Action Media and IGN Entertainment Brought the Virtual Gaming World to Life with IGN Live

IRVINE, Calif.--Oct. 2, 20058, 2005--

Thousands of Gaming Fans Came Together This Past Weekend to Compete in Gaming Tournaments and Experience the Latest in Video Game Technology

Action Media, creators of the largest lifestyle custom car festival in the nation - Hot Import Nights - and IGN Entertainment, home to IGN.com(R), the web site with the Internet's highest audience composition of unique male visitors aged 18 to 34, launched a new lifestyle festival this weekend at the Anaheim Convention Center - IGN Live. The show, aimed at the exploding gaming scene, reported today better than expected levels of attendees at the first of its kind, open-to-the-public video game lifestyle festival.

Fans who attended the two-day festival were treated to games and game systems before they are released to the public, like the much anticipated Xbox 360 and the not-yet-released games for the soon-to-be-sold console -- including Need for Speed: Most Wanted and the Outfit. The new Xbox does not go on sale until November 22. There were also sneak previews of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie and 50 Cent: Bulletproof.

One of the biggest draws were the live tournaments where gamers of all skill levels had the chance to face-off in front of a theater of cheering fans as they battled for top spot and a variety of prizes.

The new gaming show closely follows the same format as Action Media's Hot Import Nights show, which also targets an exploding industry - the automotive aftermarket. Hot Import Nights delivers the nation's biggest consumer lifestyle event for the $30 billion automotive aftermarket industry. The U.S. video game industry grew 4 percent last year to $7.3 billion in software sales, according to the Entertainment Software Association. And, with 75 percent of American heads of households playing computer and video games, the popularity of shows like Action Media's IGN Live should continue growing.

"We see a lot of crossover between the car culture scene and the video gaming world; however, the audience for IGN Live tends to attract a broader age range and more females than Hot Import Nights," said Glenn Rogers, President and CEO of Action Media. "We confirmed this weekend that the draw of gaming crosses all boundaries."

Show attendees seemed consistent with the Entertainment Software Association's own findings, including the finding that 43 percent of all game players are women. In fact, the same study showed that women over the age of 18 represent a greater portion of the game-playing population (28 percent) than boys from ages 6 to 17 (21 percent). And, while the average game player is 30 years of age, in 2004, 19 percent of Americans over the age of 50 played video games, an increase from 9 percent in 1999.

Already show organizers have planed six to 10 similar events in other U.S. cities. Action Media attributes the energy behind the show to the fact that IGN Live was a first for gamers because they had access to a variety of new or unreleased games on more than 300 game stations. Fans were also treated to panels and seminars on how to get a job in the industry, live music, dozens of new movie and game trailers in the 250-seat theater, a gallery of video game art and even a DJ spinning mixes with old video game controllers.

About Action Media

Action Media and its subsidiary Vision Entertainment is an integrated marketing and event production company that provides a unique, powerful gateway to the potent, yet elusive Gen X-Y audience. Producing more than 20 annual events in the top North America markets, Action Media and Vision Entertainment provide compelling original concepts and turn-key solutions for an extensive list of clients.

Action Media does not simply produce events; it provides experiences that encompass every positive aspect of youth culture. In this new era of entertainment, Action Media provides the necessary tools for any client to maximize their exposure in unique and emerging cultures. The current portfolio of Action Media and Vision Entertainment events include Hot Import Nights, the RC Expo (RCX), Fresh Tracks Snow and Skate Expo, Holiday Havoc and now IGN Live.

About IGN Entertainment

IGN Entertainment provides many of the Internet's leading destinations for video gaming, entertainment and community targeted at teens and 18-34 year-old males. The company's properties include IGN.com, GameSpy, Rotten Tomatoes, FilePlanet, GameSpy Arcade, GameSpy Arena, Direct2Drive, TeamXbox, 3D Gamers, more than 70 community sites and a vast array of online forums. Collectively, these properties reached 24 million users worldwide* in the month of March 2005, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN Entertainment is also a leading provider of technology for online game play in video games. The company's paid content, download and game play services are among the most popular game-related subscriptions available on the Internet. The privately held company has its headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S.