February 23^rd, 2004 (12:00am) - Major League Gaming (MLG), the preeminent worldwide console gaming league for professional video game players, and Nokia, makers of the N-Gage mobile game deck, today announced the N-Gage game deck as MLG’s presenting sponsor for the 2004 MLG season. The deal went into effect beginning with MLG’s most recent tournament, which took place this past weekend in Philadelphia, PA. As part of this agreement, the two highest ranked N-Gage players at the end of the 2004 season will receive a MLG management contract and become the first members of Team N-Gage, the first professional team for the N-Gage game deck.

The N-Gage tournaments are designed to offer Nokia direct product experience with the some of the most influential gamers in the country - MLG tournament players! And, in order to compete in the N-Gage tournaments, these players must be registered for one of the console-based games in the 2004 MLG tournament series (see www.mlgpro.com for more information) at each tournament. Once registered, players will have the option to compete in the N-Gage series for free and will have a chance to win $1,000. Games to be used on the N-Gage game deck at MLG tournaments include: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, FIFA Soccer 2004, and NCAA Football 2004.

"This sponsorship sees one of today’s top international brands in Nokia voicing its support of our vision of pro gaming," said Michael Sepso, CEO, MLG. "Mass-media coverage and corporate sponsors can only help make the sport more popular."

"The N-Gage game deck is targeted to the type of gamers MLG attracts," said Debra Kennedy, marketing director, Nokia "The sponsorship will get N-Gage in front of its target market in a great interactive, fun, and challenging format. MLG is also uniquely positioned to help us create our new Team N-Gage, which will serve as future ambassadors for the N-Gage brand."