[ad#article118-top]Pittco is a local LAN group here in Pittsburgh. The currently run the largest LAN party in Pittsburgh and their events are always fun. I have been going to Pittco events since they started and I was really excited for this event. Especially because with this event it was not all about PC gaming, there was a very large console section, which was never at a Pittco event before. I ventured out to Castle Shannon for Iron Storm X to game, watch some tournaments, and just have a good time. Let’s see what this 200 person event is all about!
Organization and Setup
I’ve been to a lot of LAN parties and it is not an easy thing to power over 100 computers and have a good network. So many times there have been power issues or lag issues while playing games. Luckily Pittco knows what they are going and have everything setup perfectly. They have custom power panels made and their network is setup very well with minimal lag issues.
One thing that every gamer looks forward to when going to a LAN party is the prizes! At Iron Storm X there was an abundance of prizes! They had cases, video cards, memory, power supplies, etc. ThinkComputers even provided about $400 worth of product for prizes. One thing that was really cool is that they had trophies this time. They were nothing great, but something that gamers could take home with them to show off.
Console Gaming
One of the biggest changes to Pittco was the encouragement of console gaming. Not only did they have a LARGE console section, the encouraged gamers to not only bring their PC, but to bring a console too and hook it up to their monitor. Most of the console section was sponsored by Recoil Gaming, who provided most of the Xbox’s and displays.
Usually at Pittco there would be 1, maybe 2 console gaming tournaments, and they would be small but there were quite a few this time. Pittco hosted Halo 3, Gears of War 2, Super Mash Bros Brawl, and NHL09 tournaments. That is sure a lot of tournaments for non PC people! The large console section sure brought a whole new crowd to Pittco; it was good to see that.
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