OFFICIAL RULES FOR "SEISMIC Showdown" TOURNAMENT (the "Tournament")

Sponsored by: GameSpot, a division of CNET Networks, Inc. (referred to herein as "CNET" or "Sponsor")

The Tournament is open to all registered subscribers of GameSpot. NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Your entry constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and Regulations.

OFFICIAL RULES:

To enter, go to http://www.gamespot.com/tournaments/quake4dec05/index.php and provide your name, e-mail address, date of birth, address, and country of residence. Registration will begin on Monday, December 12, 2005, at 4:00 p.m. PDT and end on Thursday, December 15, 2005, at 2:00 p.m. PDT. The first sixty-four (64) registrants will be accepted as contestants in the Tournament. The next sixty-four (64) registrants will be accepted on a waiting list. Wait-listed contestants will be chosen to participate in the Tournament, based on the order in which they registered, if a contestant is not available to participate at the time of their Tournament match. Contestants will be notified via e-mail about the Tournament schedule and their allotted time slot for the qualifying round. Contestants must follow the instructions provided in the notification e-mail to participate.

The Tournament is open to legal residents of the United States and Canada who are at least 13 years of age on December 12, 2005, except employees and their immediate families of Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, and its advertising and promotion agencies. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.

No purchase or payment necessary to enter. The Tournament begins December 15, 2005, at 4:00 p.m. PT and ends December 16, 2005, at 9:00 p.m. PT.

To participate:

• The Tournament is open to US and Canadian residents only.
• You must have QUAKE 4 with the latest 1.04 patch installed.
• Communication utilizing the global text chat is not allowed during matches and is only to be used by Tournament staff. Any contestant that is participating in the Tournament and chooses to ignore this rule may be disqualified at the discretion of the Tournament staff.
• While GameSpot's high-speed US-based servers generally provide great performance to North American residents, it is advised that all contestants check their connection quality before the day of the Tournament to confirm they can compete comfortably on GameSpot West Coast servers. Practice servers will be available to registrants of the Tournament in advance.
• Any disorderly behavior disqualifies contestants from participation, finals, or prizes. This determination can be made by Tournament staff at any time.
• Contestants should arrive in the Seismic Showdown chat channel at least 10 minutes before their assigned time slot. An admin will be taking roll call starting 20 minutes before the assigned time. Late arrivals and no-shows for the Preliminary round will give up their slots to those on the waiting list.
• Contestants will start a match by joining the tournament server from their in game server list. The servers will be named "GameSpot: Seismic Showdown #1" or "GameSpot: Seismic Showdown #X".
• Contestants should wait in the ready room chat for an announcement from a Tournament admin before joining the Tournament server.

Match Format
The top four players that advance from each time slot during the Preliminaries will move on to the Semifinals. Each day of the Tournament will utilize a different game mode.

Day One - Preliminaries

• The server will be set using the tourney mode built into QUAKE 4.
• Preliminary round--64 players compete in one-on-one matches.
• During the Preliminary round, 16 players will compete in one of four time slots. Each time slot will allow 16 players to duke it out for 15 minutes, which will eliminate half of the players per round. Eight players then play another 15-minute game, yielding four players. The next game yields two players, and then finally one player emerges victorious. That one player becomes one of the "top four" and proceeds to day two as described below.
• Warm-up period will begin with 120 seconds for the first round, but continued rounds during tourney mode will only have 60 seconds.
• Even though the tourney mode built into QUAKE 4 may state that you are moving on to the Semifinals or Finals through the bracket system, you have not won the entire Tournament until you have completed day-two Semifinal and Final rounds, which are run manually by GameSpot admins and staff.
• A total of four players from the Preliminaries will move on to the Semifinals on day two.
• The Lost Fleet map will be played for the entire Preliminary round.

Day Two - Semifinals & Finals

• Once the top-four players have been determined during the Preliminaries, the servers will be switched to DM (deathmatch) mode to finish the Semifinals and Finals.
• Each game will be played with a 15-minute time limit, each with a 60-second warm-up.
• The Fragging Yard 1 vs 1 will be played for the Semifinals and Finals.

Restrictions:

• Any disorderly behavior disqualifies contestants from participation, finals, or prizes. Tournament staff is the final arbiter in all situations, and it has the final say in every situation, including Tournament chat. Please refrain from using harassing, negative, or profane language both in the Tournament chat or the game server.
• No cheats or hacks of any kind are to be used. This includes taking advantage of known exploits in the game. If a Tournament staff member finds that you are cheating, you will be disqualified from the Tournament immediately, with no recourse for yourself, and further disqualified from any future tournaments in which GameSpot is involved.
• Spectator mode is reserved for Tournament staff only; no player should ever be in spectator mode.
• Default models and skins will be used. The use of custom skins is prohibited in this Tournament. Tournament Format
• All matches will be played on GameSpot West Coast servers.
• The following maps will be used: The Lost Fleet for the Preliminary round and The Fragging Yard 1 vs 1 for the Semifinal and Final matches. The exhibition match against a professional gamer will be played on a map that will be announced at the event.
• Your score is determined by the total number of kills in a match, accumulated over the course of the one 15-minute round.
• If two competitors end up tied, sudden death will occur, whereas the FIRST player to get a kill is dubbed the winner from that match and moves on.

Preliminaries Server Settings:

Game Mode - Tourney
Time Limit - 15 minutes per round
Frag Limit - none
Weaponstay - off
Ready mode - off
Warm-up - 2 minutes for first round, continued rounds with 60 seconds
Punkbuster - Enabled
Map - The Lost Fleet

Semifinals & Finals Server Settings:

Game Mode - DM
Time Limit - 15 minutes
Frag Limit - none
Weaponstay - off
Ready mode - off
Warm-up - 60 seconds
Punkbuster - Enabled
Map - The Fragging Yard 1 vs 1

Prizes:
First Place - The Tournament winner will receive a $750 gift certificate to NewEgg.com.

BONUS! If the Tournament winner defeats KorneliaTakacs in the Pro-Gamer Challenge, he/she will receive an additional $250 gift certificate to NewEgg.com.

Second Place - The Tournament runner-up will receive a $500 gift certificate to NewEgg.com.

Third Place - The two third-place players will receive a $250 gift certificate to NewEgg.com.

All federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winner. 1099 tax statements will be filed with the IRS for winners of prizes having a value of more than $600.00, or as otherwise required by Internal Revenue Code. Sponsor will arrange for delivery of all prizes.

Entrants agree to abide by the terms of these official rules and by the decisions of the Sponsor(s), which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Tournament.

All winners will be notified by e-mail. Any prize notification or prize returned to the sponsor as undeliverable will be forfeited. Except where prohibited by law, the winner consents to the use of their name and entry in any manner by Sponsor and its advertising and promotion agencies without further compensation. Neither Sponsor, nor its affiliates, subsidiaries, divisions, or related companies are responsible for any damages, taxes, or expenses that the winners might incur as a result of this Tournament or receipt of prizes. Winners accepting prizes agree that all prizes are awarded on the condition that Sponsor and its agents, representatives, affiliates, and employees will have no liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind resulting from acceptance, possession, or use of the prizes. Winner further acknowledges that Sponsor is not responsible or liable for any warranty, representation, or guarantee express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to any prize, including, but not limited to, its quality, mechanical condition, or fitness. Winner may make no substitutions or transfer of prize. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

If for any reason the online portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of Sponsor, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Tournament, Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to postpone the Tournament until a later date. Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, or other failure of or related to the software platform on which the Tournament is played. Sponsor is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or entry to be received by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web site, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to participant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in this Tournament.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR APPLICATION OR TO UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE TOURNAMENT IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH ENTRANT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

By entering this Tournament, you agree and consent that any information you provide upon entering may be used by Sponsor in accordance with its privacy policy, available at http://www.cnet.com/html/aboutcnet/editorial/privacy.html?tag=ft. If you do not want your information used in this manner do not enter this Tournament.