The industry has been hot with speculation, but Sir Richard Branson made it official today: Virgin is bringing gaming into the fold with Virgin Gaming. Calling the move an “online destination for competitive gamer console gamers”, the worldwide press release states that it will help to connect gamers of all skill levels from around the world, letting them play head to head and in tournaments for cash, points, and prizes.
Virgin Gaming has gone big out of the gate, by pulling up to the fronts steps of E3 with $1-million in cash on-hand. Over the next year Virgin Gaming will give away all $1-million through a series of tournaments.
Virgin Founder Sir Richard Branson had this to say:
“Gamers want something new, something interactive and something fun. Virgin Gaming is just that – access to play the best games in super competitive tournaments with anyone in the world and win the biggest prizes and the most rewards,” said Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, and gamer-in-training. “Giving away over $1 million in cash and prizes this year is proof. We’ve had great success with Virgin Games and Virgin Interactive Entertainment and recognized the enormous potential of an online community of 40 million daily users. I welcome gamers from novice to expert to join the online Virgin Gaming community.”
Virgin Gaming seems dedicated to the idea of bringing competitive gaming to the masses, with Virgin Gaming Vice President Bill Levy saying “Gaming is very competitive by nature, and competition is always more exciting when there’s something on the line.. There are plenty of tournament leagues out there for the pros, but we created Virgin Gaming as a platform for all gamers to have the experience of playing each other with more at stake than just pride.”
Among the features of Virgin Gaming, gamers will find “The Fair Play Guarantee™”, which Virgin states will be used to automatically validate results, a secure payment back end, and a Community Reputation Management System.
Virgingaming.com is live, so go check it out.
