Online Entertainment Insider - Jan. 27, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Darksiders 2 held a huge preview event in San Francisco (which we helped out on!) and the game’s previews started hitting this week. The new game reveals the second Horseman of the Apocalypse, Death, and follows his story concurrently with War’s story in the original Darksiders. It’s a really interesting “Pulp Fiction”-y approach to the sequel, and is shaping up to be a franchise in its own right and not a rehash of other titles.

Virgin Gaming, Sir Richard Branson’s foray into interactive gambling, hit a huge milestone this week with 1 million registered users, and $7 million in prizes awarded to date. Virgin Gaming allows users to place wagers on matches and is partnered with publishers including EA and Take-Two, with Madden NFL ‘12 and NBA 2k12 being among the most popular titles to bet on. 

Find out more news from around the world of digital entertainment in this week’s edition of the Online Entertainment Insider, and have a great weekend!

Industry
Lack of Funding Cited as Major UK Games Industry Issue
R18+ Bill Goes Before Australian Parliament in February

The Players (People and Companies)
Rovio’s Former Branding Exec Lands at Big Fish Games
THQ Dropping Licensed Kids’ Games and Focus on Core Titles
UK Retailer HMV Sees Brighter Future
EA’s Origin Adds 11 New Third-Party Publishers
No BlizzCon in 2012
Gaikai Full-Game Streaming to Start Three Months After Launching on Facebook
HBO Developing Indie Game Developer Series
Virgin Gaming hits 1 Million Registered Users and $7 Million in Prizes Awarded
Nintendo Decreases Full-Year Forecast, Announces Wii U Launch
Netflix Cancels Video Game Rental Plans
NCsoft Seeks to Block the Release of Tera
Nintendo Announces Online Gaming Network
Kabam Acquires Game Studio Fearless Studios Led by Ex-Star Wars Game Developers
Fuel Uses Game Play To Reach Youth Market

Experiences (Individual Specific Games)
Warp teleporting to PC and PSN March 13
Minecraft LEGO Being Made
Don't Call Darksiders II a Zelda/God of War Clone
World of Warplanes Unveils German Aircraft
Super Mario 3D Land Sells 5 Million, Skyward Sword 3.4 Million
Rosh Online Update Brings the Pain Via Challenging Endgame Dungeons
Project Blackout Introduces New Map

Technologiliscious (Technology or Hardware)
Microsoft’s New Xbox 720 Will Be 6 Times More Powerful
No Used Games for the Next Xbox Console?
Wii U Controller's Latest Secret Revealed

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