It will also be a prelude to the Lighting of the Beacon of Gondor, a national ladder event, sponsored by NVIDIA, which will pit gamers and game centers against one another in a series of weekly competitions. The ladder competitions run from January 5-March 6, 2005 and will offer gamers the chance to win cash and prizes worth over $3000.

“It’s great to be hosting an event for such a popular video game franchise,” said Mark Nielsen, Executive Director of iGames. “We’ve done premiers before with Electronic Arts, but nothing on this scale. The response from both gamers and game center owners has been incredible.”

“The multiplayer experience in The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth is a fantastic way to pit your skills against competitors from across the country and around the world,” said Mike Maser, Director of Marketing at EA. “We’re excited that iGames is giving our fans the ability to take advantage of this social aspect of our game in a really dynamic forum.”

Experience Middle-earth like never before in The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth, the first The Lord of the Rings game that puts you in command of the characters from all three movies. Control the legendary heroes, massive armies, and epic campaigns of Middle-earth in over 25 missions based on all three films of The Lord of the Rings™ trilogy. From waging all-out combat among the vast forces of good and evil to controlling your favorite heroes and characters to managing the troops and resources of your side, the fate of a living, breathing Middle-earth is in your hands.

Officially licensed by New Line Cinema, The Lord of The Rings, The Battle for Middle Earth was developed at EA’s Los Angeles studio. The game is rated “T” (Teen) with descriptor violence by the ESRB and has a US MSRP of $49.99.

For a complete list of iGames game centers where the premier will be held, visit here...