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Virgin Gaming adds Super Street Fighter 4 to real cash competition slate
Virgin Gaming members can now earn actual money in Super Street Fighter 4 matches, thanks to a new agreement between Virgin and Street Fighter developer Capcom. "Unlike before, when money would go straight into the arcade machine, Virgin's platform puts the money in the winning player's hands! Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players can participate in one-on-one matches with another player, or join a league of up to 32 other SSFIV players and compete for cash," stated Virgin's announcement. Currently, those cash competitions are restricted to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 incarnations of Super Street Fighter 4, and there is no word on when or if the PC version of the game will be added to the Virgin Gaming roster. Full details on how to join Virgin Gaming and take part in the service's pay-to-play tournaments and one-off matches can be found on the Virgin Gaming website. [Image: Capcom]
Virgin Gaming pushes new eSports subscription plan
The Virgin Gaming eSports league has introduced a subscription plan designed to simplify the process of winning cash by excelling at video games. Previously, those using the Virgin Gaming service on either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 would be required to shell out a small fee for each match they hoped to participate in. These fees will still be available if you like the current system, but by joining Virgin Gaming Premium, you can replace each of them with one, single $5 monthly charge. "[The subscription] takes away the small pain of giving up a share of the proceeds every time a players plays a match," stated Virgin Gaming executive vice president Wim Stocks. "That fee was discouraging people from playing more tournaments. This made a lot of sense. We expect broad participation among all skill levels." On a more pragmatic note, Virgin Gaming also hopes that this subscription fee will provide the company a more reliable revenue stream than the old, fee-based system. If you're an eSports fan hoping to join a community of like-minded virtual gladiators, Virgin Gaming is offering one month free when you sign up for your subscription. As with all such offers, signing up will require a credit card (or electronic form of payment), but players will not be charged until the first month of their membership ends.
Halo 4 Spartan Ops goes on hiatus next week, 'Infinity Challenge' begins
Halo 4's episodic co-op campaign Spartan Ops will go on hiatus next week, concluding in January with the final five episodes of season one. Microsoft is also teaming up with Virgin gaming on the "Halo 4 Infinity Challenge," which has a V8-powered 2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor (pictured), along with an appearance in a future Halo game, as its grand prize.Those interested in participating in the Mountain Dew and Doritos presents, in association with Seven Eleven and Harvey's RV World, Halo 4 Infinity Challenge can register at www.halo4infinitychallenge.com. The tournament begins December 17 and will track War Games and Spartan Ops leaderboards, with over 2,800 prizes available. The qualifier phase will run until January 10.After the qualifier section, players will be tiered into three groups, with the final phase taking place the week of January 12. Leaderboards will be reset at this time to award the top performers in each tier. No word yet if the new Ford F-150 handles like a Warthog.
Tournament play coming to XBL with new app
Virgin Gaming's occasional prize-dispensing video game tournaments are setting up shop in your house, through an upcoming Xbox Live app designed to integrate skill-based tournaments into home games.The new "Xbox Live Tournament Service" will offer a variety of tournaments, both free and paid entry, for Xbox games (exclusive to XBL Gold). Users will also be able to track progress in ongoing tournaments. No specific game announcements were made – though Microsoft and Virgin assure users it'll include "their favorite games" and the service is due to launch later in 2012.
Virgin Gaming hosting million-dollar EA Sports online tournament
If you're convinced that you're the best at virtual kicking, throwing, catching and running, Virgin Gaming and EA have teamed up to make your skillset into a profitable exercise. Well, potentially profitable -- the two are hosting an EA Sports online tournament for the PS3 versions of three titles: Players can compete for a $400k cash prize in both Madden NFL 12 and FIFA 12, and a $200k prize in NHL 12. Why half as much for the latter of the three? Simple: Hockey is way easier. (Please don't beat us up, hockey-people.) Before you start chasing the dream of free money, you'll want to read the fine print -- to become one of 1,000 finalists (who must pay their own way to the finals in New York City), players must drop a $10 entry fee, then win six games in a row. If they break their six-game streak, they'll have to start all over, shelling out another $10 to enter again. Of course, folks who are uncertain in their abilities can drop a cool $400, and automatically become one of the finalists. We suppose that's the ultimate sport: Having lots of money to begin with. Interested parties can read the full rules and enlist on the Virgin Gaming site -- just keep an eye out for, you know, fees.
Battlefield 3 tournament offers $1.6 million next year
EA's poured millions into the development of Battlefield 3; what's another $1.6 million handed out to its players? In conjunction with the competition specialists at Virgin Gaming, EA is holding a "Battlefield 3 Worldwide Conquest Tournament" in early 2012. Details are slim at the moment, but the competition will take place online, leading up to a live finale and the dispensation of said $1.6 million. For an idea of the scale of this, Virgin's Killzone 3 challenge had $40,000 at stake, and that was backed by shaving cream money. Thick, foamy shaving cream money.
Virgin Gaming and EA Sports holding Madden tournament at GameStops
Are you ready for some football? Virgin Gaming wants you and all your rowdy friends to come over to GameStop for some Madden NFL 12 tournaments. Registration for the "Battle of the Gridiron" event takes place from August 30 through September 18 for Madden pre-orderers and buyers, with the actual tournament happening from September 11 through October 16 in GameStop stores. For your virtual athleticism, you could be one of four winners of a "VIP trip to LA" to compete in the Madden NFL Challenge Series final -- or one of four runners-up who get the same trip to go watch the final. That's kind of a backhanded prize.
Virgin Gaming holding $40K Killzone 3 tournament
Virgin Gaming wants to give you up to $10,000! There's a catch, though ... if you want to rescue that loot from Sir Richard Branson's cavernous coffers, you first have to prove your dominance in the field of Killzone 3. Qualifying rounds for the "Killzone 3 Edge Challenge" open June 27 for the team-based tournament, with $10K up for grabs by the winning team at the end of the six-week event. In addition, weekly stat-based weekly challenges will be posted on Virgin Gaming's site, with their cash prizes. The first challenge: get the most kills! All told, Virgin is giving away $40,000 in this tournament, which is a promotional partnership between Virgin Gaming, Sony, and, nonsensically enough, Edge shave gel. Do you even shoot one uncovered face in Killzone 3? How do you know how close a Helghast's shave is?
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.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier to have online tournaments through Virgin Gaming
The new Virgin Gaming initiative currently operates online tournaments for several EA and Sony games, as well as Halo 3. Ubisoft has announced that Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will be added to the lineup of games for which Virgin offers cash awards. If you like playing games for money, but don't like Ghost Recon, there's good news for you too: Ubisoft North America president Laurent Detoc said, "We have an exciting lineup of multiplayer titles this year that we believe will be a perfect fit for gamers to play and compete against each other in a tournament setting." Perhaps you'll get a chance to win some prizes in RUSE, HAWX 2 or some other acronym.
Virgin Gaming to offer online game tournaments
Virgin Gaming may not be ready to officially reveal its operations until E3, but a bit of sleuthing has shown that at least part of its business likely will be online tournaments for popular games -- with cash prizes. MaxConsole found that the VirginGaming.com domain is administered by Entertainment Tech, the same company that runs WorldGaming.com; a site that allows members to compete in PS3 and Xbox 360 games for money. In addition, a call by MaxConsole to Entertainment Tech's Toronto office reportedly was met by a "Welcome to Virgin Gaming" greeting. Even more conclusive is this page on the Virgin site for a ModNation Racers "Online Tournament" for Canadian gamers, held in coordination with GameStop and EBGames' Canadian branches. When contacted by Joystiq, Virgin declined to comment on its business as it relates to game tournaments -- so we'll continue holding out hope that tournaments will be merely a side project, and the real business of Virgin Gaming will be to publish a Color a Dinosaur sequel.
Virgin Group returning to games, details forthcoming at E3
Mega-billionaire Richard Branson (look around your house -- there may be a document nearby indicating that he owns you) once had a game publishing company called Virgin Interactive, responsible for releasing the original Command & Conquer, the Lands of Lore games and, of course, the NES classic Color a Dinosaur (pictured above). Now, Virgin has formed a new "Virgin Gaming" initiative and will return to the game industry in an unspecified capacity. This could be the return of Virgin's game download service, which we last heard about in 2007 -- but we won't know for sure until further details are announced at E3.
