NEWS
Zachary Zeldin says partnering with EA has helped Virgin Gaming strike deals with more publishers like 2K Games and THQ
Battlefield deal ‘raises the bar’ for Virgin Gaming Record $1.6m prize fund for EA’s FPS Call of Duty Elite ‘not a threat,’ says online games tournament specialist by Christopher Dring
VIRGIN GAMING says it has hit the jackpot with an official $1.6m Battlefield 3 gaming tournament. The online competitive games specialist claims its EA deal has opened doors for them, helping the outfit score major clients such as 2K Games, THQ and Codemasters.
The company will give away some £2.6m in prizes to its members over the next 12 months. And it promised that its service can help sell DLC and keep
developers’ games out of the pre-owned bins. “When a company like EA trusts you with their $1bn IP, people see that and say ‘If EA is willing to do this then they must know something we don’t,’” said Virgin Gaming co-founder Zachary Zeldin. “We have been teaching developers about how we can be beneficial to their game, how we are going to keep users engaged in their product more, how we can roll out DLC for them and help sell more of this extra content, or how we can keep
their games out of the second-hand shelves for six months longer.
We view Elite as one of the top industry leaders taking notice of what we’re doing. Zachary Zeldin, Virgin Gaming
“If Battlefieldhas a map pack that EA wants to release, we can run a
The Games Tribe signs 90 websites by Dominic Sacco
MEDIA FIRM The Games Tribe has formed
partnerships with almost 100 independent websites in its first year.
The editorial start-up formed by ex-Future publisher Richard Keith has 60 ‘Partner’ sites, which it supports with marketing and editorial. Deals are in place with 30 for ad placements.
But this is just one part of The Games Tribe. The firm has developed its own opinion-based journalism site Made2Game, with writers such as Will Porter and The Guardian’s Keith Stuart now on board. It has also given its games press network
Gameleon.net a makeover and has launched games journalism training courses in partnership with EA.
“ “
We’ve proved to be a cost
effective way for brands to reach real gamers.
Richard Keith, The Games Tribe
“We’re serious about improving the standard of games journalism and think we can really make a difference,” Richard Keith told MCV. “As well as guiding sites we’ve proved to be a simple and cost effective way for brands to reach real gamers where they’re most comfortable: in their communities.” The Games Tribe: 0845 116 2719
$50,000 or a $100,000 tournament specific to that map pack. So now they have to buy that map pack. “We are helping that community evolve.” The Battlefield 3
Worldwide Conquest Tournament kicks off next year and ends with a live finale. It helps EA compete with Call of Duty Elite, Activision’s social service which also includes a competitive gaming element with prizes up for grabs. “We don’t view Elite as a threat,” added Zeldin. “We view it as one of the top
industry leaders taking notice of what Virgin Gaming is doing and trying to implement it themselves. Which is great. We wish them nothing but success. I wouldn’t be surprised if Activision was a part of Virgin Gaming next year. We are very excited to see how Elite is going to do and how the community is going to receive it, are they going to view it as too hardcore? Or too expensive? It is going to be trial and error for Activision in the first year and I am excited to see it.”
www.virgingaming.com
Richard Keith’s The Games Tribe has launched a series of games journalism courses
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