RipTen Videogame Blog » Contest

Eat at Taco Bell, Win a PlayStation Vita

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:25:09 +0000

Sony and Taco Bell have just announced a partnership to hype the US release of the PS Vita. Taco Bell will run three separate but connected contests which will give lucky winners a chance to win the handheld system (as part of a prize pack detailed below) before it debuts in US stores.

The contest hypes a winner every fifteen minutes, and runs from January 26th through March 11th. Contestants can win a PS Vita Prize Pack in one of three ways:

UNLOCK THE BOX: Beginning January 26th, Taco Bell’s specially marked $5 Buck Box – which includes a Cheesy Gordita Crunch, Crunchy Taco, Burrito Supreme and medium fountain drink – will also provide a code that can be entered online for an instant chance to “unlock” and win a PS Vita.
BATTLE: Download Taco Bell’s new mobile app to check out the exclusively designed Reality Fighters Dojo game where you can “battle” your friends to win a PS Vita.
BOAST: Taco Bell’s online contest will encourage you to submit a photo or video “boasting” about what you’re willing to do for a PS Vita. Submissions will then go into an online gallery where you and your peers can vote for the winners – it could be you!

What exactly does the Prize Pack include? We thought you’d never ask. Regardless of which entry method you select, each pack will include the following:

PS Vita 3G/Wi-Fi system
Copy of the PS Vita exclusive Little Deviants
4GB PS Vita Memory Card
Plus your choice of one of the following: ModNation Racers: Road Trip, MLB 12 The Show, or LittleBigPlanet.

Definitely a worthy reason to make a run for the border.

Source: PS Blog

Did You Know Diablo’s Deckard Cain Is A Kid From South Dakota?

Dave Oshry — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:00:05 +0000

Greetings friend. Stay awhile and listen to this tale.

Back in the early 90′s, Blizzard held a very vague contest for an unannounced game. The contest involved sending them a post card with your name on it. One father in South Dakota had a newborn baby with a such a cool name that he decided to put HIS name on the postcard and send it in to Blizzard. That baby’s name? Deckard Cain Elder.

Sixteen years later, young Mr. Elder seems to have discovered Reddit, and decided to share his tale.

According to him:

My first name comes from Harrison Ford’s character in the movie Blade Runner, my middle name is my mother’s maiden name, and my last name is my fathers family name.

I wonder if he’ll hang out with that boy named Dovahkiin when he grows up? Anyway, back to the story.

About six months after entering contest, the Elder family received a box from Blizzard.

Inside the box were several things:

A long yellow envelope, a copy of Diablo, a black hat with Blizzard in blue printed on the front, a very large Diablo T-shirt, and a blue statue of Diablo that stand a little over a foot tall.

rawr.

Also inside the envelope was a letter from Bill Roper, the producer of Diablo.

Said letter explained that young Deckard had won a grand prize. He would soon have his name in Diablo, Blizzard’s upcoming RPG. The rest, as they say, is history.

You know what else is cool about Deckard Cain? He raps:

Stay tuned to RipTen for more interesting stuff you never needed to know.

Make the Best Battlefield 3 Video and Win a Trip to Sweden to Play With DICE!

Dave Oshry — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:55:26 +0000

Are you the best around? Is nothing ever gonna bring you down? … do you have what it takes to make a Battlefield 3 video so good EA will let you show it to DICE, in person?!

You’d better hope so, because EA is having a contest. Here’s the rundown:

Do you have what it takes to jump out of a jet into a helicopter, grab hold of the machine gun and take out an entire enemy platoon? From dodging RPGs and sniping a helicopter pilot to controlling tanks and leveling buildings, these types of unscripted moments are something that can only be found in one game – Battlefield 3™. To celebrate Battlefield 3 and to thank the ever-growing Battlefield community, EA and DICE are proud to present the “Only in Battlefield 3” Community Video Challenge. Gamers from the world over are invited to capture their own, personal, amazingly epic Battlefield Moments and submit their killer video reel for the world to see. The player with the most impressive Battlefield Moments stands to win a trip to the historic Nordic city of Stockholm where they will visit the DICE studio and meet the game’s award-winning development team.

Starting on December 15, 2011 players can upload their HD videos to YouTube and email the link of their video to videcomp@dice.se prior to January 23, 2012 with the subject line “Only in Battlefield 3 Community Video Challenge” From there a jury consisting of the DICE Battlefield 3 team will select a shortlist of ten videos that will be posted in a dedicated playlist to the official Battlefield YouTube channel for the community to see and talk about. From that shortlist DICE will then hand select three winners, all of whom will each win two round trip tickets to Stockholm where they will receive three night hotel accommodations, sample the sights of the Swedish capital and visit the DICE studio to meet the makers of Battlefield 3.

To help you get started DICE has provided a Battlefield 3 asset pack including the iconic Battlefield 3 theme to act as the score to your video masterpiece available for download here.

We’re pretty sure this guy should have already won:

For full details on the “Only in Battlefield 3” Community Video Challenge in addition to the complete official rules please visit www.battlefield.com/battlefield3/1/only-in-battlefield3.

Couple Completes Real Life Skyrim Quest, Names Baby Dovahkiin, Gets Free Bethesda Games For Life

Sam Naylor — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:54 +0000

A couple has risen to a challenge set by Bethesda in February and named their child Dovahkiin.

Megan and Eric Kellermeyer gave birth to Dovahkiin Tom Kellermeyer last Friday at 6:08 pm PST. Judging from the picture, he’s already been spending too much time out in Skyrim’s snow with a red face like that.

The reward? Free Bethesda games for life. Doesn’t seem much when you consider that Skyrim will pretty much last until the end of time, but in any case well done to them. Still, it’s a bit weird naming a child to get free stuff isn’t it? Even if you liked the name the fact that the free stuff exists kind of makes it a bit shallow, I think. Still I’m not a parent so feel free to discard my views as you see fit.

Via Bethblog

SEGA Teases New Daytona USA via Adorable Bunny Rabbit

Dave Oshry — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 03:00:19 +0000

D’awww look at the cute little bunny wabbit.

He’s hinting at something… something pretty obvious to SEGA fans.

It’s a new DAYTONA USA, BABY!!

Start your engines and stay tuned for an announcement!!

5 Days of 40K – Win Big With Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine!

Chris Carlson — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:30:50 +0000

THQ announced that it will be sponsoring a major prize giveaway for its upcoming third person action-shooter, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine via Facebook with daily prizes.

The promotion will run until September 5th and include money-can’t-buy object as well as digital content and other Space Marine collectibles. All you need to do is “like” Space Marine on Facebook.

Full list of daily prizes and information is below:

Thursday 1st September – 1000 Xbox LIVE® Avatar Props
On Thursday we have 500 Bomb Squigs and 500 Servo Skulls to give to 1000 lucky winners
Friday 2nd September – 10 Collector’s Editions
Featuring an art book, soundtrack, Purity Seal, collector’s cards and limited edition box, this is the ultimate edition for a true Warhammer 40,000 fan
Saturday 3rd September – 500 Xbox LIVE Premium themes
Decorate the background of your Xbox 360® with this theme inspired by the universe of Space Marine
Sunday 4th September – Space Marine Xbox 360
Featuring a custom design from world renowned Colorware this one of a kind console isrecolored and wrapped with game art making it the ultimate addition to your gaming set-up
Monday 5th September – Life-sized Chainsword Replica
Measuring over 130cm / 51 inches this is a super limited edition ornamental replica of Captain Titus’ in-game weapon complete with Ultramarines heraldry and battle damage

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine is set to release on September 6th for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

RipTen Giveaway: Win a Copy of Toy Soldiers: Cold War for XBLA! (Finished)

Chris Carlson — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 02:30:19 +0000

[UPDATE]: Winners have been contacted via email. Thank you everyone for entering the contest and I hope the winners enjoy the game. Be sure to follow @RipTen on Twitter for future giveaways.

You love giveaways, right? Of course you do, what kind of question is that? Well, thanks to the very generous folks over at Signal Studios, we have 4 copies of Toy Soldiers: Cold War to give away. Not only that, but you can play the game today. Yes, you heard right, today. Chumps wait until release dates, and the President of Signal Studios seems to think so as well!!

So you’re probably wondering, “How do I fucking win the game already?!?!” Well, simply leave a comment below convincing me you’re the best co-op partner I can find on the web and you might just win a copy. To further increase your chances, follow me on Twitter (@T9X69) and tweet this message:

“I want to win a copy of Toy Soldiers: Cold War from @T9x69 and @RipTen courtesy of @Signal_Studios!!”

That’s it. I’ll choose a winner today (well, technically tomorrow) at 2 a.m. EST because I know you guys are impatiently waiting to play this awesome game. Hell, I gave it a 10/10 for a reason, it’s fucking kick ass! Get to commenting, soldiers!

RipTen’s Resistance 3 Beta Key Giveaway!! (Finished)

Aaron Alexander — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 19:30:09 +0000

Sitting on the edge for Insomniac’s new first person shooter, Resistance 3? Well come a little closer, RipTen has the magical keys which will give you early access to the Beta. (Today!!)

You may be asking yourself; “But how do I win such an awesome prize?” It’s simple. Follow me (Aaron) on Twitter, and in the spirit of Insomniac’s crazy weapon design:

Shoot me a tweet with your own ideas for a kick ass gun that could be used against the Chimera Horde.

We’ll pick out the tweets with the most unique ideas, and the lucky few will be able to access the Beta immediately!!

Get tweetin’ soldier!!

UPDATE: All codes have been given out, thanks to all who participated. We’ll be listing the winners in an article later today.

Microsoft Giving Away Every Summer Of Arcade Title For Free!

Chris Carlson — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:30:16 +0000

You love free stuff right? Of course you do. No this isn’t a promotion where you have to buy something in order to receive a gift. Microsoft is giving away every single Summer of Arcade title for free through their Facebook page.

Each week when a new title launches, you can login to Facebook and play a mini-game for your chance to win a copy of that weeks game. This week you can win From Dust which we gave a respectable 8 out of 10. Then next Tuesday the winning game switches to Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, and so forth. All you need to do is match three X’s. That’s it. Not three in a row, or select some from a list. Simply click on every circle in the box and hope you get three X’s, in which case will score you a download token for the game.

The best part is you get two chances every single day, and a third chance by telling a friend. Do you feel lucky punk? Well, do you? Test your luck and go play for a chance to win!

Namco Unveils Dark Souls Contest – Design a Shield, Get Your Name in the Game!

Chris Carlson — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:53:44 +0000

If you love creating beautiful pieces of art, this shield design contest for Dark Souls should provide interest to you.

NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe announced today the Dark Souls shield design contest, open to everyone from June 27th to July 28th 2011 on the game’s official Facebook page.

How to enter:

● Become a fan on the official Dark Souls Facebook page

● Download the blank shield templates

● Create up to three original masterpieces of heraldic design

● Submit your finished designs via Facebook on or before July 13th 2011

Once you submit your design, sit back relax and wait for the voting to begin. On July 20th the voting polls will be open to everyone around the globe. The ten most voted pieces from each of the three shield designs will go straight to FromSoftware for the final decision, and the Dark Souls development team will hand-pick the winners that will be announced via Facebook on July 28th.

Each of the ten winners will receive a copy of Dark Souls signed by game director Hidetaka Miyazaki. The final 3 winners will see their designs brought to life in the Dark Souls universe which will be made available as post-launch content. They will also receive a signed copy of the limited edition game plus their names in the game credits.

A shot at immortality. Lol.

‘Come Get Some’ with Nvidia at the Duke Nukem Forever Launch

Murray Hibble — Sun, 29 May 2011 12:50:36 +0000

To celebrate the launch of the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever, Nvidia is giving one lucky gamer the chance to win an all-expense paid VIP trip for two to the official Gearbox Launch event in Dallas, Texas. The launch-night is Saturday, June 11th and you only have until May 31st to enter!

To sign up, simply visit the GeForce Community Site and enter your details. Sorry to all you dirty foreigners, you have to be a legal resident of the US or Canada to win.

Here’s some greater detail straight from Nvidia themselves:

Sure to be one of the coolest – and maybe the rowdiest – parties of the summer (it’s a Duke party, after all!), the Gearbox Community Day/Duke Nukem Launch Event will blow into Dallas Texas at the Palladium Ballroom on Saturday, June 11, 2011. If you’re deemed worthy enough to hang with the King and his court, here’s some of the cool stuff you’re in for:

· Test your metal playing Duke Nukem Forever alongside the Gearbox crew

· Rub elbows with the Gearbox and NVIDIA development teams

· Party at an exclusive NVIDIA reception before the launch event (Friday, June 10)

· Hear from the people behind some of Gearbox’s biggest games: Duke Nukem Forever, Borderlands, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Brothers in Arms, and more

· Get exclusive sneak-peeks at new, never-before-seen Gearbox materials

· Join the partying and mayhem

Do you think you’ve got what it takes to party with Duke? If so, what are you waiting for? Christmas? Go to http://www.geforce.com/Community/Rewards right now to enter!

Oh yea, one thing…you need to be 21 years old to party with Duke. That’s just how he rolls. Sorry kids!

By the way, be sure your PC system is cranked up and ready for Duke. To help, NVIDIA and EVGA have teamed up to bring you Duke’s “Fully Loaded Package,” a special edition Duke Nukem Forever bundle that includes a full PC copy of Duke Nukem Forever for the PC, an EVGA GeForce® GTX 560 graphic card, a limited edition DNF art book and mouse pad, and a custom Duke Nukem “Radioactive” belt buckle.

That should complete your arsenal, giving you everything you’ll need to wipe out aliens that have been stealing Earth’s women and drinking Duke’s beer. Get Duke’s Fully Loaded Package now: http://bit.ly/mvax2v.

But wait, there’s one more thing….

As NVIDIA’s special guest, you’ll be one of the first gamers on the planet to see the unveiling of the brand new, official Duke Nukem Forever mod. This bad boy packs more NVIDIA® GeForce ® GTX power than a Devastator, features a mind-blowing Duke-themed chassis, and will show Duke in all his glory in breathtaking 3D with NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ technology. You haven’t seen a mod like this before…anywhere!

Well what are you waiting for!? Enter now!!

Get Your Graffiti Featured in RAGE and Win A Trip To Quake Con 2011!

Dave Oshry — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:48:32 +0000

Are you a graffiti artist and a gamer? Well then Bethesda‘s latest contest is right up your alley.

All you have to do is create some in game graffiti and get everyone to vote on how awesome it is! Or you can be lazy and just enter the sweepstakes to win a trip to QuakeCon and a copy of RAGE…

Check out both the Graffiti Contest and the Sweepstakes on the RAGE Facebook page.

Oh, I almost forgot, you’ll also get a human centipad! I mean… an iPad2!

ENTER NOW!!

Resistance 3 Contest Offers Chance to “Get Your Head In The Game”

Matthew Sims — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 09:35:01 +0000

How cool would it be to have your face in a video game? Pretty damn cool, right? That’s what I thought. Insomniac Games is allowing interested fans to enter a contest that will forever bind their digital likeness to the Resistance franchise.

The contest, which runs until March 3rd, 2011, aims to find two individuals to lend their likenesses to a couple of human survivors who are fighting off the Chimera on a war-torn Earth. Winners will receive an all expenses paid trip to San Diego for them and a guest and then spend a day with the Resistance team getting their likeness implemented into the new title.

For a chance to win, go to the Official Contest Page and upload a photo of yourself looking all Resistancey. Ok, I know that isn’t a word, but you know what the hell I mean. Do something interesting and Resistance related in the picture, full cosplay is probably going to be your best bet here. You’ll also need to explain why you deserve to be a Resistance survivor. It would probably help to be handy with a pen and paper.

Ten finalists will be selected and showcased all over Europe, as well as the Playstation Blog until Insomniac Games makes the final decision on the two winners. I can’t wait to see your face when Resistance 3 hits store shelves. Unless you’re ugly, then I’d rather not.

And The Winners of The RipTen / GoG Baldur’s Gate 2 Giveaway Minsc Meme Contest Are …

Dave Oshry — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 23:30:19 +0000

The results are in!! We have chosen the best Minsc Meme from our GoG.com Baldur’s Gate 2 Giveaway – Behold the winning entries!!

Our first winner is LoneWolf, who reminds us why we love GoG and also Minsc’s classic one liners:

GoG.com - DRM Free Since Forever

GoG - The #1 Steam Alternative

Our next winning entry comes from Tza, who shows us what Minsc thinks of your argument:

Invalidated.

And last, but certainly not least, we have our favorite entry from Rooshandark. If GoG and RipTen made an Old Spice commercial – well, you get the idea:

My Entry is Now Diamonds!!

All of our winners will be receiving a copy of Baldur’s Gate 2: Complete courtesy of GoG.com – Congratulations!!

For all of those who entered but did not win – your meme may be gone but it’s not forgotten. Minsc and Boo would be proud!!

Be sure to check out GoG.com for great deals on Good Old Games and stay tuned to RipTen for all the gaming Reviews Interviews Previews Trailers Events and News you’ll ever need.

Jim Cummings would approve of your meme as well – just imagine him speaking all of your meme and LoL to yourself :-)

We Went to IndieCade. It was Cool, You Should Have Been There.

Andrea Emmes — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 20:10:11 +0000

The fifth annual Indie Cade started last weekend off with a bang in beautiful Culver City, California. This three day event began Friday, October 8th in several locations around Main Street showcasing the 32 independent game maker finalists from around the world. We had a chance to check out all of the finalist’s games during the press event and were greeted with a packed swag bag filled with snack bars, PopChips, Nos energy drinks, a Nyko Wii gun controller and much more! But enough about the fun free stuff, we were there to see the innovative, creative and all around fun games created by students, indie game developers, and anyone really who isn’t in the mainstream gaming industry that submitted their game for consideration for prestige.

Good Times Ahead.

There were some real stand out games that were vying for attention and many proved to be worthy of my time. Games like Fractal by Cipher Prime USA. It’s a strategic game of pushing these octagonal shapes into “blooms”. You have only so many moves trying to get up to 160 points before your moves run out. Another game that I loved was Continuity by Ragtime Games Sweden. Continuity is a flash sliding tile puzzle platformer which combines the player moving the character and rearranging the world to solve the puzzle. Both of these games challenge the mind and are a lot of fun in a simple way. Limbo by Playdead Denmark, took the world over by storm with its gorgeous aesthetics in a black and white silhouette style of a boy running around lost in the forest. What a gorgeous and intriguingly morbid game as you sometimes have to drag dead bodies to trigger a trap. It’s Awesome! Some other amazing games that deserve notice were Solace by One Man Down USA, a Galaga throw-back with amazing music that changes dynamics as you fire and destroy enemies. Big Trip Runner by Gaijin Games, Inc USA which is a totally rad old school retro game made from Nintendo Ware, B.U.T.T.O.N (Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally Ok Now) by Copenhagen Game Collective Denmark which is an active, physical game that the developers admitted was created to be a drinking game. Lastly, another RipTen favorite was the art installation game called Sixteen Tons by Nathalie Pozzi and Eric Zimmerman.

The Bromance Continues.

To cap off the entire day was the star studded, that’s gamer star studded, Indie Cade Awards Ceremony. Anyone who is anyone was there covering this event, G4, E! Entertainment, EP, LA Canvas and of course RipTen. Hosted by Levar Burton, who was charming and regaled stories of his gaming prowess also made the crowd sing “Reading Rainbow”, it was stupendous! There was a wide range of presenters from actors (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), the Old Spice Guy (gorgeous), Tim Schafer, Ron Gilbert and other gaming legends and a couple of performances by 8 Bit Weapon. Their music is created by sound bites from Commodore 64.

Here is the list of winners:

Best Gameplay Innovation: Continuity
Amazing Gameplay: Miegakure
Sound Award: Limbo
Sublime Eperience: Faraway
Aesthics Award: Spirits
Documentary Award: The Cat and the Coup
World/Story: The Games of Nonchalance
Fun and Compelling Award: VVVVVV
Wild Card Award: B.U.T.T.O.N.
Virtuoso Award: A Slow Year
Vanguard Award: A Slow Year
Honorable Mention: Sixteen Tons
Jury Award: Groping in the Dark
Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award: Tim Schafer

All in all, IndieCade was great fun, and we can’t wait to go back next year!!

Giveaway: Win a Copy of Monday Night Combat for XBLA! [UPDATE]

Demi Adejuyigbe — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 03:07:34 +0000

Ever since it was announced, people have been calling Monday Night Combat “Team Fortress 2 with robots”, and while I’d venture to say it’s not much exactly like TF2, I’ve definitely been enjoying it as much as I enjoy TF2. And if you haven’t bought the game yet, Ripten’s giving you a chance to enjoy it too!

Our pals over at Uber Entertainment passed along a code for the game, and we’re passing it on to you! All you have to do for a shot at this code is to leave a comment below. Make sure you use your real email to leave the comment too, as we’re going to send the comment to that email if you win. One comment per person, but make sure you get your comment in before 11:59PM PST on Sunday, August 15th. If you’re still not sure whether or not you even want to play the game, stay tuned for our review of the game going up soon!

UPDATE: Congratulations, Waynehaz1337hax! Shoot me an email at demi [at] ripten.com to get your code!

Win Money By Designing a Trials HD Track

Dylan Duarte — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:38:29 +0000

Do you love money? Yes. Do you love Trials HD? Probably. Do you love designing tracks? Maybe. Do you want to design tracks in Trials HD for a chance to win big money? You can do just that in the Big Thrills Challenge.

To participate in the contest, create a track that is “innovative, fun, creative and challenging, yet playable.” Then simply send a friend request to one of the Trials Tracks Challenge Contest Gamertags so that your track can be reviewed.

First place prize is $5,000, along with a Trials HD sweatshirt and flag. I bet taht sweatshirt will keep you all warm and fuzzy. To enter, you must be one of the first 10,000 participants to enter by August 18th. Check out all the details here. Good Luck!

(Thanks Major Nelson)

Get Your Name Listed in Gran Turismo 5′s Credits

Dylan Duarte — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 09:19:01 +0000

The Gran Turismo 5 website is holding a contest where fans can submit title suggestions for the song featured in the game’s E3 2010 trailer. The creator of whichever title is chosen will have their name listed in the game’s credits.

To enter, you have to send in your suggested title (in English, 1 entry per person), the name you want listed, the country you live in, and a descriptive comment about the song. I’m not entirely sure why the last part is required. Perhaps the contest holders want to make sure the entrant has a good grasp on the song?

The entries will be judged by the series’ producer and a winner will be announced within two weeks of the contest deadline, July 25th. If multiple people send in the same title and it gets selected, everyone who sent it in will be listed. The name(s) will appear in the “Special Thanks” portion of the credits.

Head over to the official site and get your creative mojo on. The lyrics to the song can be found by scrolling down the page. Good luck guys!

Win an Alan Wake Shirt From Cafepress and Ripten!

Ripten Staff — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:22 +0000

I know we’re only about halfway into the year right now, but one of the better games released this year is definitely Alan Wake. The mysterious thriller, while not perfect, has moments in it that really excite you and do well to convince you that after seven years of no releases, Remedy can still crank out a hit. Shirt maker CafePress seems to think so too, as they’ve recently put out an official store full of Alan Wake gear. But if you don’t want to drop your own buckaroos on a shirt, then you’re in luck! Because we’re giving two away!

A flashlight plays pretty heavily into the gameplay of Alan Wake, so grab your closest flashlight and make a shadow puppet with it! From today until next week, on July 4th at 11:59PM PST, if you leave a comment below with a link to a photo of you performing your best shadow puppet (you don’t have to use your hands, but if you don’t, get creative!), you’ll become elligible to win your choice of Alan Wake shirt from the Cafepress store.

On July 5th, we’ll select two and announce them right here in this post, so stay tuned to Ripten! And when you enter, make sure to use your real email, or else we can’t contact you. Now, grab your flashlight and go!

You can find Alan Wake t-shirts at CafePress!

Win SEGA’s Sonic 4 Video Contest for a Trip to SEGA Japan

David Oxford — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:43:18 +0000

Perhaps the timing of this is a little awkward.

You see, for years now, there have been many a complaint about SEGA’s handling of the once-prominent Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, particularly where the games are concerned. And many people have dreamed of having the simple opportunity to be able to go right up to SEGA’s Japanese headquarters and tell them every last thing that is wrong with Sonic, and what can be done to fix it.

Ironically, they may now have that opportunity… but it only comes after SEGA has revealed what may be two of the most well-received (so far) Sonic games in years.

SEGA announced on their Sonic City Blognik today that they are holding a “creative video contest” to celebrate the Blue Blur’s 19th anniversary. Two grand prize winners will be chosen, with one from the United Kingdom, the other from America, and they can each bring one other person along as they go SEGA’s Japanese headquarters to meet the Sonic development team and tell them… well, “good job,” or “thanks,” I guess.

“In honor of the nineteenth anniversary of our favorite hedgehog, we wanted to find a special way to thank Sonic’s fans throughout the years,” said Haruki Satomi, Executive Vice President of SEGA of America. “We think this contest is a great way to give fans a chance to express their creativity, enthusiasm and support for Sonic.”

In order to partake in this… well, maybe not-so-epic showdown between fan and creator, fans have the next two weeks to upload videos to YouTube which show “their appreciation and love” of Mr. Needlemouse. From there, they submit their entry to the official contest page, and wait nervously by the phone for the call.

Or e-mail. They’ll probably let the winner know by e-mail.

So, how do you make sure your video is the one to win? The cheat-sheet reveals that the judges will be looking for “creativity, entertainment, and effort.” And the ten which best exemplify what they are looking for will be showcased on the official Sonic the Hedgehog 4 website.

After that, however, it is out of SEGA’s hands, and it will be up to the fans to decide who gets to go to Tokyo, and who walks away with one of two 32 GB iPod Touches. And if you don’t net either of those prizes, then 100 other random winners will receive free Sonic swag.

All the rules and details are here, and be sure to let us know if you’re chosen. That way, we can perhaps show off your video here on RipTen and try to rally up a little support.