Virgin Gaming handling EA Sports tournament contract
It looks like Virgin Gaming has picked up a new client, as Electronic Arts has announced that the company will become the "official worldwide provider of online tournaments for EA Sports." The deal encompasses "all head-to-head competitive play, pay-to-enter and sponsored tournaments" for certain EA Sports titles, and Virgin's tournament platform will actually be integrated directly into the games themselves. The press release doesn't detail which titles will include the platform, though the first tournaments are scheduled to begin early this year.
Virgin re-entered the gaming scene last year with Virgin Gaming, a company designed to let players compete in online games for money and prizes. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is among the other titles to be supported by Virgin Gaming.
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TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EA SPORTS™, a label of Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Virgin Gaming™ today announced a new agreement whereby Virgin Gaming becomes the official worldwide provider of online tournaments for EA SPORTS. The agreement covers all head-to-head competitive play, pay-to-enter and sponsored tournaments for select EA SPORTS console video games.
"Competitive online gaming is an increasingly popular component of our industry and a great way for EA SPORTS and Virgin Gaming to help connect gamers around the world through the global language of sports"
As part of the agreement, the Virgin Gaming tournament platform will integrate directly with select EA SPORTS titles offering seamless web functionality and enhanced community tools for competitive gaming across Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 consoles. The first tournaments will begin early 2011, with details to be announced in the near future.
"EA SPORTS is the leading sports video game brand and publisher in the world, and we are thrilled to offer our members the opportunities to compete in some of their very best multiplayer sports games," said Rob Segal, CEO of Virgin Gaming. "Virgin Gaming is a unique convergence of competitive gaming, video games and social/community networking, and we are excited that EA SPORTS shares our vision for the platform and its potential."
"Competitive online gaming is an increasingly popular component of our industry and a great way for EA SPORTS and Virgin Gaming to help connect gamers around the world through the global language of sports," said Peter Moore, President of EA SPORTS. "Virgin Gaming demonstrates the system-wide integrity we desire, and this is a great opportunity for EA SPORTS fans to experience secure and impeccably managed online tournaments for some of our top titles."
EA SPORTS™ is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, global videogame competitions and breakthrough digital experiences. EA SPORTS delivers personal access to the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports simulation videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA ELITE basketball, NCAA® Football, Fight Night boxing and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, and EA SPORTS Active.
For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com to connect, share and compete.
About Virgin Gaming
Introduced in June 2010, Virgin Gaming is the premier destination for competitive console gamers to meet, challenge and play in head-to-head and tournament challenges for cash, points and prizes. With an array of proprietary features, including a Fair Play GuaranteeTM (with automatic results validation), a secure payment back end, and a Community Reputation Management System, Virgin Gaming allows gamers of all skill levels from around the world to safely and easily compete in some of their favorite multiplayer games. A leading-edge convergence of competitive online gaming and video games, Virgin Gaming offers robust community features with member pages, clan support, invitational tournaments, stats tracking, news, information, and more. For additional information, visit http://VirginGaming.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA Mobile™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2010, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.7 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million units. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
VIRGIN and the Virgin Signature logo are trademarks of Virgin Enterprises Limited and are used under license.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, Pogo and EA SPORTS Active are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. John Madden, NFL, NHL, NBA, NCAA, Tiger Woods and PGA TOUR are trademarks of their respective owners and used with permission. "PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox 360 is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.
