Floyd’s 99 Barbershop Presents Video Game Tournaments

The Texas Testosterone Festival is proud to announce Video Game Tournaments Presented by Floyd’s 99 Barbershop will be held on Sunday, August 16 on the Featured Event stage. The tournaments will be managed by Gamerz. Madden 10, Call of Duty 4, UFC Undisputed, Need for Speed, Halo 3, Soul Calibur 4, and other games will be featured with great prizes available to the competitors.

One look around Floyd’s 99 Barbershop and you’ll know you’ve found someplace special.The talents and personalities of their people guarantee you’ll have an excellent Floyd’s 99 experience. They keep it easy. You can just walk-in to a Floyd’s 99 Barbershop, but if you prefer, you can also call-ahead to get your name on the waiting list. Floyd’s has shops conveniently located in North Austin at 10515 N Mopac (just North of 183) and in South Austin at 5601 Brodie Lane.

Gamerz Videogame Exchange is located in Lakeline Mall and caters to both casual and hardcore gamers alike.  We will announce more details on the tournaments as we get closer.

FAQ from moms… Will The Texas Testosterone Festival be family-friendly?

The answer is, we will be discouraging cursing in our Featured Event areas, there will be no adult novelty or strip clubs exhibiting, but there will be lots and lots of girls in bikinis. Lots. And there will be plenty of testosterone flying around too. It’s a Testosterone Festival, after all.

The easiest answer is we encourage accompanying your child. That goes for adults and children. To be safe, we recommend coming with a large group of family members. Tickets are available here online.

The video game industry refuses to be recession-proof

“So how can publishers lose money amid such incredible sales and record growth? The answer is simple: They’re spending more than they’re bringing in. Game development budgets have ballooned, and publishers are reeling because they can’t keep the costs under control.”–www.slate.com

The economy, while dour, isn’t affecting the video game industry the same way it is the rest of the economy. Traditionally, entertainment industries, providing an escape, have done well, or not as badly as other parts of the economy in rough times. People want to forget what’s happening, get away from the reality. What better way than through video games? They can provide quite a bit of time away from reality; just ask my World of Warcraft-addicted room mate. On second thought, don’t bother him. He’s close to leveling up his Warlock Elvin Mage Wizard Thief thing.

It looks like the way forward might be more games like Valve’s Portal, and less games like Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto. It’ll be interesting to see what adjustments the big guys (like EA, Rockstar and Activision) make, if any at all.

Legal Kombat

“The language of the motion, which seeks to protect the interests of holders of $150 million of senior Midway debt, comes close to alleging fraudulent insider dealing.” “The motion also digs into the shadowy relationship between former Midway owner Sumner Redstone and mysterious purchaser Mark Thomas.”–www.gamepolitics.com

I did kind of wonder about Midway, publishers of such video game classics as Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam, and, let’s not forget, video game forgetful Area 51. Not to mention, they were also publishers of some pretty cool pinball games like The Addams Family. I must’ve contributed over 50 bucks in quarters alone to that thing. It was all worth it. Memories…

Gamecock shuts down

The Austin American Statesman recently blogged that Gamecock would be shutting it’s doors. “Gamecock had been a game publishing house that worked with game developers to help them bring their games to market.

Miller and Wilson had spoken enthusiastically in the past about Gamecock’s business model, which emphasized publishing games developed by smaller game studios and giving these developers better terms and more control over the intellectual property.”

Let’s hope that their vision and ingenuity isn’t lost in this, the area’s biggest video game industry-related casualty. It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t hold on until the Governor’s plan hits full stride (see http://www.texastestosteronefestival.com/wow-the-gov-advocates-gaming/).

But, really. Gamecock? Suggested names for better success if they start up again: Not Gamecock, Gamemalegenitalia, Electronic Farts, My Game Company Can Beat Up Your Game Company, Gamepwndlolrofll33t.

WoW, the Gov. advocates gaming?…

“Governor Perry has said he wants to make the state the leader in the industry. He has vowed to push lawmakers this session to increase incentives to lure more game makers here.”–www.keyetv.com/news/local

Or at least, he’s advocating the industry and it’s growth. There’s been a bit of a dip in the amount of game industry-ing being done here in the greater Austin area, but the Governor looks to be attempting to change that. Let’s cross our fingers that this town with such a creative energy can stake a claim to a creative industry ripe for exploitation.

It’s my party and I’ll game if I want to

Kotaku is a well-known and respectable Japanese gaming magazine. They lay down the dos and don’ts of throwing a video game party. And, yes, you can punch them in the face if they dump a 2-liter on your PS3.

“Have Cleaning Supplies on Standby – Spills happen, controllers might get Cheeto’d, or maybe you picked a snack that exploded down the front of your friend’s shirt. Whatever happens, be ready to apply cleaning fluids to the site of the mess and don’t make whoever’s responsible feel bad. Unless they upended an entire two liter on top of your PS3 – then you can punch them in the face.”

EGM dead, 1UP still alive?

For those video game fans out there, Electronic Gaming Monthly has been a constant and reliable source for video game news and excitement for quite some time. Ziff Davis (the owners of EGM) have sold the company and laid off a bunch of people that simply don’t deserve to be laid off (see any video podcast episode of the 1UP Show for evidence of their mastery). We’re all crossing our fingers that the 1UP Network remains and grows, but this is a sad day for the video game entertainment world and its fans. No more EGM Magazine guys.