Corey Olcsvary, his head shaved and body painted blue, popped a squirming meal worm into his mouth. Then he chewed and swallowed.
After gulping down 14 more worms and seven crickets, the 19-year-old college student was declared grand-prize winner for performing the wackiest stunt at Nintendo Co's "Cube Club," a traveling show the company is staging in major US cities to promote its new GameCube video-game console. His award: a GameCube and US$5,000.
"They were moving around in my mouth, but once I got the first one down, I knew I could finish them," said Olcsvary, who attends Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and was painted to look like a character from Nintendo's new "Pikmin" game.
"I've been hooked on Nintendo ever since I played the original `Mario Bros.' I just love Nintendo that much that I went all-out."
Nintendo and Microsoft Corp, which is entering the US$20 billion worldwide video-game market for the first time with Xbox, are showing off their new consoles as they prepare to put the rival systems on sale in a little more than a week. The rollouts come at a crucial time for the industry, which gets more than half of sales during the holiday season.
Microsoft, the biggest software maker, needs to show game enthusiasts what Xbox can do. Nintendo, with a loyal following among pre-teens, wants to lure older customers.
"Microsoft is the new player. Nintendo is a very well-established brand, but it really wants to get into other audiences," said Schelley Olhava, an analyst with market researcher IDC. "It doesn't want to be known as the kiddie company."
Both companies are luring gamers to events with freebies ranging from fast food to new Ford Motor Co trucks.
Xbox, which will cost US$299, goes on sale Nov. 15, followed by the US$199 GameCube on Nov. 18.
Microsoft's "Xbox Odyssey" tour and Cube Club both opened in San Francisco last week. The events featured blaring music, darkened arenas and plenty of games.
At Cube Club, in a storefront across the street from Fisherman's Wharf, about 30 GameCubes were available, attached to Panasonic TVs from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Players could try out games such as "Luigi's Mansion" and "Rogue Leader."
"Everyone realizes that Nintendo has the 6 to 14 age group locked up," said James Lin, an analyst who follows the game industry for Jefferies & Co. "They will take their shots at the older crowd."
Techno music and strobe lights helped make the atmosphere more adult-friendly. An age minimum of 21 is imposed on some nights.
Nintendo also gave away comic books and video magazines to everyone who attended.
Olcsvary was invited to compete for the grand prize after he submitted a written statement describing the stunt he would perform.
Cube Clubs will appear in 12 cities until Nov. 17, the day before GameCube goes on sale. This weekend, Nintendo plans to open clubs in Seattle, Dallas and New York.
Xbox Odyssey was held in an inflatable white dome on a pier on San Francisco Bay. Inside, gamers played titles such as science-fiction shooter "Halo," Tecmo Ltd's "Dead or Alive 3" and "Shrek" from TDK Mediactive Inc. There were 54 Xbox consoles connected to TVs made by Thomson Multimedia SA's RCA.
Peter Ung, 25, saw Xbox for the first time at the event yesterday.
"`Halo' was pretty awesome," said Ung, a longtime gamer who is a salesman with Cingular Wireless.
While Xbox Odyssey and Cube Club may help Microsoft and Nintendo attract die-hard gamers and spread awareness of their consoles, it's unclear if either company can overtake industry leader Sony Corp, analysts said.
"It's iffy," Ung said, when asked if he plans to buy an Xbox. "I am pretty excited about Xbox and GameCube. But PlayStation 2 has the weight behind it because it has the most software."
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