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.

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.

Our list of affiliates here at KontrolFreek reads like a who's who of Youtube personalities.  With guys like Trumpf, Muzzafuzza and B3NDRO among the ranks, our affiliates consist of the best of the best, and that's why they're part of the family.

Since early December our affiliates have been participating in our "Ultimate Affiliate Contest."  We challenged our top affiliates to battle it out for thousands of dollars worth of cash and prizes (like a sweet 3D TV and gaming headsets!) by seeing who could generate the most sales for the month of December.  All of our affiliates did a great job and the competition was close up until the very end.

The winners for the Ultimate Affiliate Contest are:
1. Taylor Pierce - IAPP (3D TV valued at $1,000)
2. Robbie Kennison - Muzzafuzza ($250 bonus + gaming headset)
3. Ben Davis - B3NDRO ($200 bonus + gaming headset)
4. Jonathan Trumpfy - Trumpf ($100 bonus)
5. John Cummings - Boohoodman ($100 bonus)

Our winner, Taylor, built a pretty awesome Black Ops iPhone and Android App called Black Ops Virtual Coach Pro that everyone who plays CoD owes it to themselves to check out.

Thank you to all affiliates who participated!  We look forward to doing more stuff like this in the near future.  If anyone has any interest in becoming part of KontrolFreek's extended family of affiliates please complete and submit the form here: http://www.kontrolfreek.com/affiliates.asp

Do you have an iPhone?  Do you like getting great Apps for free?  Are you jonesing for some Black Ops?  Our friends, the creators of the fantastic Virtual Coach series for iPhone, have created an App that every Black Ops player should check out.  And the makers have been cool enough to give us 10 free download codes to gift to you guys.  The first 10 people to tell us why they must have this App get a code!

From iTunes

Want to take your Call Of Duty Black Ops game to the next level? Black Ops VC Basic is your tool to dominate opponents. With features designed with competitive and casual players in mind.
Features

- Gamer Lounge: A GPS based chat room, great for meeting new players, setting up scrims, and getting new info on Black Ops in real time

- User Submitted Strats: Read tons of tips, strats, and set ups from users, as well as post your own. This is great for keeping up to date with the new tips and tricks of the game.

- Detailed info on each gun, perk, equipement, and attachment. Including pro features, cost, and how to unlock.

- Video Strats: Video tips from the pros over at Optic Gaming. Want your video featured in the app, send it in.

- Detailed Tips and Tricks: Gametype specific tips from pro players to keep you ahead of the competition.

- Promos: Get 10% off Kontrol Freek Analog Sticks

- K/D Calculator: Log 10 Games K/D and W/L, this is very useful for Gamebattles players.

- My Profile: Enter a biography for others to see when you post in the chat room or the strats forum.

Plain and simple there is no other app with the amount of features that Black Ops VC Basic offers and once the game lands, many more will be added!

*** The Virtual Coach Series is designed by competitive players for competitive players. ***

Preview on iTunes:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/black-ops-vc-basic-a-competitive/id395450445?mt=8

Since there is so much interest in Battlefield: Bad Company 2, we figured we'd inform you of a little tournament being put together by GameStop, MLG/Gamebattles and Xbox 360.  Maybe you’ve heard of it already; maybe you haven't.  Either way, the deadline for entry is 3/14 (that’s Sunday, people!) and if you haven't registered yet you should probably get on it.  The tournament is for teams of 4 and you can play from your house.  So you can essentially team-up with anyone from anywhere.  And since we have such a great community of like-minded gamers here, we figured we'd create a space for you all to meet and maybe team up to play together in this tournament.

Head on over to our forums at KontrolFreek.com now!  You can discuss BC2, recruit, form squads or just yell at each other.  Just hurry, the deadline is near.

For more info on the tournament visit: gamestop.com/battlefieldbadcompany2.

See you on the Battlefield!

Carefully designed to give gamers more leverage, the FPS Freek adapter adds movement precision without disturbing the natural game-playing feel. Team FeaR felt the advantage of using the FPS Freek first hand in recent MLG tournaments they’ve won, including the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare National Championship this November.

“We’ve been using FPS Freek’s for months and wouldn’t dare play without them”, said Joey ‘Moho’ Morehouse, Captain of Team FeaR. “We’re competitive gamers and winning matters – using FPS Freek is now just part of our winning routine.”  “We’re extremely proud of Team FeaR and their recent top place finish in Anaheim,” said Ashish Mistry, CEO of KontrolFreek. “We can’t wait to see how our guys do at nationals in Orlando this January.”

The KontrolFreek products are approved for use in MLG tournaments and have been widely adopted across the first person shooter, fighter and sports gaming genres. In fact, gamers have been evolving the products original use across many gaming titles.

In addition to the FPS Freek, KontrolFreek also offers the SpeedFreek. Designed to gives gamers added control and comfort when playing racing and aviation games, the SpeedFreek's supporting slide walls enable sharper movements while adding control and precision.The FPS Freek and the SpeedFreek are $9.99 each and can be purchased at www.kontrolfreek.com or participating retailers.

About KontrolFreek
KontrolFreek designs and build products for serious gamers, giving them a competitive edge and helping them to improve performance and accuracy. KontrolFreek products are developed based on a careful study of ergonomics, ensuring each product also helps to reduce gamer fatigue, improving overall gaming comfort.