The Omegathon has proven to be one of the biggest events at Penny Arcade Expos past. Last year's event saw twenty contenders (dubbed Omeganuats) compete in six stages of gaming combat culminating in a final showdown of ... Combat. The prize: An enormous NES collection (this one, actually)! This year they've decided to up the ante by giving away (cue The Price is Right theme) ... A NEW CAR!
And not just any old jalopy, but "a brand new 2006 Scion xB in Black Sand Pearl, featuring a game geek's dream package of a flipdown 15" widescreen monitor, Xbox 360 Premium System, 6-speaker sound system with CD/MP3 player, custom taillights and wheels with low-profile tires." Yeah, they had us at flipdown Xbox 360 also.
The PA boys have also revealed this year's randomly culled Omeganauts on their site (damn, didn't make it) and unveiled the first five scheduled games:
- Dice Land (which opened the first two Omegathons as well)
- Geometry Wars (oh, hell yes)
- Quake II (they've had Quake and Doom)
- Guitar Hero (they've had DDR and Karaoke Revolution)
- Mario Kart DS (Mario Kart: Double Dash is gone)
- **TOP SECRET** (first Pong, then Combat, now ...)
PENNY ARCADE EXPO ANNOUNCES OMEGATHON III GRAND PRIZE
Last Gamer Standing Wins a Customized Scion xB at PAX'06
Seattle, Washington -- August 11, 2006 -- As pre-registration swells to 40 percent over last year's attendance at the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) gaming culture festival, Penny Arcade today announced the grand prize for the Omegathon III, the annual three-day gaming tournament in which contestants must prove their mettle in a range of games undisclosed before the event. This year, the winner will drive off in a brand new 2006 Scion xB in Black Sand Pearl, featuring a game geek's dream package of a flipdown 15" widescreen monitor, Xbox 360 Premium System, 6-speaker sound system with CD/MP3 player, custom taillights and wheels with low-profile tires.
Set to invade Washington State this August 25th-27th, PAX will feature a heavy-hitting lineup of top sponsors including Microsoft, Nintendo, Nvidia, ArenaNet, America's Army, Turbine, NCSoft, Atari, Ubisoft, Mythic, Sabertooth Games, Foundation 9, Rockstar, Flying Lab Software, Wizards of the Coast, Creative Labs, The Behemoth, Intel, ATI, Garage Games, AMD, and Red Octane among others. In addition to booths filled with pre-release games galore on its show floor, PAX offers attendees a host of game-related conference sessions, parties, concerts and contests, including the grand-daddy of game challenges, the Omegathon. In addition to a horde of game players from around the world, both enthusiast press and consumer press have registered to attend in force. Industry luminary Alex St. John is slated to deliver the show's keynote, entitled "The Prehistory of Xbox."
"The first year, the Omegathon champion received every PlayStation 2 game ever made. The next year it was every NES game ever made," said Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade. "This year, in accordance with the massive growth of PAX, we decided it was time to up the ante."
