REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 21, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. and Vans Inc. today announced that Xbox (TM) Lounges located at 11 mall-based Vans Skateparks will host grand-opening celebrations Saturday, Nov. 23. * The Xbox Lounges will feature Xbox video game systems in modular home theater settings complete with RCA flat-screen televisions so Vans Skatepark visitors can enjoy the hottest games on the best system setups while relaxing on comfy couches.
The first 100 visitors to each Xbox Lounge grand opening will receive an Xbox-Vans gift bag, which includes giveaways from Xbox, Xbox Live and Vans, and game strategy guides from Prima Publishing. Visitors will receive
“buy 2, get 1 free”
Xbox game mail-in offer coupons while supplies last. In nine of the Xbox Lounges, visitors will be able to play against other gamers around the country via the Xbox Live (TM) service, the first comprehensive, online game arena fully dedicated to fast-action broadband gaming experiences.
“Xbox Lounges are the perfect places to play the hottest new Xbox games, taking on the best Xbox gamers in each area in the comfort of a hip lounge setting,”
said Bill Nielsen, director of Xbox brand marketing at Microsoft.
“Vans continues to be a great promotional partner for Xbox, and it has been with us since the launch of the console, so the skateparks are great venues to extend the Xbox experience.”
“Xbox is really cool, and there’s no better way to relax from the rigors of skating at one of our skateparks than by hanging out on the couch with Xbox,”
said Steve Van Doren, vice president of promotions for Vans.
“Xbox is popular with kids and pros on the Vans Skate Team, so we know that the Xbox Lounges are a great addition to Vans Skateparks.”
Xbox Lounges at Vans Skateparks
These Vans Skatepark are hosting Xbox Lounges:
-
Festival Bay at International Drive, Orlando, Fla.
-
Potomac Mills,** Woodbridge, Va. (Washington, D.C.)
-
The Block at Orange, Orange, Calif.
-
Moorestown Mall, Moorestown, N.J. (Philadelphia)
-
Metrocenter Mall, Phoenix
-
Fountain Walk, Novi, Mich. (Detroit)
-
Westminster Promenade, Westminster, Colo. (Denver)
-
The Mall of Georgia, Buford, Ga. (Atlanta)
-
Great Mall of the Bay Area, Milpitas, Calif. (San Jose)
-
Marq*e Entertainment Center, Houston
-
Ontario Mills,** Ontario, Calif.
Each Xbox Lounge is tricked out with four 27-inch RCA flat-screen televisions, four Xbox consoles, 16 controllers, Xbox Live Communicator headsets and requisite sofas for maximum gaming enjoyment.
The hottest Xbox games will be featured at each Xbox Lounge location, with a new selection of featured games arriving every month. The initial featured games include these:
-
“MechAssault (TM)”
(Microsoft Game Studios) -
“Blinx (TM) : The Time Sweeper (TM)”
(Microsoft Game Studios) -
“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (TM) 4”
(Activision Inc.) -
“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell (TM)”
(Ubi Soft Entertainment SA)
The Xbox Lounges provide the perfect setting for gamers and skateboard enthusiasts to gather and take each other on in the newest games. With Xbox Live capabilities at almost every park, gamers in different cities can play one another in single-game challenges or tournaments.
With the Xbox Lounges at Vans Skateparks, Xbox and Vans continue their promotional relationship. Xbox is currently a partner of the Vans Triple Crown Series(, featuring the world’s top athletes competing in three championship events in each of the following sports: skateboarding, wakeboarding, surfing, snowboarding, and BMX and freestyle motocross. Xbox is the title sponsor for the Xbox World Championships of Skateboarding, the Xbox Freestyle Motocross Pro and Xbox Pipeline Masters, one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious surfing competitions.
About Vans
Vans (Nasdaq
“VANS” ) is a leading worldwide brand for Core Sports (TM) specializing in performance and lifestyle footwear, apparel, snowboard boots and bindings. Its contributions to Core Sports include the Vans Triple Crown Series, the operation of 12 large-scale Vans Skateparks, the High Cascade Snowboard Camp® , majority ownership of the Vans Warped Tour®
and the continued sponsorship of Vans World Amateur Skateboarding Championships. Vans collections are sold in the United States and internationally through 169 company-owned stores and factory outlets as well as a network of independent retailers. Vans also distributes to approximately 50 countries internationally through distributors, sales agents and foreign subsidiaries.
About Xbox
Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in North America, Japan, Europe and Australia.
About Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox video game system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for the PC ( http://www.microsoft.com/games/ ), including such franchises as
“Age of Empires® ,” “Flight Simulator”
and
“Zoo Tycoon (TM)”
; Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ), including such franchises as
“Halo (TM) ,” “Project Gotham Racing (TM)”
and
“NFL Fever”
; and Zone.com ( http://www.zone.com/ ), the official games channel for the MSN®
network and home to such hits as
“Bejeweled”
and
“OutSmart (TM) .”
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
* The Ontario event will take place Nov. 24.
** Broadband connection and Xbox Live are not yet available at this location.
Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Live, MechAssault, Blinx: The Time Sweeper, Age of Empires, Zoo Tycoon, Halo, Project Gotham Racing, MSN and OutSmart are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft®
Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp .
