The crowd went wild as [shal]Ignition Entertainment[/shal]’s [shal]Shane Bettenhausen[/shal] threw rare items and free schwag off the stage at Club Element. The small establishment in Los Angeles hosted the [shal]King of Fighters Tournament[/shal], an event that heavily promoted their upcoming title [shal]King of Fighters XII[/shal].



The event brought together gamers and journalists alike, and pitted them against each other in both the tournament and Shane’s free giveaway sessions. Representing for [shal]PSLS[/shal], I even got knocked to the ground trying to grab some random crap out of the hands of fellow KOF fanatics. Needless to say, I won that battle.

Shane has a lot of fans thanks to his former tenure at [shal]1UP[/shal], and applause and cheers echoed from the crowd as he took to the stage. Joined by his lovely assistant, he set out the rules after groaning through countless technical hiccups. The DJ was originally in charge of audio, but the Ignition Entertainment employees apparently knew more than he did.

Approximately 60 people showed up, with another 20 staff members populating the crowd. The fact that this was probably the tamest crowd the club had ever seen made the bouncers’ presence that much more hilarious. And though Ignition had gone out of its way to hire some very good looking kiosk babes, they largely went ignored and unnoticed. That is, until they started joining in on the KOF fun.

Entry to the event was easier than walking into a library. There was no check-in, no guest list (though everyone allegedly had to RSVP by a certain date), and a quick look at the tournament roster showed that they were expecting twice as many people. But with only 10 [shal]PS3[/shal] kiosks set up, it’s good that things went the way they did. The tournament went by fast, and the staff, though very disorganized at the beginning, quickly adjusted and got things on track.

There was plenty of free food, everyone was enthusiastic, and there was even a free makeup booth where attendees could have fake injuries applied to their faces. A photo section was also set up in the west corner, where attendees could get photoshopped into the game, complete with health bars and the rest of the game’s interface. It was lots of fun, and I can only hope that Ignition holds more tournaments like these for its future titles.