EA SPORTS and Virgin Gaming have officially become online bedfellows in a new partnership that puts (Sir) Richard Branson's multinational company in charge of conducting all multiplayer tournament events for future EA SPORTS games.
Announced today, the agreement will see Virgin Games integrating its online tournament platform directly into PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of select EA SPORTS titles, allowing the company full access to facilitate EA's pay-to-enter, head-to-head and sponsored competitions.
"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."
None of EA SPORTS upcoming titles have yet to be named in the deal, but the first tournaments are said to be kicking off this year. Given Virgin's marketing clout and EA SPORT's marketing budget, this is one celebrity relationship that may actually pay off.
Jan 21, 2011
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