EA’s BE THE ONE event returned to London’s iconic Trafalgar Square as part of this year’s London Games Festival. Between October 30th and November 1, the British public was able to play the latest EA games, get their hands on a host of yet-to-be-released titles, and compete for the chance to challenge a host of celebrities live on stage in front of thousands – all for free.
BE THE ONE debuted at last year’s London Games Festival 2007 and was attended by approx 30,000. The show was headlined by artists including The Hoosiers, Kelly Rowland and Ash.
The gaming continues in a shopping mall near you..
For gamers that missed the action at BE THE ONE in Trafalgar Square, EA’s Christmas tour is about to hit the road. Visiting major cities and shopping malls across the country, EA will give gamers the opportunity to get their hands on many of the latest EA games. FIFA 09 fans will also be able to take part in qualifiers for the FIFA Interactive World Cup.
From Friday 28th November until Sunday 21st December, EA will showcase a stunning Christmans line up of games at the following major shopping malls:
• Arndale, Macnchester
• Lakeside, Thurrock
• Westfield, London
• Bullring, Birmingham
• Meadowhall, Sheffield
• Metro Centre, Newcastle
This year’s BE THE ONE 2008 was bigger in every way. The event saw the number of people attending more than double to close to 70,000 during the course of the multi-day event.
EA’s “BattleDome†was the largest freestanding structure to have ever been built in Trafalgar Square – measuring in at 40m x 20m x 12m.
The Battledome and surrounding tents contained more than 150 gaming machines including handheld and next-gen consoles and high-performance Dell XPS gaming PCs all providing the public with the opportunity to play 25 titles from EA and EA Partners:
FIFA 09; TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 09; NBA LIVE 09; MADDEN NFL 09; EA SPORTS CELEBRITY SPORTS SHOWDOWN; SKATE IT; ROCK BAND; ROCK BAND 2; MIRROR’S EDGE; NEED FOR SPEED:UNDERCOVER; COMMAND & CONQUER:RED ALERT 3; HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX; HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE; THE SIMPSONS GAME; ZUBO; LITTLEST PET SHOP; FAMILY GAME NIGHT; MONOPOLY; BOOM BLOX; BOOGIE SUPERSTAR; MYSIMS KINGDOM; SIMS 2; SPORE; SIMS 2 APARTMENT PETS; WARHAMMER ONLINE: AGE OF RECKONING.
Fourteen international and UK music acts performed on the BE THE ONE stages during the event – Kelly Rowland, The Saturdays, Sam Beeton, Natasha Bedingfield, McFly, Airbourne, The Automatic, My Federation, Hot Leg, blackcowboy, Sway, Zarif, Lyracis and The Young Punx. On-stage gaming challenges featured celebrities such as free-running wizard Sebastien Foucan and property expert Sarah Beeny. Gemma Atkinson also appeared at the official UK launch of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, a live web-streamed two-hour celebration of the game for more than 400 fans and VIP guests.
Eight presenters invited celebrity challengers and members of the public for contests on the main stage on a vast number of the latest EA games. Presenters included Dave Berry, Reggie Yates, JK & Joel, Laura Marks, Carole Machin, Sarah-Jane Crawford and Zoe Hardman.
This year’s BE THE ONE event attracted brand partners BE BROADBAND, COKE ZERO & DELL as well as HMV as retail partner.
Image courtesy of Electronic Arts