INDIANAPOLIS, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In front of a live crowd of NCAA basketball fans here at Hoop City, "UCLA" took out "Florida" in the Pontiac Virtual NCAA(R) Final 4(R) (PVNF4) tonight. The final event in this nationwide videogaming tournament, powered by the game College Hoops 2K6, mirrored every match-up of the live NCAA tournament.
The PVNF4, drawing hundreds of videogame players to the virtual hardwood from around the country, may be a solid predictor for the actual NCAA Final Four tournament, having already predicted some of the NCAA tournaments most surprising upsets. The PVNF4 successfully predicted 70% of real-life NCAA tournament upsets. All virtual tournament information is available at http://www.ncaasports.com/Pontiac.
The four finalists from the virtual tournament won a trip to Indianapolis to represent the Final Four teams: University of Florida, George Mason, LSU and UCLA. Kicking off on center court tonight in head-to-head match ups were "George Mason" vs. "Florida" and "LSU" battling "UCLA" simultaneously. "UCLA" and "Florida" went on to play for the Championship title. "UCLA," making 78 percent of its points in the paint, reigned victorious, beating "Florida" in the final 30 seconds with a five-point differential. Player Jeremy Griswold, 25, from Canton, Ga., led his virtual UCLA team to victory, taking home tickets to the NCAA finals, as well as a Microsoft Xbox 360 and a videogame library from 2K Sports, the developer of College Hoops 2K6.
"The Pontiac Virtual NCAA(R) Final 4(R) tournament is only one element of Pontiac's involvement with the NCAA tournament this year," said Pontiac's advertising manager Dino Bernacchi. "We are proud to bring this event to the fans and to offer Game Changing experiences and content to people who are passionate about gaming and the NCAA."
Pontiac's gaming agency, Play, a division of Denuo, handled creative concepting and execution with 2K Sports to develop the virtual tournament program. GM Planworks, Jack Morton and Leo Burnett Detroit also collaborated on the program.
About Pontiac
Pontiac is a division of General Motors Corporation and markets the G6 sedan and coupe, GTO, Grand Prix, Vibe, Montana SV6, Solstice roadster and Torrent compact SUV. In early 2006, Pontiac will introduce the G6 retractable hardtop convertible followed later in the year by the turbo- charged Solstice GXP. Pontiac sold more than 437,000 vehicles in 2005, ranking third among GM divisions in total sales. More information on Pontiac and its products can be found on the division's website at http://www.pontiac.com/, and in Spanish at http://www.pontiac.com/espanol.
About 2K Sports and Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is an integrated global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games and accessories for the PC, PlayStation(R) game console, PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, PSP(TM) (PlayStation(R)Portable) system, Xbox(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube(TM), Nintendo DS(TM) and Game Boy(R) Advance. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at http://www.take2games.com/.
About Play/Denuo
A futures practice that anticipates and responds to trends in digital, interactive and evolving traditional marketing disciplines, Denuo is the newest offering from Publicis Groupe. Part strategic consultant, inventor of marketing solutions and investor in new ventures, Denuo navigates the chasm between creative and media with powerful communication ideas and platforms that examine every consumer touchpoint. For more information, log on to http://www.denuogroup.com/.
