Doritos and Microsoft team up to support fans and gamers

by: Tina - posted: 8/31/2009 4:31:00 PM

Doritos has put on an assortment of events and challenges in the past to prove their appreciation for gamers. One of the more notable ones was their initiation of Unlock Xbox, a design contest collaboration with Microsoft that puts game creation in the hands of the consumers. Last year’s competition was met with high appraise as the winner’s creation, Doritos Dash of Destruction, was the fastest to reach one million downloads on the Xbox Live Arcade platform.

Challenge and competition ring well with us gamers, and so the popularity of this contest comes as no surprise. Doritos Dash of Destruction was the first game on Live to be developed by a consumer, and now gamers are given the chance to make sure it is not the last.

Submissions for the next game will be taken starting today through October 4th of this year. The games will undergo an extensive review process after which two selected games will be developed for Xbox Live to be released in fall of 2010. The grand prize winner gets a $50,000 allowance for a gaming consultant project for Doritos. Casting your vote between November 29th and December 31st for the best game also gives you the opportunity to win prizes, so no one is left behind.

Doritos also hopes to prove their appreciation to gamers by holding yet another competition – Doritos MLG Skills Combine – where the League’s officials and pros will consider competitors for the MLG Pro Circuit.

You might think this is a marketing ploy, but at least us gamers get a little bit of publicity too.

Two User-Generated Game Concepts to be Developed Into Xbox LIVE® Arcade Games;

One Fan-Selected Winner Will Receive $50,000 Dream Assignment as
Doritos Gaming Consultant



Plano, TX (August 31, 2009) —As one of the leading consumer brands to
successfully cross over into the world of video games, Doritos
tortilla chips -- a flagship snack brand within PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay
division -- today announced it will once again offer the creative
opportunity of a lifetime to video game lovers with the chance to
design a new Xbox LIVE® Arcade game. Today marks the return of
“Unlock Xbox,” a ground-breaking video game design contest that puts
the creative control to design an Xbox LIVE Arcade game in consumers’
hands.

The Unlock Xbox contest, which is driven by a collaboration between
the Doritos brand and Microsoft, originated in 2007 and lead to the
creation of the record-breaking “Doritos Dash of Destruction,” the
first consumer-created Xbox LIVE Arcade game, which went on to become
the fastest Xbox LIVE Arcade game to reach one million downloads.

Starting today, people in North America are invited to submit game
concepts that embody the big, bold and intense spirit of the Doritos
brand, for the chance to have their idea developed into an Xbox LIVE
Arcade game for the Xbox 360. Fans can review the submission terms
and enter their ideas via video submission through October 4, 2009 at
www.unlockxbox.com.

“We are always looking for new ways to connect with fans and give them
unique opportunities to express their creativity in a way only Doritos
and our partners can deliver,” said Ann Mukherjee, group vice
president, marketing, Frito-Lay. “Many of the people who love Doritos
also love gaming, and this innovative program gives our fans a chance
to live their dreams.”

Ten quarter-finalists, which will be chosen by the Doritos brand and
Xbox 360 and announced by Xbox’s Major Nelson, will embark on the
journey of a lifetime as they compete to transform their game concept
into a reality. From in-person pitch meetings at Microsoft Game
Studios with the “Godfathers of Gaming” including Kudo Tsunoda, to an
online voting round, gamers will get to experience the incredible
process of bringing an Xbox LIVE Arcade game to life. Ultimately, two
will be developed into Xbox LIVE Arcade games available for download
in fall 2010, with one fan-selected grand prize winner scoring a
$50,000 gaming consultant project for Doritos.

“By bringing their brand to the Xbox LIVE audience, Doritos has the
opportunity to reach a subscriber base of more than 20 million.” said
Mark Kroese, general manager of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices
Advertising Business Group. “The first ‘Dinosaur Dash of Destruction
Game’ was a record breaker in terms of first week downloads. We’re
excited to see what this round of creativity brings.”

Giving video game fans and Doritos chip-lovers everywhere even more
reason to get in the game, between November 29, 2009 and December 31,
2009, visitors to www.unlockxbox.com will have a chance to instantly
win great prizes as they log on to cast their vote among the
finalists. Promotion details and rules will be available on
www.unlockxbox.com during the promotion period.

Further supporting its commitment to gaming fans, the Doritos brand
also is announcing a partnership to bring pro football’s combine
concept to the competitive video game world. The Doritos MLG Skills
Combine will be a nationwide, multi-day competition where amateur
players are put through their paces by MLG League officials and pros,
with an eye towards evaluating their potential for participation in
the MLG Pro Circuit.

The “Unlock Xbox” campaign is the latest evolution of the Doritos
brand turning over control to consumers. The brand’s commitment to
fan-empowerment began with the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” program,
which started in 2007 and has turned the brand’s Super Bowl
advertising over to its fans every year. In 2009, Crash the Super
Bowl achieved what many thought impossible when a consumer-created
Doritos spot took the top ranking in the annual USA Today Super Bowl
Ad Meter during Super Bowl XLIII.

In addition, the brand has put consumers in control through a variety
of other exciting opportunities, including “THE QUEST,” which engaged
fans in a multi-faceted online and real-world adventure of challenges;
"Doritos Late Night,” which provided Doritos fans ground-breaking
virtual musical performances by blink-182 and Big Boi through the
power of augmented reality technology; and the Doritos “X-13D Flavor
Experiment,” where consumers had a chance to name a new mysterious
flavor of chips.