games - Internet Marketing News and Blogs

Virgin has closed Virgin Bets, its sports betting service, less than a year after it launched.

In a notice, Virgin says the site will be shut down for the short term and ultimately replaced by a "new and improved betting product".

The deal, which has been rumoured for a couple of weeks, will give Yahoo! ownership of Actionality’s mobile marketing platform in return for an undisclosed sum.

German start-up Game Domain International (GDI), which has created a virtual world for on-demand game downloads, is reportedly set for a dual listing in Frankfurt and London.

Due in early 2008, the IPO would value the Virgin-backed company at some €1bn (£670m), even though it won't launch commercially until later this year.

If you're anything like me you probably think this valuation is crazy. And it is.

Virgin chairman Richard Branson yesterday announced plans for an iTunes style service for downloading PC games, to be introduced later this year.

The service, which will be called A World of My Own (AWOMO), is a joint project between Virgin Games and Game Domain International.

Entertainment marketing outfit AzACreations has come out with a ‘How To’ guide on advergaming – not a new area but one in which campaigns still see widely varying degrees of success.

The report provides some useful tips on how to make the games themselves grab users’ attention. These include: setting targets for players, clear rules, allowing feedback, and enabling in-game characters to grow and develop.

It also offers ten reasons why viral campaigns fail, which we'll list after the jump...