PANASONIC PROJECTOR SYSTEMS COMPANY PARTNERS WITH MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING TO SPONSOR PRO GAMER TOM "TSQUARED" TAYLOR
Pro Gamer Has Tested and Will Promote Panasonic's PT-AX200U, the First Home Theater Projector Designed with Gaming in Mind
SECAUCUS, N.J. - March 5, 2008 - Panasonic Projector Systems Company (PJSC), Unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America, today announced its partnership with Major League Gaming (MLG), the professional video game league, to work with one of their top ranked professional gamers, Tom "Tsquared" Taylor. Tsquared has tested the "Game mode" on the new PT-AX200U home theater projector and found that it is the first projector to deliver a high-quality, gaming experience. The high definition 720p projector will remove virtually any lag in response time and expands detail reproduction, revealing gradation in saturated areas that are otherwise lost to darkness.
Tsquared, one of the top ranked professional Halo players, is a leading member of the Halo team, Str8 Rippin. Over the last two years, Tsquared has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, ranked #1 by Stuff Magazine in the "Top 20 Under 30 Power List", starred in MTV's "True Life: I want to be a professional gamer," and featured on G4TV's "XPlay" gaming tutorial. At the age of 20, Tsquared has become one of the most recognized professional video game celebrities in the industry.
"I'm very excited to work with Panasonic Projector Systems Company in this new partnership. Panasonic's AX200 is truly in a class by itself. This is the only projector I'll ever need to use. I practice on it at home before tournaments, use it for casual gaming and it's great for watching sports with my friends" said pro gamer Tom "Tsquared" Taylor.
"We recognized the growing gaming market, both recreational and professional, and designed a quality home theater projector that caters to gamers' needs. We're excited to partner with Major League Gaming and one of their top ranked professional gamers, who both agree that Panasonic's AX200 offers a superior experience for gaming," said Thomas Zitelli, president of Panasonic Projector Systems Company.
Tsquared joined PJSC at this year's International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV to promote and demonstrate the PT-AX200U to reporters and attendees. He will participate in events and promotional opportunities throughout the year with the Panasonic Projector Systems Company team and can be seen at the following MLG ( www.mlgpro.com) Pro Circuit events:
· MLG Pro Circuit Event 1, April 11-13: Meadowlands, NJ
· MLG Pro Circuit Event 2, June 13-15: San Diego, CA
· MLG Pro Circuit Event 3, July 11-13: Orlando, FL
· MLG Pro Circuit Event 4, August 22-24: Toronto
· MLG Pro Circuit Event 5, October 3-5: Dallas, TX
To learn more about the brand new AX200 projector, please visit www.panasonic.com/projectors
About Major League Gaming
Major League Gaming is North America's first professional videogame league, and its only sanctioning body for pro gaming. MLG operates the multi-city MLG Pro Circuit, presented by GameStop and powered by Xbox 360; produces compelling competitions for national television, broadband and mobile distribution; and exclusively represents the best gamers in the world. It also operates a thriving online community and online tournaments for millions of gamers at mlgpro.com. MLG, founded in 2002, is based in New York City and is privately held.
About the Panasonic AX200
The new Panasonic PT-AX200U model is the next evolution of its award-winning predecessor, the PT-AX100U, which was the worldwide market leader in the 720p native resolution class of projectors in September 2007 (source: Pacific Media Associates). The PT-AX200U ships with a new Game mode so consumers can enjoy playing their favorite video games. The AX200 is also great for watching hi-def movies, in any room in your home. According to the Entertainment Software Association, game console sales reached approximately 240 million units during 2006 and Panasonic is poised to begin capturing this market. Compared with Panasonic's prior model, the new projector's gaming mode provides a 60 percent faster response time using the controller buttons. Gamers can also program and save up to eight settings for games or movies, making it easy to view the content as they wish. In addition, picture quality characteristics have been specifically tuned to reveal more image details that were previously not as visible in very dark or over-saturated areas that are prevalent in many games.
About Panasonic Projector Systems
Panasonic Projector Systems Company is a prominent supplier of projectors and presentation systems in the United States. It is a unit of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE:MC) of Japan, and the hub of its U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. For more information on Panasonic Projector Systems products, visit the company's Web site at www.panasonic.com/projectors.
Press Contacts:
Tori Pugliese
Panasonic Projector Systems Company
212-798-9860
tori_pugliese@cohnwolfe.com
Tara Naughton
Panasonic Projector Systems Company
212-798-9831
tara_naughton@cohnwolfe.com