Many of you know that I’ve been taking on designs of gamerpics to open up user-created content.  You’ve all been calling for an avenue to open up and I’m here to tell you that User Created Avenue just opened up for business.  Disruptive Media Publishers announced today the Xbox 360™ Content Creation Challenge sponsored by Nokia.  

U360 has partnered up with DP and Nokia to allow each and every member here the chance to submit their own theme to possibly be published in the Xbox Live Marketplace!  Got a theme you think would be kick ass?  Design it, submit it, select U360 as your hood and grab people to vote on it.  You could win an HDTV, Nokia phone, Blu-ray player and more!

The full details are below but the basics of it is that you’ll now be able to design your own themes and have them voted on by the community.  The theme with the most votes gets published and gets prizes.  You get to select the community you’re representing as well.  If U360 wins the community affiliation part of it, there’ll be goodies to offer up for giveaways or contests.

Just click on www.my360theme.com.  Design, submit and select U360!  Or you can click on the banner in the Promotions section to the right here at U360 to get there as well.  Easy access baby.

[Press Release]

Disruptive Media Publishers (DP), the leading provider of lifestyle customization content (gamer pictures and themes) for Xbox LIVE on Xbox 360, today announced the official launch of the DP Content Creation Challenge.  This marks the first time that individual artists have had the opportunity to get their unique content published on Xbox LIVE Marketplace as downloadable Xbox 360 themes, which can then be purchased by the over 10+ million members using Microsoft Points.

The contest kicks off on March 17, 2008, and runs until April 28, 2008.  “Since the launch of the Xbox 360, users have constantly demanded the ability to create and distribute their own unique themes, and this has never been possible…until now,” said Clay Branson, Marketing Director for Disruptive Media Publishers. “This contest allows digital art creators a unique opportunity to bring their designs to the largest social network in the living room, with more than 10+ million Xbox LIVE members around the globe and 2.6 million instant messages, text and voice messages sent daily on Xbox LIVE.”

Nokia is the official sponsor of DP’s Content Creation Challenge. Nokia’s new offering is the Nokia N81, which is N-Gage compatible. “This contest is offering Nokia a great way to engage our N-Gage audience where they live and play,” said Nick Malaperiman, Nokia’s head of global marketing 3rd-party games. “We are looking forward to seeing the unique creations that result from the Challenge.”

Xbox LIVE Marketplace is home to more than 9,000 pieces of downloadable gaming and entertainment content and to date there have been over 400 million individual downloads of this content. Some of the most unique content allows for customization of the Xbox 360 system. This customization includes custom faceplates to change the external appearance of the console, as well as themes and gamer pictures that can be used throughout the entire console environment.

Themes, which can include up to four unique images, allow users to customize their Xbox 360 user interface. Other personalization includes the player’s Gamer Picture, which is a unique visual identity displayed to the rest of the gaming community.

The Contest Details:

Users can visit www.my360theme.com, where they will find detailed instructions and a content template.  Once material has been created to the proper specs, a simple file upload tool will allow users to transfer their content & associated information to DP’s servers. Upon submission, users can also choose to be affiliated with a specific Xbox 360 community partner.  After an internal quality review process, approved content will appear in a community gallery page on www.my360theme.com, where individuals vote to determine the top content. Real-time voting tabulates the top individual themes based on the number of votes received.

At the conclusion of the contest, the top individual theme (as voted on by the community) will be officially published to Xbox LIVE Marketplace and, along with having content for purchase by Xbox LIVE users, will receive a grand prize package that includes a 42″ HDTV and surround sound home theatre system, a library of Xbox 360 games, a Blu-ray DVD Player and a Nokia N81.

More detailed rules are available at www.my360theme.com. Dynamic leaderboards will also track a “community score” based on cumulative votes for themes affiliated with a community partner. In addition to the individual prizes, the community partner with the highest score will receive additional prizing, including an Xbox 360 game library and electronic store gift cards.

DP’s participating community partners include:

· 360style.net
· 360sync
· 360voice.com
· Evil Avatar
· Hawty McBloggy
· Platform Nation
· The10k.com
· Unscripted 360
· Xbox Addict