Nintendo prepares to launch Fusion rock tour

One of Nintendo of America's key promotional efforts in the run up to the holiday season, the Fusion rock music event, is preparing to kick off a 37-date tour on September 20th, with Story Of The Year to headline the gigs.

Each of the events will feature kiosks featuring previews of upcoming GameCube titles, as well as a chance for US consumers to get their hands on the forthcoming Nintendo DS handheld console for the first time.

Tickets for the events are being kept low-cost, with prices of under $20 for most of the stops, and as well as headline band Story Of The Year, the gigs will also feature lostprophets, My Chemical Romance, Letter Kills, Anberlin and Autopilot Off.

This is the second time that Nintendo has sponsored the Fusion tour; last year, the events were headlined by Evanesence, and according to Rich Levy of Clear Channel Properties, which arranges the tour, Nintendo's involvement underwrites some of the costs and allows ticket prices to remain low.

The Nintendo Fusion tour is a "fusion of gaming, music and lifestyle," according to NoA senior consumer marketing director Rob Matthews. "We had such a great success last year that we wanted to do it even bigger and better this year. We have high expectations."