Virgin Mobile USA extends gaming offering
Players Club expands community gaming services, adds cross-carrier options
Virgin Mobile USA has announced a series of additions to its newly launched Players Club gaming service, offering a wider catalogue of games and a new option to text, chat and compete across multiple carriers.
Driven by mobile community technology from Motricity, Players Club is Virgin Mobile USA's recently launched advanced gaming service, available on the company's contract-free wireless network.
As a result of the new deal with Motricity, Players Club offers inter-carrier mobile community functions such as player profile management, user generated game ratings and reviews, game referrals, leader-boards and buddy lists. The service leverages technology developed by M7 Networks, a leading wireless community services provider acquired by Motricity earlier this year.
Bolstering its catalogue of mobile games for the new service, Virgin Mobile has also signed extensive product licensing agreements with a number of top-tier publishers, including Digital Chocolate, Glu Mobile and Gameloft. The existing partnership with Jamdat has also been extended, substantially boosting the company's current range of gaming content.
Highlights of the new agreements include the addition of acclaimed mobile games Deer Hunter from Glu, Johnny Crash from Digital Chocolate and Derek Jetter Baseball from Gameloft. Virgin's gaming portfolio is constantly being updated, and the company intends to develop the new relationships further with a slew of new releases in the coming months.
Dominick Tolli, vice president of product management and development at Virgin Mobile USA stated: "Our new partnerships further expand our customers' abilities to be part of an ever expanding game community. They can now compete with gamers from other select carriers, post scores or give their own expert recommendations. This, in addition to our expanded gaming selection, will keep Virgin Mobile customers coming back for more."
Virgin Mobile USA is a joint venture between the Virgin Group and digital wireless network operator, Sprint. The company offers mobile phone users a wide selection of entertainment content, including music and lifestyle features through a partnership with MTV Music Television.
Customers can purchase handsets at more than 20,000 locations throughout America, choosing from three top-up methods without the restriction of long-term contracts. Games and content, available as part of the VirginXtras and VirginXL suite can be downloaded directly to handsets using the 3G network, or by visiting the Virgin Mobile USA website.