Soundbytes is celebrating its first birthday with its fifth gig in Melbourne tonight. The venue is the Queensberry Hotel (cnr of Swanston and Queensberry) and just $10 will get you inside for six sets of chiptunes, ie. music that sounds very much like old video game music.

Soundbytes 5 [DPad, thanks Drew!]

Allowing players to create their own nemesis in Champions Online seemed like a great idea, but I always wondered what Cryptic would do with them once they were created. Now we know. Starting November 24, the Nemesis Confrontation event will let players team up with friends to take on their nemeses together.

“We wanted to take our unique Nemesis System to the next level and do something really awesome with it,” said Bill Roper, Executive Producer of Champions Online. “So we asked ourselves, what if your Nemesis could band together with your buddy’s Nemesis to take you on? Epic.”

Players will have to band together against a team of their greatest foes in order to stop them from tearing a hole in reality in a bid to take over the Champions universe. The event will feature a brand new location and new, intergalactic gladiator enemies to the mix as well. Sounds like a good time!

And in case you’ve let your Champions Online subscription lapse already, Cryptic is holding a free weekend the 26th through the 28th, just in case you wanted to return to give your nemesis the beat-down.

Visit the event page for more information on Nemesis Confrontation.

Tonight at 6pm, Capcom kicks off Monster Hunter Tri University — a community event designed to get people up to speed on the new Wii game. You know how tricky those sequels can be when they jump consoles.

Producer Ryozo Tsujimoto will be around to walk “students” through their lessons himself. Check out this video of the setup and check back on Capcom’s community blog for actual footage of the event.

Live TV by Ustream

Watch us Set Up Monster Hunter Tri University [Capcom Unity]

As long as you can make it into the Sydney CBD on next Tuesday evening, of course. If you do, you’ll hear a veteran panel of journalists and commentators discussing the evolution of tech and games over the past decade. Should be fun!

When: Tuesday 24th November. 6pm onwards.
Where: Shelbourne Hotel, Altitude Bar, 200 Sussex St (cnr Sussex & Market)
Price: FREE!

Just make sure you RSVP now to reserve your spot.

Here’s photographic proof. (Click the thumbs to enlarge.)

Oh, and PC gamers are welcome too!

PXLAN runs all day, October 31, at the South Ballajura Community Centre. Thirty bucks gets you in and will keep you fed with pizza and soft drinks.

Left 4 Dead, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Guitar Hero 5 and Soulcalibur 4 are high on the list of games you’re likely to encounter. Although organiser James claims to be looking forward to beating all-comers at FIFA 10.

Head over to the PXLAN site for more info and registration.

PXLAN [official site]

Every year, CES sets aside a little bit of its show floor for the Gaming Showcase, where game publishers and peripheral manufacturers can show off their latest wares, and the 2010 Gaming Showcase will be the biggest in CES history — 1200sqm of space has been set aside this year, with Microsoft and Sony making an appearance, along with DDR, Guillemot, Iron Will Creations and the PC Gaming Alliance.

“We are thrilled to add the PC Gaming Alliance and Lego Universe to the 2010 Gaming Showcase, allowing 2010 CES attendees to experience cutting-edge products changing the gaming market,” said Karen Chupka, senior vice president, events and conferences, CEA. “CES is the global hub for the latest gaming trends.”

The 2010 International CES takes place January 7th through the 10th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hey, they’re still the three best horror games, OK?

Byteside is a live debate every fortnight amongst a panel of journalists plus lots of audience interaction. (And free beer.) This week, there’s a tech panel – discussing the “Internet Underground” – and a games panel all about the art of terror.

Tuesday, 27th October
Shelbourne Hotel, Altitude Bar
200 Sussex St (cnr Sussex & Market)

Remember, you’ll need to RSVP.

They also go some neat swag, like a turntable key chain.

[Thanks Andrew and Atlas for the pictures]

It’s held by the Sydney Overclockers Gaming Community and takes place at the Mosman RSL Club in, well, Mosman. It’s $30 to get in (free soft drinks!) and runs from 10am – 10pm, October 31.

Games scheduled for play include:

Street Fighter IV
Rocket Riot
Gears of War 2
Left 4 Dead
Quake III: Arena
Flatout 2
Dirt 2
Team Fortress 2
Guitar Hero

And possibly Dance Dance Revolution. Check here for more info and get on down there and support your local LAN event.

[Thanks Russ!]