Competitive gaming tournament site, Virgin Gaming, recently announced that they have surpassed the one-million registered users mark. Since the service launched in June of 2010, over $7 million in prizes has been awarded to gamers.

This is great for the world of competitive gaming!

If you are not one of the 1M people in-the-know, Virgin Gaming offers free registration with the option of depositing a $20 minimum to compete in matches for cash. Currently, you can compete in 13 different games, ranging from FIFA 12 to Battlefield 3, on both Xbox 360 and PlayStaion 3 consoles.

A dispute over pay and working conditions resulted in about 300 workers climbing to the roof of one of the buildings at Foxconn Technology Park in China early last week. The incident began when employees asked their bosses for a raise but were denied. Employees were told either to quit with compensation or to keep their jobs with no additional payment. Many employees took the former, but the company decided to terminate the agreement anyway and not pay the promised compensation. The workers protested the action by threatening to jump to their deaths.

The standoff eventually came to an end when the mayor of Wuhan showed up and literally talked the former employees off the ledge.

These particular employees were responsible for manufacturing parts for Xbox 360 consoles and production had actually come to a halt for several hours during the protest.

Microsoft had this to say:

"Microsoft takes working conditions in the factories that manufacture its products very seriously, and we are currently investigating this issue," a spokesperson told the Huffington Post UK.

"We have a stringent Vendor Code of Conduct that spells out our expectations, and we monitor working conditions closely on an ongoing basis and address issues as they emerge.

"Microsoft is committed to the fair treatment and safety of workers employed by our vendors, and to ensuring conformance with Microsoft policy."

Foxconn factories in China were already under examination because of several suicides by employees in the past five years—actually forcing the company to install anti-suicide nets at some of their facilities. In addition to Xbox 360 components, Foxconn also manufactures products for Apple, Sony, Nintendo and many other Fortune 500 companies.

KontrolFreek has teamed up with FIFALeagues.com to bring you the first major FIFA 12 competition event ever—the KontrolFreek.com Open Cup on PS3 and Xbox 360! The Cup begins this Sunday, October 16^th at 12:00 PM Central time. Competitors will be vying for the prestige of being crowned champion and a handsome cash prize—ooh la la. Register Now!

Also, on November 1^st 2011, FIFALeagues.com will launch the 2012 $1,000 Ladder Season presented by Football Freek. The monthly ladder format is guaranteed to be the most competitive, fun and addictive time you can have playing FIFA 12 and we’re happy to be bringing it to you! Go get registered by clicking here and we’ll see you on the pitch!

Atlanta, GA – October 11, 2011 - KontrolFreek, the leader in creating performance gaming gear for the active gamer lifestyle, today announced it has been awarded a new patent, US Patent # 7993203, by the US Patent and Trademark Office for its gaming control stick adaptors. In addition, KontrolFreek anticipates the future approval of additional patents related to its performance gaming gear.

KontrolFreek’s ergonomically designed controller add-ons were created to provide improved comfort, grip and maneuverability to gamers playing on Xbox and Playstation consoles. In 2007 KontrolFreek introduced its first product, the Speed Freek® controller add-on for racing games, followed soon after with FPS Freek®, designed to serve the needs of the large and rapidly growing First Person Shooter audience. KontrolFreek now produces and sells more than 10 controller add-ons individually designed for shooter, sports and arcade game franchises.

“This patent highlights important key differences in our products and validates the unique contributions KontrolFreek is bringing to the console gaming market,” said Ashish Mistry, President & CEO KontrolFreek. “KontrolFreek’s commitment to innovation is demonstrated through our continued efforts at improving the gaming experience for hundreds-of-thousands of enthusiast, competitive and professional gamers worldwide.”

In addition to the patent award, KontrolFreek has continued to achieve top-line business growth, surpassing 400 percent year-over-year sales growth, and expanded distribution into key retailers via partnership with Microsoft Stores. 

In addition to new products that will be announced before the end of the year, KontrolFreek’s continually expanding portfolio of gaming controller accessories currently includes:

First-Person Shooter

• FPS Freek – KontrolFreek’s flagship controller accessory was created with the sole purpose of better precision and accuracy in first-person shooters via greater leverage, better control and less force.

• FPS Freek EPIC - Created as a tribute to the Gears of War franchise, with a crimson emblem and concave thumb surface designed for optimum comfort and grip.

• FPS Freek LEGENDARY - Extended controller thumbsticks let Halo players make smaller adjustments to track and hit targets faster and more accurately.

• FPS Freek PRESTIGE - Aim is dramatically improved and thumb-fatigue alleviated while playing games like Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Sports

• Football Freek™ – The convex, Euro-style football design is intended for maximum grip and superior ball control in football games including FIFA 12 and Pro Evolution Soccer.

• Speed Freek - This “U” shaped attachment allows for tighter turns and faster lap times in racing games.

• Speed Freek APEX - The racing controller has been updated with improved design features and ergonomic comfort to ensure maximum control across tracks or terrains and at high velocity. 

• Tee Freek™ – Golf ball-like thumb grip and added analog stick height increases range of motion for straighter drives and more accurate short games.

• TD Freek™ - The convex, laced thumbstick grip virtually eliminates thumb slippage. A must-have for fans of Madden and NCAA Football.

• Hoops Freek™ - Basketball-textured thumb pad increases accuracy through a 40% increased range of motion.

Arcade

• Rcade Freek™ – Retro-inspired analog stick enhancements are perfect for side-scroller, platformer, shoot 'em up or classic 2D arcade games.

Life is funny. Sometimes you don’t know something’s broken until one day you get a contraption in the mail that looks like a gadget off of Batman’s utility belt and you snap it on to your controller. Even then, as you proceed to relearn everything you know, you wonder if what you knew was the right way to do things anyway. You savvy? Probably not.

Below is my review of The Avenger controller adaptor by N-Control. The opinions herein belong to me alone and do not reflect those of KontrolFreek.

The Avenger snaps easily to your standard Xbox 360 controller. All you have to do is open it like a clamshell, insert your controller and close until it snaps. The Avenger also comes with a couple foam stickers that you place on both bumpers and the “A” button. I wasn’t sure at first why these were even included (they made the whole package seem hokey) but after playing with them for a while I quickly understood that N-Control has their reasons. They add a subtle yet effective tactile-ness to the remaining “naked” buttons. Nice touch. You’ll then need to make a few small adjustments by experimenting with how you would like to position the levers/rockers. Once you’ve got everything where you want it, you’re mostly good to go. The “trigger skis” feel a tad awkward at first—especially because I normally let my index fingers do the shooting—and the intimidation aspect is certainly something to consider. I’d recommend staying offline until you get a feel for it.

After playing a few levels of Halo: Reach’s campaign, I started to adjust. I was able to reload and switch weapons without ever taking my thumb off the right stick—definitely a plus when tracking those pesky Elites. Actions felt intuitive and fast, however, sometimes during intense firefights my fingers would accidentally do something I didn’t want them to do, like switch weapons instead of melee. Obviously, with more practice and further adjustment of the lever-thingys this can probably be remedied. Even while using the Avenger not as intended (by ignoring the levers and just using it like you’d normally use a controller), the mechanism that engages the face buttons brings the buttons much closer to your Freek-raised right thumbstick and lets you make some ultra-fast actions. Goodnight Covees!

The many positives do come at a cost, though. Every headset will not be compatible. The SteelSeries 7XB that I’m currently using is not compatible; nor will most that use a “puck” style jack for voice chat. Bummer.

Overall, I really like the Avenger. It’s a cool looking attachment that functions well alongside some FPS Freeks. With some more practice, I think I could probably go online and be competitive—I won’t yet—but I think I could. The learning (or relearning) curve is a commitment. It will take some time and patience to get comfortable with it. I have no doubt, though, that in the right hands the Avenger could be a dangerous weapon.

Retail price: $49.99

http://www.avengercontroller.com/

Game retailer, GAME announced recently that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be playable for the first time ever in the UK at GAMEfest. Taking place in Birmingham NEC on September 16^th to 18^th, GAMEfest will offer UK gamers the opportunity to get some hands-on time with MW3 about two months ahead of its official UK release date of November 8^th. This comes, of course, as good news for those living near Birmingham—but it’s really only mild fan service—since Call of Duty XP takes place a little more than a week prior in L.A. and attendees get actual copies of the game to take home. What’s up with that, GAME?

Tickets for GAMEfest are available now in both GAME stores and online via the GAME website for only 10 pounds. You will need a GAME Reward Card to purchase a ticket.

We often get questions about third-party controllers and their compatibility with our products. With a ton of these controllers on the market today, things can get confusing. Don't worry—we've got you covered. Our products were designed for OEM Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers but do fit many third-party versions. Here is a list of known controllers and their compatibility:

PS3 DualShock 3 OEM – YES

Xbox 360 OEM – YES

Xbox 360 (New D-Pad) -- YES

Razer Onza -- YES

Razer Onza TE -- YES

Power A Pro EX/Elite – YES

Evil Controllers Evil Sticks – YES

PDP AfterGlow PS3 – NO

PDP AfterGlow Xbox 360 – YES

Wii Nunchuk -- NO

PS2 DualShock OEM -- YES

Xbox Controller S – YES

MadCatz Call of Duty: Black Ops PrecisionAIM Controller – YES

Datel Turbo Fire 2 Xbox 360 – NO

OnLive Controller – YES

This list is by no means a comprehensive listing of controllers and their compatibility. We try to test all controllers that we get questions about but due to various things we can't test out everything that comes to market. If you know the compatibility of a controller and would like to share your knowledge with us and the community, please add it here.