Full Official Rules and Regulations

Competition registration accepted between Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 3:01 PM EST and Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 11:59 PM EST. THERE IS NO ENTRY FEE TO PARTICIPATE OR WIN THIS COMPETITION.

Eligibility: Competition is OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ("U.S."), residing in the U.S. including the District of Columbia, who are 13 years of age or older at the time of registration. The following are NOT eligible to participate or win prizes: Employees of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (“Sponsor”), or Professional Interactive Entertainment, Inc. dba GGL (“Tournament Producer”), and their respective parent companies, affiliates and subsidiaries, their advertising and promotion agencies, their licensors, and their respective employees, individuals engaged in the development, production or distribution of materials for this Competition, persons who are immediate family of, dependents of (as defined by IRS regulations), or who live in the same household as any person in any of the above categories. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply. Void where prohibited by law or regulation.

How to Register to Play: Registration begins at 3:01 PM (EST) on April 22, 2008 and ends at 11:59 PM (EST) on June 29, 2008. You must register online at http://warhawk.ggl.com. Each participant MUST register individually and must accurately complete all required registration information. Once registered, individuals must form squads of at least eight (8) players before they can officially join the competition and begin competing with other squads. NOTE – due to the “ladder” format of the Competition, squads may register and join the Competition after the Competition has begun, up to the end of the ladder stage of the Competition. LIMIT: One (1) registration per person. All registration information submitted becomes the property of Tournament Producer and will not be returned. Tournament Producer’s computer will be the official time clock for registration, and the official time zone for the Competition will be Eastern Standard Time.

How to Play: The Competition will begin on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 and will end on Sunday, July 27, 2008. Only valid registered participants will be eligible to compete. Tournament Producer’s decisions are final and legally binding as they pertain to this Competition.

Game and Platform: Squads will compete by playing the videogame Warhawk on the PLAYSTATION®3 platform in an online match via the PLAYSTATION®Network.

Tournament Stages: On Tuesday, April 22, 2008, valid registered squads will be able to begin joining the Practice Ladder, and will be able to begin playing practice matches. Practice matches will not count towards the final standings, but will be used to allow squads to practice playing the game and using the GGL competition system.

Stage 1 (Ladder Stage): On Tuesday, May 27, 2008, at 3:01 PM EST all squads’ point totals from the practice ladder will be reset, and the official ladder competition will begin. Squads will start with 1000 points and will gain points for playing and winning matches. Matches are best of 1 map. At the end of the Stage 1 ladder competition on Sunday, June 29, 2008, the top 32 squads will advance to the Stage 2 Bracket.

-         80 points awarded for a win (regular win or forfeit win)

-         20 points awarded for playing (win or lose)

§         i.e. if you play and win you get a total of 100 points (80 + 20), if you play and lose you get 20 points.

-         25 points LOST if you decline a regular challenge (but there is NO penalty for declining an Instant Challenge)

-         50 points LOST if you forfeit a match

-         3-day “Challenge Active” period – this means that if you receive a challenge, you must respond (either by accepting or proposing alternate times) within 3 days or the challenge is automatically marked as a “Decline” and you lose 25 points.

-         If you don’t play a match within 7 days, you are marked as inactive and you lose 100 points. You will continue to lose 100 points every 7 days that you remain inactive in the ladder. Once inactive, you can re-join the competition, but you will not be given back the points lost while inactive.

-         You can only challenge a particular squad once within 7 days.

-         You can only challenge other squads within a certain range of your spot in the ladder: either 10 spots up or 5 spots down in the ladder, OR with 20% of your points up the ladder or 10% of your points down in the ladder (in other words if you have 1000 points you can challenge squads up to 1200 points or down to 900 points).

Stage 2 (Bracket Stage): At the conclusion of the Stage 1 Ladder Competition, the top 32 squads will be placed in a 32-squad bracket, seeded according to their standing in the Ladder Competition. The brackets will be played in single elimination format until one squad remains. Matches are best of 1 map with the finals being best of 3 maps. The Bracket Stage will take place from Wednesday, July 2, 2008 through Sunday, July 27, 2008.

Match Scheduling (Ladders): During the Ladder Stage, competitors schedule matches themselves through GGL’s ladder challenge tools. First, one squad challenges another squad in the ladder, proposing three dates/times for the match. The squad that receives the challenge then has the option of either accepting one of the proposed times, in which case the match is officially scheduled, or responding with three alternate times. If the original challenger does not agree to any of the alternate times, they may drop the challenge with no penalty, but if they accept one of the alternate times then the match is officially scheduled. “Instant Challenges” may be issued or declined with no penalty. Matches once scheduled can not be altered without the agreement of both squads and without notifying the Tournament Producer. Failure to show up to compete within 10 minutes of a scheduled match time will result in a forfeit loss (with point penalty) for the squad that does not show up, and a forfeit win for the squad that does. Declining a challenge without proposing alternate times will also result in a point penalty. Squads can challenge and play as often as they wish, within the guidelines of the ladder rules.

Match Scheduling (Brackets): Tournament game matches during the Stage 2 Brackets will be scheduled as follows. Each match will be assigned a time and date to be completed (“Completion Time”), which will be listed in the tournament brackets at http://warhawk.ggl.com. The two (2) opponents can complete their match at any time up to the Completion Time, or if they can’t agree on a time of their own, the Completion Time becomes the default time at which they must play their match. The squads can negotiate on the match time using the comments section of the “Match Details” page for their particular match at http://warhawk.ggl.com. The Tournament Producer will facilitate scheduling of all game matches as needed. Tournament game matches once scheduled will be FINAL and matches may only be rescheduled or delayed as allowed by the Tournament Producer in its sole discretion.

Squads will forfeit their scheduled match if they are not present and ready to compete within ten (10) minutes of the scheduled time. The Tournament Producer will be the timekeeper, and the official time zone for the tournament will be Eastern Standard Time. *** NOTE – once a player is logged in, all times on the website appear in that player’s native time zone, chosen during the registration process. It is important that each player make sure he/she has set the correct time zone – players can edit their time zone through the “Edit Account” link.

Match Squad Size: The default match size is 8v8. However, the two squads can agree on any squad size before the match begins (5v5/6v6/7v7/8v8 only). The squads can negotiate the squad size using the comments section of the “Match Details” page for their particular match. If the two squads can not agree on a squad size due to not having enough members for 8v8, the match squad size will reflect the smallest number of players a team has ready for the match to a minimum of 5v5 (I.E. TeamX has 8 players, TeamY has 5 so they would play 5v5). Anything below 5v5 is not legal and will result in a double forfeit.

Substitutions/Alternates/Ringers: Once a match begins, no substitutions are allowed. (Note: Once the first map is launched, that is considered the start of the match.) If a player(s) needs to be replaced due to console failure, hospitalization, or another serious incident occurs rendering a player (or players) unable to play, contact an admin to have that player replaced with another player on your Squad Roster. Only players on your Squad Roster on the GGL.com site are permitted to participate in a match in this competition. If an illegal player is used, an Administrator must be notified before the start of the match or else there will be no penalty for the duration of the match.

Match Format: During the Stage 1 Ladders, all matches will be a single map only. During the Stage 2 Brackets, all matches leading up to the finals will be best of 1 map with the finals being best of 3 maps. In the event a map ends in a tie, restart the same map with the official game settings (note: use a 10 minute time limit) and continue to replay the map until a winner is determined. A single map will count as each team playing on both sides.

PS Online ID: You MUST use a valid PS Online ID (NO GUEST ACCOUNTS), and you must include your PS Online ID in your GGL profile. DO NOT change your PS Online ID during the tournament. If you change your PS Online ID without permission from a Tournament Administrator, you may be suspended or banned from the Competition.

Match Hosting: The host must be agreed upon by all players. You may test all hosts until the best one has been determined. The host must be one of the players participating in the match. Default rule: During the Stage 1 Ladders, the squad who received the challenge will host the match. During the Stage 2 Brackets, the higher seed in the bracket will host the first map, the lower seed will host the second, and the higher seed will host the 3rd map, if necessary. Optional rule: If one of the players has an excellent connection that all of the players ping fairly to, both squads may agree to use that host for the duration of the match. The squad that received the challenge or is the higher seed still counts as host whether or not they were the agreed upon host for the purpose of choosing sides (i.e. If Team1 received the challenge but Team2 is the agreed upon host, Team2 still chooses which side to play for the first map).

Sides: Each team must switch sides at the end of a map. Some games may require the map to be launched again from the lobby. Note that this still counts as a single map of play. The squad who does not host chooses which side they would like to play first.

Match Interruption: Match Interruption: If any player loses his/her connection before the map starts (during map load time for example) or before any scores are recorded (kills, captures, tickets, etc.), restart the map once the player has rejoined the game lobby or a substitute from the squad’s official roster has joined. If a player loses his/her connection mid game, continue playing as normal. If the host drops, the hosting squad will choose either another player on their squad roster or the same person to restart the server. If the host drops a second time, the hosting team will then receive a forfeit.

Team Agreements: Any agreements made between teams (i.e. to play under different rules, use a different map, etc.) before, during, or after a match will result in an automatic forfeit for both teams. Note – an agreement on squad size or match host are permissible for this competition.

Lag Test Round and Internet Issues: Due to the unpredictable nature of the Internet, it is highly recommended that teams mix players (i.e. In a 4v4, 2 members from each team per side) so they can communicate about the connection and start a test game for about two full minutes to test the host’s connection and make sure the game settings are correct (spawn times, capture points, etc.). If a host is unacceptable, continue testing connections until one can be found. Once the official match has started, any lag issues that arise are to be considered out of players control and the match should continue as normal.

Match Disputes: Players must provide some sort of proof (picture, video, etc.) along with their match disputes. Failure to do so may render your dispute invalid. If there is an issue before the match starts (i.e. the other team is using a ringer), contact an Administrator immediately. Choosing to continue to play the match may render the dispute invalid.

Glitches/Exploits: Players are forbidden from using any game or hardware glitches or exploits to gain or attempt to gain an advantage. If an area within the game is accessible due to an exploit or bug in the map, then that location is off limits. If a player uses such an area to hide, the game Admin may incur a suitable penalty which may include a forfeit of the match or a disqualification from the tournament. If you are unsure whether an area is considered off limits, ask an Admin before your match. Use of any glitch or exploit will result in a forfeit loss and potential suspension or banning (for the player and/or the entire squad) from the Competition, at Tournament Producer’s discretion.

Server Options

Name: (Post in the comments of your Match Details page)
Password: None (If one is needed, it must be posted in the match comments)
Type: Player Clan (This should be "Player" if a GGL clan has multiple in game Warhawk clan players apart of their GGL clan)
Eucadian/Chernovan Clans: The team not hosting chooses the side they would like. Please post this in the match comments prior to the start of the match.
Max/Min players: Minimum 16, Maximum 16 (Note: If agreed to play 5v5/6v6/7v7, Minimum players should be 10/12/14)
Max Rank: General
Spawn Delay: 10 seconds
Start Delay: 15 seconds

Advanced Options

Use Wrench/Bio-Field: Yes (Default)
Enable Voice: Yes (Default)
All Talk: No (Default)
Allow Team Switch: Yes (Default)
Randomize Teams: No
Friendly Fire: 100%
Allow Split Screen: No
Intermission Time: Unlimited

Game Options

Map Rotation: 1 of 1 (Default)
Game Map: Maps will be randomly selected from the Map Pool Section (see below)
Game Mode: Zones
Map Layout: See below – noted in parenthesis after the map name.
Score Limit: 10,000
Time Limit: 20
Match Rounds: 1

Map Selection: During the Ladder, the GGL Competition system will randomly assign maps from the Map Pool below to each officially scheduled match. Maps will be posted on the “Match Details” page for each match.

*** Tournament Producer may change the Game Settings & Specifications as needed.

ALL GAME MATCHES MAY BE MONITORED BY THE TOURNAMENT PRODUCER. IN ADDITION, THE TOURNAMENT PRODUCER MAY VERIFY AND/OR CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION INTO ANY AND ALL ASPECTS OF THE TOURNAMENT TO VERIFY ELIGIBILITY AND/OR FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THE RULES. EACH COMPETITOR AGREES THAT ANY AND ALL GAME PLAY MAY BE RECORDED AND USED BY TOURNAMENT PRODUCER, ITS WEBSITES, AND AFFILIATED NETWORKS.

IN THE EVENT OF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING, ANY PLAYER (AND THE PLAYER’S ENTIRE SQUAD) MAY HAVE THEIR REGISTRATION(S) DELETED, MAY BE DISQUALIFIED AND/OR MAY FORFEIT THEIR ELIGIBILITY, PRIZES AND/OR TOURNAMENT STATUS IN THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE TOURNAMENT PRODUCER WITH OR WITHOUT WARNING:

·         Providing inaccurate, improper, and/or incomplete information in connection with the process(es) of registration, logging in, game setup, issuing or receiving challenges, match scheduling, gameplay, statistical reporting, normal operation of software and/or hardware, score reporting, rankings, brackets, any tournament logistics and/or other aspects of the Tournament (the “Processes”).

·         Duplicate registrations and/or other abuse of the Processes.

·         Players selecting USERNAMES and/or providing any information, text, and/or other content that the Tournament Producer, in its sole discretion, determines are offensive and/or otherwise inappropriate.

·         Any successful and/or unsuccessful attempt to cheat, tamper, gain an unfair advantage, manipulate, hack, stall, delay, expedite, bypass, modify or make any unauthorized and/or improper modifications to the Processes and/or the gameplay.

·         Any intentional or unintentional disconnecting of an internet connection, power source or other electronic malfunction, power outage or other natural or unnatural act which causes the Processes and/or gameplay to be interrupted, delayed or otherwise adversely affected.

·         Any utilization of 3rd party hardware peripherals to gain an unfair advantage, or acting in an unsportsmanlike and/or disruptive manner, as determined in the sole discretion of the Tournament Producer.

·         Any player’s inability, failure and/or refusal to provide verification of full compliance with the Rules and the Processes.

·         Any player’s inability, failure and/or refusal to fully participate in and/or cooperate in connection with any investigation or inquiry into compliance with the Rules and Processes which may be undertaken by the Tournament Producer in its unrestricted and sole discretion. The foregoing shall include, without limitation, any request by the Tournament Producer that any player provide a written, notarized declaration under penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of California and the United States of America.

·         The existence, adoption, modification, legislation, amendment, and/or enforcement of any applicable statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative and/or judicial ruling and/or determination by any government entity that the Tournament, any of the Rules herein, or any of the Processes, are unlawful, restricted by applicable law and/or contrary to the public policy of any applicable governing body. In event of the foregoing, the Tournament Producer shall have the option of disqualifying any and/or all players, and terminating the Tournament and not awarding Prizes with or without notice in the Tournament Producer’s absolute and sole discretion.

Prizes and Approximate Retail Values (“ARV”):

Grand Prize: (one team)

• One 6" Warhawk Limited Edition Statue created by Gentle Giant Studios per player, up to 16 players. (ARV $50 per player)

• Champion’s Blade: an in-game prize available only to the players on the winning team from this tournament.  The Champion’s Blade is a special in-game Warhawk weapon that will replace the regular knife weapon, and will look visibly different than the regular knife that other players carry in-game, so that other players you encounter in the game will know that you won the tournament.

All expenses not stated in these Official Rules are solely the responsibility of the winner. Winners may not substitute, assign or transfer prizes, but Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion to substitute prize with another prize of equal or greater value should the advertised prize become unavailable for any reason. Prizes will not be fulfilled outside the U.S. Prizes will not be awarded to minors or any other person who participated without meeting the Competition’s eligibility requirements. Should a prize be won by an eligible minor in his/her jurisdiction of primary residence, all affidavits, releases and undertakings, set forth in these Official Rules must be executed and undertaken by the parent/legal guardian of the minor, both on behalf of themselves and the minor, or the prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. Prizes may be awarded to, or in the name of, minor’s parent/legal guardian. Total ARV of all prizes: $800.

Prize Distribution: In cases where prizing consists of money or products that need to be divided among multiple squad members, the distribution of those prizes will be determined by the squad leader as designated by the squad on GGL.com. In cases where there is more than one squad leader, the first squad leader in the list on GGL.com will determine prize distribution. In the case of prize money, one check will be issued to a single designated representative for each winning squad, who can then distribute the winnings appropriately. IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT SQUADS CREATE A WRITTEN AGREEMENT, SIGNED BY ALL SQUAD MEMBERS, RELATING TO PRIZE DISTRIBUTION PRIOR TO ENTERING THE COMPETITION. Tournament producer will not act as mediator in cases of disputes among squad members – in the absence of a signed, written agreement among squad members GGL will distribute prizing according to the direction of the designated squad leader.

Winner Releases: Each prize winner will be required to complete and return an Affidavit of Eligibility, any proof of eligibility requested by Tournament Producer, Liability Release and, where lawful, Publicity Release forms and W-9 request for tax payer’s identification number. All executed documents must be received by Tournament Producer or its designated agent within ten (10) days of notification or an alternate winner may be selected. If this is the case, the squad who finished next after the prize winner may be declared the alternate winner. If a prize winner fails to comply with these Official Rules, cannot be located or reached, has provided an incorrect email or mailing address, is determined to be ineligible or not in compliance with these Official Rules, declines or fails to claim the prize for any reason, or if the prize notification is returned as undeliverable, such entrant will forfeit his or her opportunity to collect the prize and an alternate winner will be selected. Acceptance of a prize constitutes permission for Sponsor, Tournament Producer, and their respective advertising and promotion agencies to use winner’s name, voice and likeness, along with his or her address (limited solely to city and state) and the right to use and publish their scores, proper name and any statements made or attributed to such winner (collectively, the "Attributes") in any and all media, unless prohibited by law. This will include but is not limited to media now known or hereafter devised, without notice, review or approval, in perpetuity and throughout the universe for advertising and promotional purposes in connection with the Competition without further compensation, and releases Sponsor and Tournament Producer, from all claims arising out of the use of such Attributes.

By entering this Competition, entrants release and hold harmless Sponsor, Tournament Producer and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, franchisees, directors, officers, share holders, employees, agents and advertising and promotional agencies from any and all liability or any injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from or in connection with this Competition or any related activity, or the use, misuse of any prize received,or for any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any prize. Entrants agree to abide by these official rules and the Tournament Producer’s decisions, which are final.

Online General Rules & Miscellaneous:

Verification of all game matches and conduct of all match games are under supervision of the Tournament Producer. Sponsor and Tournament Producer are not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or registration to be received or sent by Sponsor and Tournament Producer as a result of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or by human error which may occur in the ability to enter a participant’s entry, or any combination thereof, or otherwise, including any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participation or downloading any materials in the Competition. Persons found tampering with or abusing any aspect of this Competition, as solely determined by the Tournament Producer, will be disqualified. If disqualified for any of the above abuses, Sponsor and the Tournament Producer reserve the right to terminate entrant’s eligibility to participate in the Competition. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY AN ENTRANT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE COMPETITION MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR AND TOURNAMENT PRODUCER RESERVE THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. In the event any portion of the Competition is compromised by virus, bugs, non-authorized human intervention, fraud, technical failure or other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor or Tournament Producer which, in the sole opinion of the Tournament Producer, corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper play of the Competition, Sponsor and Tournament Producer reserve the right in their sole discretion to cancel, modify, suspend or terminate the Competition and not award Prizes.

TAXES: All taxes on prizes are solely the responsibility of the winner.

WINNERS LIST/OFFICIAL RULES: For a Winners List or a copy of these Official Rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope in a separate first-class stamped envelope to: Winners List or Official Rules (designate which), Warhawk Team Tournament, c/o GGL, 1522 Cloverfield Blvd., Suite C., Santa Monica, CA 90404. Requests must be received by August 31, 2008. Official Rules will also be available on http://warhawk.ggl.com.

English Language: This Competition is conducted in English (which will be given its everyday ordinary meaning) and any and all disputes will be resolved subject to the laws of California.

Sponsor:

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

Foster City, CA 94404

Santa Monica, CA 90404

About Sony Computer Entertainment America:

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) is responsible for the continued growth of the PlayStation® market in the United States and Canada. Based in Foster City, California, SCEA serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) that reports directly back to SCE in Japan.

GGL is the leading global media network dedicated to expanding and delivering the culture of videogaming to a worldwide audience. GGL represents the best in videogaming content and coverage providing a unique, personal and provocative point of view; the only social networking community for videogamers and a competition platform that enables online play putting GGL at the center of the online gaming universe. For more information visit www.ggl.com.

Warhawk is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. © 2007 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Developed by Incognito Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

"PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION", the "PS" Family logo, “PSP” and the PLAYSTATION®Network are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

The Sony Computer Entertainment logo is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation.

© 2008 GGL. All rights reserved. Global Gaming League and GGL are trademarks of Professional Interactive Entertainment, Inc.

The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association.

All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.