Singing, rapping and dancing students participating in the Konami U Tour collected curious glances from passers-by Wednesday on the Parade Ground across from the Student Union.
The University is the fourth stop of Konami’s first ever 15-school tour.
Konami partnered with Barnes & Noble and the LSU Bookstore for the event, bringing games, six television screens and Wii, Playstation 3 and Nintendo 3DS gaming systems.
The tour arrived on campus Wednesday at 10 a.m. and will be here until 5 p.m. today.
Konami is promoting four featured games: Karaoke Revolution: Glee, Dance Dance Revolution, Def Jam Rapstar and Pro Evolution Soccer 2011.
“The tour is a way to get the word out about their product and give students something fun to do,” said Paul Stevenson, LSU Bookstore general manager.
Stevenson said the Bookstore was interested in the Konami U Tour because it aims to host events that are enticing and fun for students.
“We want to be interactive with the school community and bring students to the Bookstore,” Stevenson said.
The Konami U Tour hosted a 16-person Dance Dance Revolution tournament Wednesday night and will feature a Pro Evolution Soccer tournament today from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Natalie Bloomer, Konami U Tour representative, said tournament winners had the opportunity to win $400 in Barnes & Noble gift cards, as well as a Konami game.
Half of the tournament participants win prizes, Bloomer said.
Mark Nolan, director of operations for The 365 Agency, the company organizing Konami U, said the tour promotes “friendly rivalry among schools” because the universities will be ranked according to the total points obtained from each school’s tournament.
“It’s all about bragging rights among universities,” Nolan said. “Everyone battles it out.”
Nolan said the tour was well-received at other universities. He said there was high attendance and “lots of energy.”
Bloomer said the event’s location at LSU was a bit “offset from main traffic,” but had seen a steady flow of participation throughout the day Wednesday.
“[The tour] is awesome because I like DDR. This is my aerobic exercise for the day,” said Ameera Bates, biochemistry freshman.
The tour’s next stop is Mississippi State University.