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Telltale and Valve blur the line between TF2 and Poker Night

by: Chad -
More On: Poker Night at The Inventory
Here is a good idea: create a poker game that allows players to buy into a round with unlockable Team Fortress 2 items. If the player wins the round, then those items will be available for them to use in Team Fortress 2Poker Night at the Inventory will do just that.  Some of the items already announced are:
  • The Iron Curtain - weapon for use by the Heavy
  • Max's Handgun - for use by the Scount and Engineer
  • Max's Police badge - for use by all players
  • Wrist watch from Penny Arcade's Tycho - for use by the Spy
  • Strong Bad's Dangeresque sunglasses - for use by the Demoman
Any gamers that pre-order Poker Night at the Inventory will get a poker visor for use by the Heavy.  I really like this cross game promotion.  What do you think?

Telltale's Poker Night at the Inventory Raises the Stakes with Six Exclusive Team Fortress 2 Items!
Five items unlockable in game, plus all pre-order customers get the Poker Visor for the Heavy


SAN RAFAEL, CA -- Nov 3 2010 -- Telltale Game's Pilot Program title, Poker Night at The Inventory, is showing new cards as it prepares for release later this month by revealing the details of exclusive Team Fortress 2 items players can win in the game. Poker Night at The Inventory brings together Team Fortress 2's Heavy, Penny Arcade's Tycho, Homestar Runner's Strong Bad and Max from the Sam & Max series in a raucous smack-talking game of poker unlike any card game you've ever played.

Poker Night at the Inventory includes special rounds periodically where characters will buy in with un-lockable Team Fortress 2 items. If the player wins the round, the item becomes theirs to use in TF2.

Featured items:

* "The Iron Curtain" weapon, for use by the Heavy in TF2

* Max's Lugermorph handgun for use by the Scout and the Engineer in TF2; and Max's Freelance Police badge wearable by any player in TF2

* Wrist watch from Penny Arcade's Tycho for the Spy in TF2

* Styling "Dangeresque" sunglasses anted in by Strong Bad, wearable by Demoman in TF2

As an added bonus, all fans who pre-order Poker Night at The Inventory from Telltale Games or through Steam will receive a poker visor for the Heavy.

Poker Night at The Inventory will be available for PC and Mac in November for $4.95 and is now available for pre-order at Steam and www.telltalegames.com/pokernight.

About Telltale, Inc.

Telltale is a leading independent digital publisher of cinematic adventures playable on every major gaming platform. Telltale is also the pioneer of episodic delivery of content developing games as series and successfully releasing on a schedule to create a longer consumer engagement for each release. Founded in 2004 by LucasArts veterans with decades of experience, Telltale has quickly become an industry leader, establishing the model for successful episodic game creation and digital publishing. Telltale has sold more than 5 million episodes since 2005. Telltale's reputation for quality has been established across more than 25 published releases that have cumulatively earned an average Metacritic score above 80%. Telltale's titles have won numerous awards including, "Adventure Game of the Year" accolades from publications such as IGN, PC Gamer, GameSpy, and Adventure Gamers, and have been recognized by mainstream outlets ranging from USA Today, to The New York Times to Vari ety. Telltale currently develops and publishes episodic series on PlayStation (R)3, PC, Mac, Wii TM, Xbox 360 TM and iPad.

About Penny Arcade

Equal parts online comic and commentary, Penny Arcade (www.penny-arcade.com) keeps its finger on the pulse of the gaming industry, prompting conversation and controversy alike from community members to industry experts. What started as a hobby in 1998 for Jerry "Tycho" Holkins and Mike "Gabe" Krahulik has grown into an online phenomenon serving over 70 million page views a month to millions of readers worldwide. In addition to the comic strip and PAX (www.paxsite.com), Penny Arcade has expanded its reach to include a growing line of merchandise, a video game and management of Child's Play (www.childsplaycharity.org), a gamer-driven charity for children that spans the globe.

About Homestar Runner

Homestar Runner was conceived in 1996 by Mike Chapman and friend Craig Zobel as an idea for a weird kids' book they would only make a few photocopies of for friends. In 2000, Mike and brother Matt dusted off the idea and launched HomestarRunner.com, featuring the Flash-animated exploits of the characters. Since 2002, they have updated with new cartoons almost every week including the popular feature 'Strong Bad Email' in which fans get their emails answered by the cartoon's charming antagonist, Strong Bad. Mike and Matt write and animate the cartoons with Matt and Missy Palmer providing voices for the characters. The site has been featured and mentioned in the New York Times, Wired Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Time, The Wall Street Journal, and, most importantly, two songs from the site were featured in the Guitar Hero series.

About Sam & Max

Sam & Max is based on the indie comics by Steve Purcell. Sam is a six-foot dog in a baggy suit sporting a trombone-sized .44 hand-cannon. Max is three feet of pure unleashed id with a saw blade grin and the impulsive nature of the average piranha. Together they patrol the sticky streets of a fantastical New York City, righting wrongs, pummeling perps, and ridding the urban landscape of the shifty legions of "self-propelled gutter trash" that litter their streets. Sam & Max is Telltale's longest running episodic game series to date.

About Mann Co.

Mann Co. is a global weapons manufacturer that makes square, unsafe products for men and gets in fights. Founded in Australia and based in America, Mann Co. CEO Saxton Hale prides himself on his hands-on customer relations: "If you have a problem with any Mann Co. product, you can take it up with me!"