Glastonbury for Gamers

Sony's reputation as a purveyor of hip consoles has been tarnished of late by a number of questionable actions, including the continued delay of Final Fantasy X, the Final Fantasy Anthology fiasco, the mod chip court case and various other measures which make SCEE look less like a games company and more like the authority figures the PSX demographic likes to rebel against. Count their blessings they certainly should however, because a company called 2 Convergence Limited has stepped forward and announced 2C: The Official PlayStation Event. Held in conjunction with SCEE, the three-day-long festival of gaming and gaming culture will be located at Gunnersbury Park, West London with a capacity for 35,000 people and day-long skateboarding, BMX and dirt-biking displays in a custom sports stadium to house approximately 5,000 visitors. Professional DJs will provide some background noise with breakdancing to accompany them. This celebration of PlayStation lifestyle would not be complete without some degree of console interaction, and the games challenge arena will showcase games from a number of top developers, both old and new. Prizes will be available to those who can demonstrate their credentials. Other attractions will include obligatory bars for several thousand people and a market area - presumably selling PlayStation and PlayStation 2 goodies. Commenting on the event, Darren Carter, the PlayStation's Director of Marketing explained that after a spell SCEE decided the event "would be ideal to further extend the PlayStation brand in a tangible and above all enjoyable way," and furthermore the company is proud to be the headlining sponsor. Such a large gathering of PlayStation fans - if it meets its capacity - "shows they recognise the value and meaning of the PlayStation brand." 2C is scheduled for May 4th to 6th of this year, priced £18 per day. Tickets are available on 0115 934 8757. Check out the website for more details.