Let the games begin - Rock band uses video games as opening act

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- Now opening for the dark-rock band Evanescence: Luke Skywalker, extreme snowboarders and the claymation man-and-dog duo Wallace and Gromit.

Seeking new eyeballs and thumbs for its video games, Nintendo is using the Evanescence tour to showcase game characters at kiosks installed in concert venues. It's the latest cross-pollination between games and music, as record labels seek to introduce unknown bands and console manufacturers piggyback on big music acts.

"For me it just made sense to give people more of a good time," Evanescence guitarist Ben Moody said before the tour's inaugural show last week at the Universal Amphitheatre outside Los Angeles.

"We've got these GameCubes set up everywhere. I just wanted more of an event. Nintendo, it's like -- since I was 2 or whatever -- that's a good time. That's how you do it. It's just more entertainment," Moody said.

Evanescense's album "Fallen" has sold about 1.8 million copies since it debuted in March, fueled by the omnipresent radio play of "Bring Me To Life." The Nintendo Fusion Tour also includes Cold, Revis and alternately Cauterize and Finger Eleven.

Product association

At the kiosks, players can sample the GameCube or GameBoy Advance snowboarding game "1080: Avalanche," the futuristic racer "F-Zero GX," the latest "Star Wars" adventure "Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike" and the comical cartoon-style "Wallace and Gromit in Project Zoo."

Meanwhile, Microsoft's Xbox sponsored this summer's Lollapalooza tour and set up "GameRiot" tents to let ticketholders play against each other in games such as "Tony Hawk's Underground," "Midtown Madness 3" and "Return to Castle Wolfenstein."

Game makers want to earn street credentials by associating their products with the hard-living youth lifestyle, while music labels often introduce new bands or songs through video game soundtracks.

In a recent survey of about 1,000 gamers, about 32 percent said they discovered a new band through a video game. Among hardcore gamers, categorized as those who buy more than 12 games a year, the number was about 50 percent. The survey was conducted by Ziff Davis Media, which publishes PC Magazine and Electronic Gaming Monthly.

The pro-football simulator "Madden NFL 2003" has been credited with jump starting the career of OK Go by prominently featuring the group's arena-rock anthem "Get Over It." But game soundtracks aren't solely the domain of lesser-known acts -- many top-tier artists are getting in on the digital experience.

"Madden NFL 2003" also featured songs by Bon Jovi and Andrew W.K., while the recent wrestling game "Def Jam Vendetta" features digital versions of rappers such as Ludacris, DMX and Redman brawling beneath their own pulsing beats.

Sometimes, however, games can distract fans from the music -- especially at a concert.

At the Universal Amphitheatre, while hundreds were inside listening to the opening acts, scores of others played games outside to pass the hours before Evanescence took the stage.

Peter Wurster, 23, a debt-management supervisor from Burbank, steered a sleek racer through the streets of "F-Zero GX" and said he discovered Revis through its song "Caught in the Rain" on the "MVP Baseball 2003" game.

But he was more captivated by the games than seeing Revis perform.

"A lot of people are pulled out and they're just hypnotized by video games," he said about the small crowds gathered around the kiosks. "So if I was playing onstage, I'd probably be (ticked) off that the video games are out here."