Leading videogames publisher Capcom has launched a pan-European tour to promote its new motorcycle racing game MotoGP 08 to trackside fans of the real MotoGP, one of the world's fastest growing motor sports.

The roadshow, which is being run by i2i Marketing, will appear at eight of the European MotoGP races, and opened at Le Mans in France on 18 May.

The campaign kicked off around a month after Capcom secured the exclusive rights to publish MotoGP videogames across all hardware platforms until 2012. Under the terms of these rights Capcom will initially release MotoGP 08, a title based on the 2008 GP season, for the Xbox360, PlayStation 3, Playstation 2, Wii and PC platforms, as well as mobile handsets.




Capcom: Using live MotoGP to promote its videogame


To promote the games, i2i has created an interactive brand experience for race days, where members of the public can play and purchase MotoGP videogames. An arcade of 13 multi-player gaming stations will be set up on an open, branded stand, with a large external plasma screen displaying the games in action.

Visitors to the stand will also be able to play other Capcom games. The experience will be manned by local brand ambassadors in each of the countries it visits.

After Le Mans, the roadshow visited Mugello in Italy (June 1st) and Catalunya in
Spain (8 June). It then moves on to Donnington in the UK (22 June), Assen in the Netherlands (28 June), Saschenring in Germany (13 July), Misano in San Marino (31 August) and Valencia in Spain (26 October).

Commenting on the tour so far, Michael Pattison, Capcom’s senior marketing director, said: "So far, the excitement surrounding the activity has been electric, with crowds of spectators queuing for their chance to play Moto GP, as well as a number of other titles on the touring Capcom stand. Our local brand ambassadors have proved very popular with the crowds, and a high proportion of the race goers are enquiring about the launch of the MotoGP08 game.

“We are confident that,” he continued, “that when the campaign visits the next MotoGP at Donnington Park on 22 June, it will create the same buzz among British fans as it did in Le Mans, Mugello and Catalunya."

MotoGP is the world's premier motorbike racing event, consisting of 18 Grand Prix races around the world and features top bike manufacturers, such as Ducati, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki. The 2008 season began in Qatar on 9 March and will conclude in Valencia on 26 October.