Richard
Branson Expanding Virgin Gaming iGaming Empire, by
Greg Tingle - 20th May 2010
Gaming, gambling and iGaming fans, have we got some
news hot of the press for you. Our bat phone has been
running hot hot hot!
For
the past few months Media
Man and Gambling911 have been keeping you updated
on all sorts of exciting developments at Richard Branson's
Virgin Group, namely
Virgin Casino, Virgin Games, Virgin Poker, Virgin
Bingo, and offshoot, AWOMO (A World Of My Own), with
a DGI (Game Domain International) tie in. Last week
Branson's Virgin Racing also sponsored Full
Tilt Poker.
Richard
Branson will unleash the Virgin return to the video
gaming sector at the E3 event in Los Angeles, USA,
in June.
We
understand that a hard launch is being orchestrated,
with Sir Branson, the one and only, in attendance.
Can't wait to see what the man and his army wear and
what sorts of stunts they have up their sleeve, but
Branson isn't usually one to disappoint.
Virgin
was one of the most successful brands to have ever
competed in the video gaming industry, albeit over
a decade ago, but 2010 is looking to be a record breaking
year for the brands re birth, pardon the pun.
RB
was one of the first pioneers - visionaries to see
the massive potential of computer software as a global
Virgin entertainment business, establishing Virgin
Games in downtown London circa 1984. He later moved
the core of the operation to Guernsey which has lower
overheads and is understood to be more igaming industry
friendly!
A
Bit Of History
The
company acquired Mastertronic and rolled Sega's Master
System across the European region.
Sega
Europe continued to power along, then Virgin Interactive
Entertainment.
In
1994 it lost its Virginity, being acquired by Blockbuster
for a cool $250 million, then was purchased by media
powerhouse Viacom (which owns about half the media
world).
Virgin
Interactive Entertainment reached its financial global
revenue peak in 1997, bringing home the bacon to the
tune of $210 million.
Circa
94 - 98 it shared market dominance with EA (Electronic
Arts).
Virgin
saw partners and affiliates come on board including
such greats Westwood, Bethesda, Capcom, LucasArts
and Disney.
Since
2004 Virgin Games has been V's staple gaming brand,
other gaming ventures basically on ice... until now!
The
new gaming "start up" (of sorts), expected
to go public at E3 will see Virgin pro actively exploring
partnerships with publishers, content owners, and
you get the idea. The timing looks to be right with
'Avatar' type technologies all the rage, movies being
adapted to games in record time, and the availability
of broadband internet at reasonable prices.
Internet,
console formats and more will see the big V feature
red hot games, both classics and newbies. Think Space
Invaders to Cleo to Avatar, and their cousins.
Gamers
are calling for interactive slot games, tournaments,
TV and movie brands, and more casino and poker type
experiences, in addition to what they already enjoy.
Insiders
expect some sort of firm announcement from Virgin
at the expo or soon after re return to the mainstream
games market.
Punters,
fire up the consoles...Xbox Live, PlayStation Network,
multi-player PC gaming and more is just around the
corner from the man who brought you Virgin Records,
V Festival and Virgin Galactic... be excited... we
sure as hell are.
At
the moment Americans and Australians are not able
to play casino, poker or bingo games at Virgin, however
with the expansion of Virgin
Games, and the push to clear up any gray areas
in regions such as the U.S and down under in Australia,
the whole suite of Virgin Games may go global sooner
rather than later.
Competitors
of sorts, PartyGaming - including PartyCasino
and poker brands, Betfair
and Centrebet,
are all said to be watching this space closely. Australia's
Fairfax Media, publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald
and News Limited, publisher of The Daily Telegraph
and The Australian, are also following for both potential
deal opportunities and in a journalistic (journalism)
capacity. Foxtel has only just got wind of the news,
putting out its own gaming related press release less
than 24 hours before this publication.
Yep,
gamers and igamers... Tomb Raider, Rome Total War,
Cleopatra, Flatout, WarHammer Mark Of Chaos, Pain
Killer: Black Edition, maybe even Dan Dare and who
knows what surprises will be jumping out of your computer
once Team Branson turns on the turbo and blasts off
Virgin Galactic style. TNA Wrestling, Hulk Hogan,
Ric Flair, Bill Goldberg, UFC, NASCAR, F1 and Bull
Run are all understood to also want to talk turkey
and potential deals with Branson and 'V'.
Marvel
Entertainment, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Playtech,
IGT, World Poker Tour, WSOP, SKY, Harrah's Entertainment,
Trump Casinos, Infinity Ward, Sony and Sega remain
tight lipped on the Virgin developments.
Virgin
Games, AWOMO (A World Of My Own), bring in on... faster
than you can say Virgin Racing Inks Deal With Full
Tilt Poker! Read about the life and times of Branson
and his world of planes, trains and automobiles (and
spaceships) on the Media Man International website
portal. Hours of entertainment for free.
Virgin
remains one of dozens of corporate tech and communications
giants seeking clarity on Australian censorship laws,
both online and offline.
*Greg
Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
