WiiWare World has uploaded a new trailer of the Major League Eating video game to youtube.

Filefront has a video of people playtesting the game at Tuesday’s promotional event at Rockefeller Center. The blog entry says the game will be released in early June.

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(from an email) Crazy Legs Conti and Tim Janus appeared on this morning’s edition of “The Today Show” and competed in a one minute watermelon eating contest and then demoed the Major League Eating video game. The video can be viewed online.

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The blog for the Village Voice has an entry about this afternoon’s watermelon eating contest at Rockefeller Center between Tim Janus and Crazy Legs Conti. Conti won the six minute contest by one bite. After the first contest completed, Conti and Janus had a virtual watermelon eating contest by playing the Major League Eating video game. The blog entry closes with an announcement that an article about Tim Janus and Crazy Legs Conti will appear in the Village Voice this summer.

IFOCE.com also has a report about the event.

update AppScout has a blog entry about the event with pictures and videos, including a recording of the performances of Beautiful Brian and Badlands Booker.

update #2 Serious Eats has a gallery and MTV has a blog entry.

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Nintendo has put out a press release about the WiiWare games that will be released today. The Major League Eating game is not included in that document.

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Erik Denmark has a blog entry about his appearance on the Groz & Gas radio show today, which is available online. Erik talks about the Major League Eating video game and his compensation for it. Like Pat Bertoletti, he is not clear about the terms of the royalty agreement. He will attempt to qualify for Nathan’s in Kansas City, but makes no mention of tomorrow’s gyro contest in Houston.

There is also a press release for the MLE video game with descriptions of four of the game’s characters.

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Pat Bertoletti appeared on the Steve Dahl show today. One of the subjects was the upcoming Major League Eating video game and the compensation received:

6:23 Sometime during this week there’s going to be a Nintendo Wii competitive eating game. There’s new software for he Wii where you can download games, including the competitive eating game. It’ll feature Patrick, Joey Chestnut, The Black Widow, Kobayashi and 6 or 7 other eaters.
6:24 Patrick’s character looks freaky because they went with his mohawk and mustache look. All of the eaters got some money and were told there’d be royalties depending on games sold.
6:25 It sounds like it’s about time for Patrick to get representation. He doesn’t like the way he looks in the game and now he’s probably not getting as much money as he should be getting. He should have gotten money up front against the royalties.
6:26 Every eater got $500 up front but there were no specifics about the royalties. It sounds like he got ripped off.
6:27 Patrick signed a contract with the IFOCE and they own his image. That contract is up next year. We might have to go in and Urlacher it.

The press release for the Houston gyro contest lists Joey Chestnut, Pat Bertoletti, Bob Shoudt and Erik Denmark as expected entrants.

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Next-Gen.biz has a joint interview with developers of WiiWare games in which Bill Swartz, head of the company that developed the Major League Eating game, participates. He says that while future MLE games might appear on different platforms, they will not be ports of the upcoming game:

Swartz: Well, this game is for WiiWare, that is what it was developed for. In the future would I be open to doing other games using the characters and the settings and the universe? Yeah, of course. I really, really believe in Major League Eating and the franchise, but would I take this particular game and just move it over? No. This game is for WiiWare.

Swartz also says that the development team began work in September and that twelve employees formed its core.

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Contrary to Darren Rovell’s blog entry, the Major League Eating video game was not among the inaugural batch of six WiiWare games released yesterday.

Wired.com’s video game blog reports that it is apparently Nintendo’s policy to not announce a release schedule for WiiWare games.

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Darren Rovell reports in his CNBC blog that the Major League Eating video game is now available.

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A press release on gonintendo.com announces that a watermelon eating contest between Tim Janus and Crazy Legs Conti will take place at the Nintendo World Store at Rockefeller Center in New York City on May 20.

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• NY Magazine’s blog has an entry about the MLE video game reporting that eaters were paid for use of their electronic likenesses
• 1000 pound onion burger created in Oklahoma
• May 31 Jamaican boxing card to have eating contest
• “The View” discuss the G4 Network’s “Hurl”
• Variety columnist thinks “Hurl” will be televised on the Game Show Network
• Washington Redskin Randy Thomas ate 8 pounds of food in an hour at a barbecue in Maryland
• Jill Stoler ends her blogging hiatus and hopes to end her competitive eating hiatus at the Carnegie Deli pickle contest

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• OC Mex Food has a blog entry about the screening of the Levi Oliver documentary at the Newport Beach Film Festival
• A list of the winners in Mastiff’s MLE game gift certificate giveaway
• The Phillips crabcake contest returns to Maryland next weekend at the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival in Annapolis.
• A video of Ian Hickman doing a banana spilt challenge
• Shirota’s restaurant opens

The Indepedent of London has an article about the oyster eating challenge at Wintzell’s Oyster House in Mobile Alabama:

The genuine smile is harder to find in the US than anywhere else on earth. On the East and West coasts, people smile because they’re feeling smug. But in Alabama, people smile because they want you to be happy. It’s evident in the 1920s canteen-style interior of Wintzell’s, where the walls are covered with ancient, handwritten signs of folksy, homespun wisdom (“Unfortunately, there is a widespread view that the proper lubricant for a political machine is palm oil rather than elbow grease” is one example).

An Indepedent reporter took a tour with Famous Fat Dave in New York City.

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• Serious Eats on MLE video game
• Chestnut & Bertoletti expected to meet at Asparagus Festival April 26
• InsideNoVa on last week’s frozen custard eating contest
• Radio report on Sonya Thomas’ hot dog contest at the University of Mary Washington wins award
  
• 9 foot pizza made for festival
• 58 year old Fantasy science-fiction artist wins Flancer’s pizza eating contest
• Gallery of Collegiate Nationals qualifier

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Some more reports on the Major League Eating video game from last week’s Nintendo Game Summit:

• Destructoid “hands on” review. Has a screen capture of all the types of food in the game (above)
• GamePro preview
• GotGame overview
• Last Shepard’s favorite list
• Register Hardware writeup
• Worth Playing screen captures

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Attendees of last week’s Nintendo Game Summit are now free to report about the Major League Eating game and the following material has came out today:

• Go Nintendo review
• GameSpot report
• Wired.com blog entry
• Nintendo World Report review says game has boss and secret characters
• Game trailer of actual gameplay

Added 11:11 pm

• Joystiq overview
• Pure Nintendo summary
• GameDaily writeup

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Ripten reports that Mastiff Games held a promotional event for video game journalists in which Tim “Eater X” Janus ate 141 pieces of avocado sushi. The blog entry contains some additional details about game play:

To keep your gastrointestinal tract clear, you have to hold the A button and wiggle the Wiimote, which makes your character wiggle around to pack in the food. This is actually a real tactic that we saw employed by Eater X.

Depending on which food you are gorging on in the game, you will use different types of controls. I took part in a virtual jalapeno eating contest, where you “flipped” the remote to toss ‘em in your mouth. In the watermelon eating competition, you have to move the remote from side to side. Pressing the B button will chomp your teeth, but if you press it at the wrong time, you’ll bite your tongue instead.

As weird and disgusting as all of this sounds, this actually plays like a good party game.

IGN reports that the game could be played at the Nintendo Media Summit, but journalists cannot report details of the game until Tuesday.

update crave.cnet.com has a blog entry with a gallery and video of Janus’ exhibition.

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The new poll asks what expansion pack containing additional characters would you most like to see for the upcoming Major League Eating Video game.

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(From IGN.com) The website for the upcoming Major League Eating video game, MLEGame.com has been set up. The website has screen shots, videos (Badlands Booker provides a soundtrack for the trailer) and a list of the game’s characters: (from left to right in the cartoon above) bunette, Crazy Legs Conti, Rich LeFevre, paramedic, Kobayashi, El Toro, Sonya Thomas, Joey Chestnut, Pat Bertoletti, Juliet Lee, Tim Janus, Erik Denmark.

The official release date is May 12. A weekly drawing awarding gift certificates will be held for each of the 12 types of food in the game. Registration for the first drawing opens today.

Other links: Kotaku, direct link to game trailer

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Gamespot.com did an interview with Bill Swartz of Mastiff Games which includes clips from the upcoming Major League Eating video game. Crazy Legs Conti, Erik Denmark and Juliet Lee are some of the eaters appearing in those segments.

update Some screen captures are available after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Kotaku illustrates post about MLE game with picture of Gal Sone, who will probably not be in the game
Joystiq thread about MLE game
AICE sets up page about Collegiate Nationals
PittsburghLive.com article about pierogi contest to be MCed by Crazy Legs Conti
Somebody purchased SurfAndStillwell.com and might put a website there.
MegaMunch has a post about his office pizza contest
Come for the baseball stay for the food – Pittsburgh Pirates start all you can eat ticket (via the Big Lead)

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1up.com has a screen capture from the upcoming MLE video game showing Tim “Eater X” Janus and El Toro competing against each other. The score shows El Toro leading Eater X 10 hot dogs to 8. The game will debut as an exclusive to WiiWare, Nintendo’s upcoming downloadable game service for the Wii. WiiWare is expected to debut on May 12, but the MLE game does not have a price or projected release date. The game will use the Wii remote to simulate the action of eating competitively.

See also awn.com, ign.com Exophase.com has the full press release.

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1up.com has an interview with Bill Swartz, the head of Mastiff, the company developing the Major League Eating video game. Swartz says that the idea for the game was originally Mastiff’s:

We were looking for a product. We wanted to do a game with a under-appreciated IP that was still known by a large number of people. And the last thing we wanted to do was to try and be a mini-Activision or a mini-EA. I didn’t want to do robot soccer or baseball with penguins. And it’s [Mastiff Production Woof] Tom [Gaubatz], to his credit, he said, “Why don’t we do Major League Eating?” I called them up, frankly not knowing that much about it. I talked to them. And as we started this project, I fell head over heels in love. Major League Eating could be the best thing that has ever happened to me — as a human being, as a sports fan, as a game developer.

Bill Swartz also states that Joey Chestnut will appear in the game. He does not confirm any other names, but says there will be two beautiful female characters.

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(From Rhonda Evans) Joey Chestnut was interviewed by Ben & Matt on KNIX Country of Phoenix on February 13 to talk about the upcoming MLE video game. Joey is unable to provide any details about that project except for the fact that the IFOCE contract signs away video game rights. He does not disclose how much he was paid, if any, for the use of his electronic likeness but does say that he is looking for a good competitive eating agent.

Joey also says that he expects to break Badlands Booker’s matzo ball record in Houston and calls Kobayashi a “little liar” for claiming he had an injury in the 2007 Nathan’s finals.

Streaming audio of interview, Direct link to MP3 file of interview (9 MB, 9 minutes)

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A press release announces that Mastiff Games has acquired the rights to make a video game based on Major League Eating.

Major League Eating: The Game features the world’s greatest gurgitory athletes competing across twelve different food types. Built much like a fighting game, MLE: The Game requires players to show brilliant on-screen eating; a mastery of offensive and defensive weapons including burps, belches, and mustard gas; and of course the technical mastery necessary to avoid emptying one’s stomach in a vividly colored reversal of fortune.

ifoce.com has no additional information except for a link in the sidebar to the Mastiff home page. The platforms and expected release date for the game were not announced.

It will be interesting to see how much eaters receive, if any, for use of their electronic likenesses.

update This AFP article reports that Mastiff hopes to release the game in time for the July 4 Nathan’s finals.

Kotaku has a blog entry with 77 comments currently

Japanese article about the game

update #2 ripten has an interview with game developer Bill Swartz He says that eaters will have signature moves (Will the “Baby Bird” be one of them? 😉 ) and evades the question of whether game characters will be based on real world eaters.

update #3 The San Jose Mercury reports that Joey Chestnut will appear in the game.

update #4 SoupyTrumpet produced a demo of the game box (see above)

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(From GoNintendo) A trailer of the eating contest section of the Simpsons video game can be viewed at http://www.gametrailers.com/player/26884.html

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