World SWAT Challenge

Sierra and SWAT4 are official sponsors of this year's World SWAT Challenge. http://www.worldswatchallenge.com

The event takes place 3/30 to 4/1 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Real SWAT Teams from all over the world come to compete in a variety of challenges. The event is held at Front Sight Resort one of the premier shooting resorts in the world. It is a world-class operation that has over 60 ranges and unique training areas that include the county’s most sophisticated obstacle course and over 500 meters of underground tunnels.

SWAT 4will be on hand to run a little competition of our own. VU and the SWAT 4 Marketing Team will be running a 4x4 tourney with the SWAT teams right at the event.

Starting on 3/30 keep checking http://community.vugames.com/WebX?14@221.IKrceboXl5w.11@.1dd97d3e for the latest update on the event. VU will post event pics, find out what real SWAT Officers think about SWAT4, and even have a couple of surprises.

Stay tuned...

I also think it will be on ESPN as well.

Got this email from Greg at VU Marketing, thought you guys might be intrested.
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SWAT 4 at World SWAT Challenge - Update 1

By VUG-Greg


Well after a long struggle to find internet access, I am finally able to make my first update from Las Vegas. World SWAT Challenge is off to a great start. There are about two dozens SWAT Teams here from all around the World. As one of the weapons vendors at the event described to me "The amount of talent in this room is amazing." That's because
this event is by invitation only – and they only invite the best.


There are officers from major American cities like Dallas and Los Angeles. We also have a team from Jordan that has a ton of experience with anti terrorism efforts. Not to mention an Israeli Security attendee with expertise in the prevention of suicide bombings.


Tonight was the event kickoff dinner at the Rivera Hotel in Las Vegas. Each SWAT team was introduced and presented with a special shirt that only attendees get. SWAT 4 was in the room with a massive banner and 8 PCs. The SWAT teams were able to play co-op mode and competed to win some great prizes from Creative Labs and Logitech. AMD provided the high end PCs. The Dallas SWAT Team walked away as the winners.


The response to the game from the SWAT teams was amazing! Everyone found the realism to be incredible and the franchise itself had a very good following amongst the teams on hand. It was a great experience watching
the SWAT Teams communicate with each other through the missions. I'll be publishing some specific interviews over the next week.

Tomorrow the actual shooting begins as all the teams vie for the nice trophies that are in the attached picture. I’ll be on hand to report back and give you all the details. I hope you enjoy the four attached picture of our display area and nice shot of me presenting the game at
the podium (even thought the room was empty at that point).

Stay tuned

Post edited by =db= at 4/1/2005 2:19:21 PM

SWAT 4 at World SWAT Challenge Update 2

By VUG-Greg

Greetings from what may appear to be the middle of nowhere, but is instead the center of the SWAT Universe for this week. World SWAT Challenge is now underway from the premises of The Front Sight Defense Training Resort (www.frontsight.com ) in Nevada. Arising out of the desolate landscape the huge Front Sight Campus is the perfect venue for the event…even if it's a little hard to find.

After an hour drive to the desert we arrived at the event to find our impressive SWAT 4 banner hanging proud. As you can see from the attached picture the game is right at home amongst the other providers of authentic SWAT gear. Today's activities focused on a large vendor show in
which providers of high end firearms, sophisticated training systems, and anyone else hoping to get their gear in the hands of the elite in law enforcement showed their stuff. Naturally we had a few AMD Powered computer systems to show off SWAT 4.

We had a great time sharing the game with both the SWAT teams and the hardware suppliers who were keen to study the equipment in the game. We fielded tons of questions about the game, but by far and away the number one questions was: “When is this game coming out. We were very pleased to answer April 5th. I know the timing is perfect.

I continued to secure interviews with many of the SWAT team members at the event. They are all very impressed with the realism in the game. I'll be sharing more than a few of these with you in the very near future. I'm glad to see there is such a high demand for these, because it's certainly a pleasure to do the interviews. I've been surprised by every one of them.

None more so than my interview today with Robert Kilgallon of the NASA SWAT Team. Why does NASA need a SWAT team? No they don't fight aliens in space. The NASA SWAT Team actually secures vital government assets and protects the millions of visitors who visit the Kennedy Space Center
in Florida. During peak season the amount of tourist on any given day at the center exceeds the population of many cities. Robert is one of their team leaders and has been a long time fan of the SWAT series. When asked how realistic SWAT 4 was he responded, It's very realistic, because you can utilize your SWAT techniques just as you would in a
real scenario. I've included a picture of Robert taking the controls.

The event kicks into high gear tomorrow with a ton of events taking place. I hope to have some excellent pictures of the events for you along with much more.

Stay tuned
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Pictures to be posted later

I seriously think one or two TWL teams would own anyone there

Originally posted by: MVPSean
I seriously think one or two TWL teams would own anyone there

That would be intresting to find out. I'll ask Greg if there any real SWAT that are in a clan.

just let em know one thing.. trying to use real life tactics doesnt work on a video game

World swat challenge - update #4
By vug-Greg

Playing swat 4 with real swat officers has been the best part of my attendance at world swat challenge. I've spent a good deal of time with several members of the Dallas swat team. They came to the event complete with a camera man from A&E networks who will be airing a show about the team sometime in July. I Managed to get a little camera time to explain what swat 4 was all about. The producer got some great footage of the team playing the game. Score!

I Was able to sit down for a short interview with Andre Taylor (at), Adolfo Perez (ap), and Dr. Alexander Eastman (ae) of the Dallas swat team. Here's some of the feedback we got from them about swat 4.


* Have you every played swat games before?

* At: no I have not, but this has sure changed that.
* ap: yes I have played most of the past games.
* ae: yes along with many other shooters.

* Based on your experiences as a swat officer how realistic is swat 4?

* At: this game is as realistic as hell and really captures the experience!
* ap: swat 4 is as realistic as it gets.
* ae: swat 4 couldn't be more realistic. The effects of the diversionary devices are real and accurate. Very impressive.

* What do you think of the speed of movement in the game? Is it an accurate model of how you'd move in real life?
* At: excellent! very accurate
* ae: it's very appropriate.

* Do you think swat 4 would be useful as a training tool?

* At: it would be helpful for training basic concepts.
* ap: it certainly could be helpful.
* ae very useful! The game exploits your mistakes mercilessly.

Dr. Eastman is the tactical physician for the Dallas swat team. He discussed the role of medics on swat missions. This is a very dangerous role as the medic is often asked to perform his work on the wounded while in unsecured situations. Also in many departments the medic is required
to be unarmed. On a mission the medics role is to treat them and street them, meaning that the medic will quickly stabilize the wounded and move them out to a secure area for further attention.

The Dallas team was literally glued to the game. They wound up winning three creative labs sound blaster cards by racking up the best score in co-op (75). The team from fort Wayne Indiana gave them a real run for their money. I Had my picture taken with the Dallas team. If I appear to
not be smiling, keep in mind these guys loved the game and didn't get off it until 10:30 pm. We still had almost 2 hours of clean-up work to do, but it was a truly great experience.

Originally posted by: -Nebulous-
just let em know one thing.. trying to use real life tactics doesnt work on a video game

They might not agree, they would have a strong arguement, if the game is an accurate simulation of life, see Greg's email above.

Sorry for the our of order post....

World SWAT Challenge - Update #3
By VUG-Greg

It's been another very busy day at the 2005 World SWAT Challenge. For a brief moment today I thought about how uncomfortable I was under the hot sun in the middle of the Nevada desert. Then I thought about the SWAT Teams who were competing in full battle gear and I felt much better.

As you can see from the leader board photo there are a variety of events designed to test the many elements of SWAT. Today I was able to witness the sniper event and the Zodiac Obstacle Course. I'm only able to attach a few pictures from the events themselves. Due to the nature of
the job many SWAT Officers are rightfully concerned about keeping their cover. Only with written permission am I able to photograph them. Thankfully a few teams have granted this privilege.

The sniper challenge is all about accuracy and big guns. Snipers set up right on the dirt and shoot at tiny targets set up 200 yards away. Sniper guns are LOUD! Especially the big 50 caliber ones that some of the attendees were firing off in a product demonstration.

A far more complex event is the Zodiac Obstacle Course. The entire team participates in this event. First they need to carry a fully loaded Zodiac boat 100 yards down the course. Next the entire team needs to jump over a 6 foot high obstacle. A sniper and a spotter set up on a simulated roof to make a sniper shot. Once the shot is made the rest of the team moves in to make pistol shots on a series of targets. The team then busts through a door at the end of the course and recovers a body dummy. The team has to carry this dummy back 100 yards and get back over the same 6 foot obstacle. Once the dummy and all team members are at the
boat the clock stops. Any missed shots will cost the team a 15 second penalty that gets added to their overall time.

I've attached pictures of the NASA team running the event. They did an excellent job and completed the course in a better than average time. The team that smoked everyone during my attendance at the event was the German GS-9 Team. These guys were amazing and were almost 3 minutes better than anyone else. They jumped over the 6 foot wall like it was a curb and their team work was unbelievable. I'm not able to publish any quotes from them, but there were several SWAT 4 fans on the team. Good games easily cross language barriers.

Hope you enjoy all the pictures. You can see that there is a good deal of media coverage and I'll try and find out when it’s airing. I got to speak with Robert Kilgallon of the NASA SWAT Team just before an event. I noticed his patch which has the Space Shuttle on it and thought
you'd all enjoy seeing it.

Gregory M. Agius
Vivendi Universal Games
Specialist - Interactive Marketing


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I'll post pictures Monday

World SWAT Challenge Update #5

We had an amazing time at the World SWAT Challenge. I still have more interviews, news, and pictures to show you. However, I’m sure you’re all busy ordering your copy of the game so I will wait to post these.

I have one surprise for you all. Many of you have said that you wished you could have attended the event. The Front Sight Resort is amazing and it’s only an hour drive from Las Vegas – what a place. Well guess what we are going to send one lucky winner and a guest to the Front Sight Resort in The SWAT 4 Front Sight Sweepstakes. You and your guest will be flown to Las Vegas, be given hotel accommodations, and get 3 days worth of personalized training at the Front Sight Resort. You could also win one of 10 GamerLounge™ wireless routers (DGL-4300) from D-Link™. These routers are great if you want to avoid lag and have won a ton of praise from the gaming press.

To enter the sweepstakes click here: http://promos.vugames.com/swat4/sweeps.html


Good Luck!

Gregory Agius
Interactive Marketing
Vivendi Universal Games