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Microsoft Announces Finalists for Project Gotham Racing 2 International Tournament

 
Online Racing World Champion To Be Crowned at NASCAR’s Coca Cola 600

 

Continuing their commitment to recognizing the best online gamers in the world, Microsoft has announced the seven finalists for the worldwide Project Gotham Racing 2 International Tournament – one of the most competitive online racing tournaments ever.
 
The tournament – which ran online via Xbox Live from April 17 – May 17, 2004 – pitted the best online racing gamers from three regions against one another in an intercontinental competition of the best-selling, critically acclaimed Xbox video game, Project Gotham Racing 2.   
 
In a community of over 750,000 Xbox Live members, the field has been narrowed to a mere seven finalists – two from the United States, two from Canada and three from Europe – who will each represent their region in the International Tournament Finals. 
 
All seven finalists have won all-expense paid trips to the finals, which will take place over Memorial Day weekend at NASCAR’s highly anticipated “Food Lion Speed Street” event in downtown Charlotte, N.C. In addition to the trip, each finalist also received a pass to one of the most-celebrated races in NASCAR – the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. In addition, the finals will feature a performance by Island Records recording act, AutoPilot Off both to celebrate the tournament and the release of their first full-length album, Make A Sound. 
 

The seven finalists in the Project Gotham Racing 2 International Tournament are:

  • United States Finalists
    • Nicholas Swanner, 21, Meridian, Miss.
    • Eric Earley, 19, Noblesville, IN
  • Canada Finalists
    • James Beaman, 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia
    • Reuben Mallory, 19, Belleville, Ontario
  • Europe Finalists
    • M. Hartikainen, Finland
    • J. Airaksinen, Finland
    • I. Haukijarvi, Finland

But among those seven finalists, there can be only one true champion. One winner will be crowned the world’s best online racer and take home the grand prize package of $5,000, a one-year subscription to Xbox Live and the chance to play against the band members from Autopilot Off.
Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the Xbox® video game system and Windows® and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse games for Windows (http://www.microsoft.com/games/), including such franchises as Age of Empires®, Flight Simulator and Zoo Tycoon™; Xbox (http://www.xbox.com/), including such franchises as Halo®, Project Gotham Racing and MechAssault; and Zone.com (http://www.zone.com/), the official games channel for the MSN® network and home to such hits as Bejeweled and OutSmart™. 


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