Ready, set, move those thumbs

E3’s great -- if you’re a member of the industry and can get into the world’s biggest interactive entertainment trade show. If not, there’s IGN Live, an open-to-the-public video game lifestyle festival that will make its debut Saturday and Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

“It’s like a Lollapalooza for gamers,” said IGN Live executive producer Roderick Alemania.

Though that remains to be seen, players whose thumbs have been twitching for the new Xbox 360 can see and play some not-yet-released games on the not-yet-released console -- including Need for Speed: Most Wanted and the Outfit. There will also be sneak previews of Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie and 50 Cent: Bulletproof.

Fans of modern classics such as Halo 2, Battlefield 2 and Counter-Strike: Source can compete in cash-prize tournaments. Bring your own computer, and you can also compete for fun in popular PC titles such as Fear, Quake 4 and The Lord of the Rings, the Battle for Middle-Earth.

Did we mention ‘80s arcade games? There will be some of those, as well, so pace yourself.

And when your hands begin to cramp, take a break to watch dozens of new movie and game trailers in the fest’s 250-seat theater. Or stroll through a gallery of video game art. Or listen to a DJ spin mixes with old video game controllers.

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-- Susan Carpenter

IGN Live, Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. $15 via www.ignlive.com, $25 at door.