GameStop and Electronic Arts have teamed up to host a little cross-country Def Jam: Icon tourney that will pit regular gamers against hip-hop artists.

The tournament kicks off today at 3 p.m. (Eastern) in Atlanta at the Union City Gamestop. Fat Joe will be showing up about 4 p.m. to kick some in-game ass.

Here's the rest of the run down in case you want a chance to beat down a hip-hop artist:

Atlanta
Today
GameStop Union City SWM, 4731 Jonesboro Road, Suite 180

Chicago
Feb. 23
GameStop The Brickyard S/C, 6451 W. Diversey Ave.,#G-9

Los Angeles
Feb. 27
EB Games West Side Pavilion, 10800 W. Pico Blvd, Space 353

New York City
March 6
GameStop, 1282 Broadway (Broadway and 33rd).

Hit the link for the full list of locations for the tourney, including the ones without celebs, and rules. Brian Crecente

Def Jam Icon tourney [GameStop]

EA AND GAMESTOP ANNOUNCES DEF JAM: ICON TOURNAMENTS AND FULL ROSTER OF IN-GAME CELEBRITY TALENT

Four Major Cities to Host GameStop Sponsored DEF JAM: ICON Gaming Tournament that Features an All Star Line Up of Hip Hop's Greatest

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - February 12, 2007 - Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), in partnership with Def Jam Interactive, announced today that a series of DEF JAM: ICON tournaments* will be sponsored by GameStop and held in four major U.S. cities throughout February. DEF JAM: ICON will be released for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game entertainment system in March 2007. EA Chicago and urban lifestyle powerhouse Def Jam Interactive continue to push the boundaries of game development by bringing unique and innovative content to the next generation of gaming.

Sponsored by GameStop and held at various GameStop and EB Games retail stores in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, the tournament gives players a chance to compete as their favorite hip hop celebrities in one of the most highly anticipated hip hop lifestyle/fighting games of the year. Several stores in each city will host the tournaments but only one venue will also have a special appearance from one of the in-game celebrity fighters. Renowned hip-hop artist, Fat Joe, will be launching the tournament in Atlanta on February 13. He will be on location from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The tournament begins at 3:00 pm.

See below for the 2007 DEF JAM: ICON tournament schedule (this list is partial and includes only the venues hosting celebrity appearances):

DATE

CITY

CELEBRITY APPEARANCE

2/13/2007

Atlanta -

5 GameStop locations and 1 EB Games location

GameStop -

Union City SWM

4731 Jonesboro Road

Suite 180

2/23/2007

Chicago -

5 GameStop locations and 1 EB Games location

GameStop -

The Brickyard S/C

6451 W. Diversey Ave.,#G-9

2/27/2007

Los Angeles -

5 EB Games locations and 1 GameStop location

EB Games -

West Side Pavilion

10800 W. Pico Blvd

Space 353

3/6/2006

New York City -

6 GameStop locations

GameStop -

1282 Broadway (Broadway and 33rd)

For tournament rules, information on the event and other tournament locations, please visit http://www.gamestop.com/defjamicon. Players will compete using the DEF JAM: ICON videogame, and Xbox 360 consoles provided by Microsoft. Tournament start date: 2/13/07. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Eligibility restrictions apply.

DEF JAM: ICON features an all-star cast and a soundtrack of hip hop hits as players live out the life of a hip hop mogul, fighting all the way from industry outsider to hip hop icon. The dream team roster spans the spectrum of music superstars such as Big Boi and Redman to industry legends including Russell Simmons and Kevin Liles.

Below is the entire cast from DEF JAM: ICON including playable fighters as well as celebrity special appearances:

Anthony Anderson
Jim Jones
Method Man
Sticky Fingaz
Big Boi
Kano
Mike Jones
Summer Walker
Bun B
KD Aubert
Nina Nicole
T.I.
E-40
Kevin Liles
Paul Wall
Tego
Fat Joe
Lil Jon
Redman
The Game
Funkmaster Flex
Ludacris
Robert Dolan
Young Jeezy
Ghostface Killah
Mayra Veronica
Russell Simmons
James Hong
Melyssa Ford
Sean Paul

DEF JAM: ICON is scheduled to ship in North America on March 6 and in Europe on March 16 for the PLAYSTATION 3 system and Xbox 360. DEF JAM: ICON has been rated M with descriptors, Blood, Strong Lyrics, Violence by the ESRB (Visit www.esrb.org for updated rating information) and rated 18+ by PEGI and the USK.

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