. Posters for the movie are hung on walls throughout the simulated streets of the game's world. Ironically, however, the game is set in the year 2008, making the ads 3 years too late.
Massive's network officially launched on March 28 with the release of "Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory," the third installment in Ubisoft's popular espionage series, and the addition of ads to the futuristic online multiplayer role-playing game, "Anarchy Online."
Ubisoft also has accepted product placement deals from several companies, including men's cosmetics maker Axe. Those placements, however, are hard-coded into the game, and static--every time a player plays through a level, the same product placements will appear in the same place.
In contrast, Massive's ads are dynamically updated through the Internet connection of a PC or console system, which allows advertisers to target certain geographical areas, or to change their ads over time. This ability means that players won't necessarily see the same ads each time they play the game.
Massive allows each game's developers to select the ads that will appear in their games. "Each ad that's served into that title contextually fits the game. It makes sense to the gamer, and the gamer has a better appreciation for it," said Longano. "You've got a gamer that is completely engaged in that video game environment, because that product adds realism. You're not going to see any of this advertising running in a medieval game."

8:26 AM Marcus Albers
The New York Times has posted an article about a new agency that specializes in allowing companies to advertise their products and services inside video games. The agency, Massive, is pushing to make advertising in video games as prevalent as sporting events and Times Square.
Currently the technology that Massive has developed only works with PCs connected to the Internet. But Mitchell Davis, chief executive of Massive, says that eventually the technology will work in Xbox and PlayStation 2 online games.
The technology is a far cry from Spot drinking 7-Up drinks. Massive's technology downloads new advertising information from the Internet to keep the ads fresh in the game. A billboard that displays an ad for T-Mobile one minute might be displaying an ad for Axe body spray the next.
While many companies think that this is a boon for advertising, other's are more skeptical:
"I don't want to pick up a sword and have it read Nike on the side," said Jeff Evertt, a video game player and programmer. But less intrusive product ads would not necessarily bother him, he said. Brian Fisher, another gamer and programmer, agreed.
"If the character drinks a Pepsi to get health points, it doesn't bug me," Mr. Fisher said.
Both Mr. Fisher and Mr. Evertt, who work at different video game studios, said they would be concerned if advertisers tried to dictate how and when the ads appeared.
"I don't want to have to go to Nike and get approval," said Mr. Evertt, speaking hypothetically.

n video game vernacular, which of these commands seems out of place: throw punch, slay dragon or view Sprite billboard?
It's a trick question; they all belong.
At least they do to Mitchell Davis, who says he believes that advertisements and product placements will soon become as integral to video games as story lines and action.
Until now, ads have appeared occasionally and haphazardly in video games. But Mr. Davis, chief executive of Massive, a new advertising agency with headquarters in New York, hopes to bring a more aggressive marketing approach to interactive media - he wants to put up billboards and make product placements for mainstream advertisers in the cyberworlds of sports, shooting and strategy games.
For now, the Massive ads will appear only in games played on personal computers connected to the Internet. But eventually Massive's technology will work in games played on consoles like the Sony PlayStation 2 and the Xbox, if they have an Internet connection. The Internet link allows Massive's software to modify the ads as players progress through a game.
"As you move through levels and zones you'll see fresh advertising," said Mr. Davis, 43. "You might see an ad for Mötley Crüe one minute and for T-Mobile the next."
Mr. Davis, a former executive at Britannica.com, has signed deals with 10 major game publishers, including Take-Two Interactive and Vivendi Universal Games, which together will include Massive's software in 40 games by the end of this year . He has also signed agreements with advertisers like Dunkin' Donuts, Intel, Paramount Pictures, Coca-Cola, Honda and Universal Music Group to place their ads with the game publishers.
Industry analysts and executives said that Mr. Davis was not the first entrepreneur trying to jump-start the video game advertising business, but that he was probably the farthest along in building an advertising agency around the idea.
There are, however, plenty of skeptics. Some game players worry that such ads will be distracting, while some game developers are concerned about having to modify their designs to satisfy advertisers.
"I don't want to pick up a sword and have it read Nike on the side," said Jeff Evertt, a video game player and programmer. But less intrusive product ads would not necessarily bother him, he said. Brian Fisher, another gamer and programmer, agreed.
"If the character drinks a Pepsi to get health points, it doesn't bug me," Mr. Fisher said.
Both Mr. Fisher and Mr. Evertt, who work at different video game studios, said they would be concerned if advertisers tried to dictate how and when the ads appeared.
"I don't want to have to go to Nike and get approval," said Mr. Evertt, speaking hypothetically.
Electronic Arts, the world's largest independent game publisher, has not signed a deal with Massive because its executives said the Massive technology had not been proved. They are also wary of possibly compromising the quality of their games for ad revenues that are still quite small.
"We're skeptical the promise meets the resource commitment," said Julie Shumaker, director of in-game advertising for Electronic Arts. The company currently sells ads in a variety of ways in games that are not played online. For example, some sports games have billboards for Burger King.
So far, those ad revenues have been limited. Electronic Arts, which had $4 billion in sales last year, for example, took in only about $10 million in revenue from placing commercial images.
That may change as game publishers seek new sources of revenue to offset the growing cost of producing games, which can reach $10 million to $20 million, excluding marketing expenses. At the same time, advertisers are looking for new ways to reach 18- to 34-year-old males, a sought-after audience that is increasingly abandoning television (and TV commercials) and spending more time playing video games.
The confluence of these trends is likely to make product placement in games more appealing.
"This is the next big way publishers are talking about growing their revenue," said Evan Wilson, an industry analyst with Pacific Crest Securities. Mr. Wilson added that the use of commercials was "almost inevitable in mass-market games."
A big challenge has been convincing advertisers that they can measure the effectiveness of their in-game advertising. To address this problem, Mr. Davis signed a deal in December with Nielsen, the company that tracks TV viewership, to use Massive's software to measure whether video game players are viewing the in-game commercial messages.
The software allows game publishers set aside locations inside a game to post ads. In one popular action game called Splinter Cell, for example, boxes on cargo ships are stamped with the names of advertisers.
The technology makes it possible to track how often a player comes across those boxes inside the game and reports back to the company over the Internet.
"Measurement is the key part of the proposition," Mr. Davis said. "Advertisers are looking for accountability."
Mr. Davis also said that ads could actually make a scene in a game feel more real. Not all game publishers and industry analysts agree, particularly if the ads interfere with the action.
Ms. Shumaker, from Electronic Arts, said full creative control was crucial for game developers. She added that if Massive proved its advertising approach to be profitable, Electronic Arts might well get more aggressive in its ad placements, though it would not hire an outside ad agency.
Smaller publishers, however, do not have the resources to go it alone, said Monika Madrid, who oversees product placement at Ubisoft, the publisher that makes Splinter Cell. She said Ubisoft had been very happy with its relationship with Massive.
Massive says it will pay a portion of the money it earns from advertisers to the game publishers. Mr. Davis said the publishers could eventually get ad revenue of $1 to $2 on each game sold. Ms. Madrid, however, said it was far too soon to know whether the partnership would lead to significant revenues.

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This is not ping pong, Olympians and top juniors starting up league this summer
John Crumpacker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, April 10, 2005

There is a cacophony of tapping going on in the little gym at St. John's School in the Sunset. There is dancing of a sort, yes, with nifty footwork, but that's not the source of the tapping.
Players young enough to drink juice from cardboard boxes with built-in straws and old enough to have gray in their hair are working on their games on nine tables as the gym is transformed into the Sunset Table Tennis Club. Vivid orange balls are sent smashing across the net with speed and spin.
This is perhaps the only sport in the world that goes by different names depending on how it's played. Recreationally, it's ping pong to millions of dilettantes. Competitively, it's table tennis to a much smaller number of elite players.
Two of the players in the Sunset gym are highly ranked juniors who will be honing their games this summer in a Bay Area start-up table tennis league for elite competitors, all of whom have Olympic aspirations and one of whom, Khoa Nguyen of San Jose, competed in the 2000 and 2004 Games.
Misha Kazantsev and Kevin Phung, both 16-year-old high school juniors, hope to join Nguyen as U.S. Olympians, perhaps as soon as 2008 in Beijing or in 2012. When the Bay Area league begins play July 1 with five teams, Kazantsev and Phung aim to improve their games against more experienced players.
The league is tentatively titled "Cingular Table Tennis Smashpit'' and was organized by a Fremont computer sales executive and elite player named Shashin Shodhan, an alternate on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team. (The league's Web site is www.nctt.com/league.)
"It's a good way to get all the good players in the Bay Area together where we can all play together,'' said Kazantsev, who attends Lowell High School in San Francisco. "I certainly have a long way to go, especially internationally, because the competition in the U.S. isn't as strong as Europe or Asia.''
Kazantsev's roots are in Eastern Europe, but he learned to play the game, and developed into the No. 2-ranked U.S. junior, in San Francisco. Kazantsev was born in Russia and was brought to the U.S. when he was 2 by his mother, who is Jewish and experienced "persecution,'' according to her son. His father remains in Russia.
"Misha is extremely talented,'' said Masaaki Tajima, who coaches Kazantsev and others at the Sunset TTC. "I've been coaching for about 30 years. I would say he is the most talented kid I ever coached. As I look at the spectrum of talent in the U.S., I would say he is the most talented.''
Phung, meanwhile, aspires to Kazantsev's level of play. The Albany High student and El Cerrito resident said he's ranked in the top 18 among U.S. juniors.
"I got the basics down,'' Phung said. "I've got to work more on my short game and recognizing spin. ... (The league is) going to be really good. I've played most of them before. This will be a good chance for everyone to get together and practice against different styles.''
That was the idea behind what amounts to a labor of love for Shodhan, 26, a UC Berkeley graduate who would like to see table tennis improve on the elite level in the U.S., starting with the Bay Area, home to a number of elite players. Shodhan organized five teams of three players each, representing San Francisco, Berkeley, Milpitas, Mountain View and Palo Alto.
"There will be an Olympic hopeful on every team,'' he said. "I want to see the sport grow. I'm hoping in a few years this will expand to Southern California and (then) nationwide and we can have different divisions on each team, like Division I and II. This is one of the best areas in the U.S.''
The players in the league range in age from the 38-year-old Nguyen to 14- year-old Sean Lee of Cupertino. Cal sophomore Jackie Lee, 19, (no relation to Sean) is the only female competitor. Both Lees want to accomplish what Nguyen has done. That is, compete in the Olympic Games. (Nguyen lost in the first round in Athens last year.)
"I think I have a good chance,'' said Sean Lee, who will play for the Mountain View team. "Right now I'm improving pretty fast. I have improved my weaknesses and made my strong points even stronger. My skills are getting better. The problem for me is the amount of time I get to train. I only train twice a week.''
That's because this freshman at Monte Vista High School in Cupertino also plays the violin and the piano and works at keeping up his grades so he'll be accepted to a UC campus in a few years. In table tennis, he's ranked No. 2 in the under-15 division.
"The kid is busy. We push him to the limits,'' said Sean's father, Binky Lee. "He will learn from all the better players over his age. It will be a great learning experience for Sean. This will not be intimidating with him.''
Jackie Lee doesn't sound intimidated, either, even though she'll be the only woman playing against men -- not a foreign concept since table tennis has mixed doubles, although not in the Olympics.
"It's a disadvantage in that men and women have different styles,'' she said. "In every other country in the world, men and women are in separate leagues. In the U.S., we mix it up. It'll be harder for me to win matches, but I will be gaining experience. I think I measure up well; I'm toward the top, actually.
"I'm looking for 2008. That's my goal, 2008.''
On the elite level, table tennis is a fast and furious sport in which footwork, reaction time, shot selection and strategy all meld.
"It's a lot more physical than people think,'' said Jackie Lee, who will play for the Berkeley team. My friends go, 'You sweat when you practice?' It's one of those sports if you don't practice, you won't have fun. If you can't keep the ball on the table, it's easy to lose interest.''
The "Cingular Table Tennis Smashpit" is designed to build interest in the sport while its elite players develop into even better players.
"People have seen real table tennis,'' league founder Shodhan said. "It's not ping pong that people are used to. It's very different than what you see people playing for fun in the garage.''
In the garage, the tapping is of the gentle variety, the old soft shoe. In competitive arenas, it's done with feverish intensity.

What do you get when you combine ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition design team with the creative minds at ICE? A custom Super Chexx Bubble Hockey game featured on national TV! When ICE’s Drew Krouse received a phone call from the people with the Makeover team, the excitement was staggering. The show’s design team was in search of the perfect element to creating the ultimate sports themed “bachelor pad” for a couple of New York City firefighters. It just seemed appropriate to create a customized Super Chexx game for the two roommates- who just happen to be on the FDNY Hockey team. ICE rose to the occasion once again and decked out its ever popular Super Chexx game with custom team decals and hand painted players to create the ultimate tailored game. On Sale Now New Super Chexx for $2695 from The Game Gallery www.HomeGameRoom.com

Johnny Nero Action Hero, which made it’s debut last month at the AAMA Distributor Gala and received rave reviews from Distributors from around the country is ready for sale. The game play of Action Hero is that of a comic book theme, whereby the players take on the persona of Johnny Nero, the ultimate comic hero. Johnny plays in 3 different 3 dimensional worlds --- SPACE WARS, MUMMY KING and GHOST TOWN! Unlike any other video gun game on the market, Action Hero offers 2 distinct modes of play, standard ( either one or two players can play simultaneously) or GUNS OF FURY, which allows one player to use both guns at the same time to work his way through the various comic worlds.

THE NEW TOURNAMENT RANKINGS ARE IN!
We've compiled the ranking list below based on the last 3 events,
Ken DuBois* (Worcester, Ma) - 2001 BB Nat'l Champ, multiple "King Of"s Champ
Tim Leahy* (Taunton, Ma) - 2002 "King Of" Singles Champ
Al Jennings* (Norwood, Ma) - 5 x Nat'l BB Finalist, 2001 "King Of" Champ
Scott Stork* (Philadelphia) - 2 x Nat'l BB Finalist
Chris Ellison (Detroit) - 2 x Nat'l FBB inalist, 2002 "King Of" Doubles Champ
Jeff Euber* (Burlington, VT) - 2003 Nat'l BB Runner Up, 2 x Nat'l BB Finalist
Bill Brooks (Philidelphia, Pa) -1 x Nat'l BB Finalist, 2002 "King Of" Doubles Runner Up
Mark Wojtkiewicz (Buffalo, NY) - 2 x Nat'l BB Finalist,2003 BB national Champ
Mark Steele(Detriot, MI) - 3 x Nat'l BB Finalist, 2002 "King of Doubles Champ
Jeremy Davis (Danbury,CT) -
11-Steve Luke (Brockton, MA)
Jim Sullivan (Norwood ,MA)-2003 BB finalist, 2003 King of Doubles Champ
John Odgrodnick (Weymouth, MA)
John Gaffney (Cherry Hill, NJ)-2 x BB National finalist
Tony Eichorn(Buffalo, NY)-4 x BB National finalist, 2003 BB National Champ
Doug Davis (Danbury, CT)-
Kieram Valla(Danbury, CT)
Russ Kasim(Fishkill, NY)-3 x BB National Finalist
Mike Bologna(New Jersey)-(2 x BB National Finalist
Matt Euber(Burlington, VT)-2 x BB National Finalist, 2005 "Kone" doubles runner up
Jim Bernard(Cherry Hill, NJ)-2 x BB National Finalist I Would like to recognize these players that "I" know are great players,but they have not played in either of the last 2 events. Kelly Walker, Marc Magliarditi,Joe Magliarditi,Treva McElroy, Graham Barber, Paul Horvath, Tony Hernandez and Ed Miller
* Attending 2005 King of New England Tournament

Bensalem, PA - Merit Industries, Inc.’s annual Sweet Hearts TournaMAXX™ competition broke hearts and delivered sweet victories for featured Megatouch ® games Q-Shot and Meteor Shower.Kelly Bernsen (102,140) and Christopher Boehme (101,860) of Houston, TX took the 1stand 2nd place spots in the Q-Shot Tournament at Roeder’s Pub on touch screens operated by Vending Resources. Third place went to Theresa Dehar who plays at Amore Pizza in West Hazelton, PA. Her score of 101,180 was recorded on a machine from Aaaamusements Rrr Usss. Q-Shot’s single game high score went to Robert Olding (127,400) who plays at the Phoenix Lounge in Sidney, OH on a machine operated by J & S Electronics. “I’ve been playing in the tournaments for a couple of years now and I think they’re great!”said 2nd place winner Christopher Boehme. “They really add a feeling of friendly competition to playing the games. They also get you to try games you haven’t before, it’s always fun to find a new favorite game.”

The Meteor Shower winners rained down at Pappy’s in Illinois. Two of the top 3 place winners and the single game high score came from Pappy’s, which is operated by Hartley Amusements of Arcola, IL. Dan Rhodes placed both 1st with a score of 280,610 and 3rd with a score of 272,580 and pulled down the single game high score title with 291,750. Second place went to Bret Sulsbury who played at CIIE in Bloomington, IL with a score of 275,370, CIIE’s game is also from Hartley Amusements. Rick Hesse of Hartley Amusements said it was terrific to have all of the Meteor Shower winners through his company. “We had some great competitors who pushed each other to keep trying harder to win. It was good for business.”Bob Mills, Merit’s Vice President of Marketing & Network Business said, “We would like to say thank you to all who participated, helping to make this event another great success. Mars Electronics, makers of the worlds finest bill acceptors, has been with us from the first year’s event. Also, Tatung Company of America – makers of Merit’s monitors, ECS – suppliers of Merit’s PC Boards and SM Touch Systems – manufacturers of Merit’s touch screens, should all be recognized for their outstanding work and in helping to make Sweet Hearts another great event for everyone involved.”For more than 27 years, Merit has afforded long-term return on investment for operators by providing continually high-earning equipment along with updates and upgrades for its products. With an installed base of over 200,000 touch-screen games garnering nearly 4.6 billion plays per year, Merit Industries is the worldwide leader in touch-screen entertainment devices. Merit Industries’ products appear globally in a wide array of venues and appeal to an almost limitless demographic. Merit continues to expand its position in the industry with ever-increasing entertainment, content, and new games.

Namco America Inc., a leading publisher of wireless games and content, announced the release of its winter season game line-up. Already a publisher of Top Ten mobile hits including PAC-MAN(R) and Ms. PAC-MAN(R), this release adds six new games to Namco's mobile games catalog.
Mobile customers can now play arcade classics such as Galaga(R), Dig Dug(R), Xevious(R) Mr. Driller(R), Galaxian(R), and MAPPY(R).
Mobile phone users can also find PAC-MAN Branded Games and Ringtones and exclusive game tones from arcade classics like PAC-MAN to current console hits like Tekken(R) & Soul Caliber(R). In addition look for Pac-Man Pinball coming soon.
Other PAC-MAN branded mobile games by Namco America include PAC-MAN Bowling(TM), PAC-MAN Puzzle(TM), PAC-Match!(TM), PAC-MAN's Casino(TM) Card Game Pack, and PAC-MAN's Casino(TM) Slots Pack.
Other networked and original mobile games by Namco include Ms. PAC-MAN For Prizes(TM), Stack'um(TM), and Gimme' FIVE(TM).
For more information about Namco's wireless games, visit (www.namcogames.com).

Wisconsin lawmaker wants to outlaw killing animals
This is one of those now-I’ve-heard-everything items. A lot of people fire fake guns playing video games. But now there's a way to use your computer to fire an actual gun and kill live animals.
According to Wisconsin's News Channel 3, so-called "Internet hunting" has prompted a firestorm of controversy and a possible ban in Wisconsin. If you've never heard about this it's hard to believe, but the Texas Web site, Liveshot.com aims to collect money from hunters who hope to kill something big with a tiny mouse, reported News 3's Linda Eggert.
Think you need a weapon to go hunting? Think again. Inside a shed in Texas is a robotic 22-caliber rifle system people all over the world are tapping, literally. The Web site lets computer users log on and start firing a remote rifle by clicking a mouse. Right now, there are only targets to shoot, but starting next month you can hunt live animals. The first live hunt is set for April 9. For $300, you'll get control of a remote camera and rifle and be able to fire real-time bullets at non-native Texas animals, such as baraby, big horn sheep, antelope, and wild hogs, on Lockwood's 200-acre fenced ranch. Many Wisconsin hunters are outraged. Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, is trying to outlaw Internet hunting. Gunderson, an avid hunter, said Internet hunting violates the ethics of fair chase. He's drafted a bill to effectively ban it in Wisconsin.
"It would say that you have to be in physical possession of a firearm to be able to shoot an animal," Gunderson said.
Lockwood said he understands that people think his system is a little wacky, but he insists his Web site is useful -- for new hunters and for persons with disabilities.
Lockwood vows to stay open as long as it's legal. But that may not be long. Maine has outlawed Internet hunting, and Gunderson predicts Texas will do the same probably by May. Regardless of what other states do, Gunderson wants Wisconsin to ban Web sites like this, according to the news report. A public hearing is planned for next week.

Friday, April 8, 2005
Carmen Electra & Dave Navarro show off their UltraCade™ multi-game system in this month’s In Style Magazine. Click here to download a printable version

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This is one of the hottest video games on the market. Lot's of new game pack for hours and hours of fun and excitement. New game packs in the works too. Buy yours today 1-800-966-9873 The Game Gallery