Microsoft, Doritos Reveal XBLA Competition Finalists

The Doritos brand announced today that five finalists have been selected from more than 2,300 submissions to the Doritos "Unlock Xbox" challenge, a contest which invited fans to invent an original Xbox Live Arcade game concept that best embodied the "bold spirit" of the Doritos brand. The five finalists will now begin working side-by-side with Xbox Live Arcade development teams to build fully playable beta versions of their game concepts, which will be available to American audiences on the contest's website at the end of October. Consumer votes will determine the winner, announced in November 2007, to be developed for Xbox 360 into a full scale Xbox LIVE Arcade game. Once released in summer 2008, fans everywhere will be able to download and play the winning game on XBLA for free. Consumers can also contribute feedback on the final five concepts at the website now through October 28, 2007; fan comments will be considered by the finalists and Xbox Live Arcade development teams as they develop working versions of each game concept. The five finalists (in alphabetical order) are: 1. Doritos Dinosaur Dash by Mike Borland of Sewickley, PA 2. Doritos Presents UDC: Ultimate Dodgeball Champions by Devan Moore of Panama City, FL 3. Monkeys from Mt. Dorito by Juanito Lagasco, III of Algonquin, IL 4. PB's Quest for Flavor by Jeremy Mattsen of Colorado Springs, CO 5. Rythum Racing by Kenneth Parker of Warner Robins, GA Between August 20 and November 18, 2007, fans can also participate in online promotions by visiting the website for a chance to win prizes like Xbox 360 consoles, Xbox Live Gold subscriptions and more. "With thousands of great ideas to choose from, we really had to ask ourselves, what about this game stands out?" explained Bryan Trussel, director of content and portals, Microsoft Casual Games. "After narrowing it down to entries that met the outlined judging criteria, we embraced the five concepts that we felt would be the most fun for fans to play in Xbox LIVE Arcade on Xbox 360. The finalists' ideas represent such a wide variety of gaming tastes, there really is something out there for everyone to enjoy."