Blockchain

FORMULA E DRIVER DANIEL ABT FIRED BY AUDI FOR VIRTUAL CHEATING

Published

6 years ago

May 29, 2020

German Formula E driver Daniel Abt has lost his seat with Audi’s official factory team after cheating in the Formula E Race at Home Challenge.

In a clear illustration of the dangers of traditional sportspeople not taking esports seriously, two-time Formula E race winner Daniel Abt has lost his seat with Audi’s official team after organising a “prank” that backfired.

Launched in response to the suspension of the 2019-2020 Formula E season due to the COVID-19 crisis, the rFactor 2-based Formula E Race at Home Challenge, is part of a fundraising partnership with UNICEF.

Abt is a well-known driver in Formula E, having started all 62 races since its 2014 Beijing launch. He initially drove for his family’s racing team, Abt Sportsline, but entered a partnership with German car manufacturer Audi in July 2017, joining its official factory team.

The controversy involved the fifth stint of the Race at Home Challenge, when Abt came up with the idea of getting a top sim driver to race in his place, to “prank” the other drivers, and then create content around the drama.

In the event, Austrian sim racer Lorenz “Lozbert” Hörzing masqueraded as Abt, and drove well, before crashing with Stoffel Vandoorne while fighting for the lead, eventually finishing third. The high standard of driving and good finishing position caused other drivers to suspect foul play, and organisers soon found “Abt” had used a different IP address than usual.

Abt released a video statement explaining and apologising for his actions,

“This is a game, a simulation, but it has nothing to do with motor racing, with what I usually do. Of course, they attempted to make it realistic, but it definitely is anything but what a real Formula E car is – how it drives, how it feels. Also, races are unrealistic. That became evident for everyone in the first [race at home challenge] race by what happened on track. Accidents happened en masse, everybody drove as they pleased, and the game had bugs.

“To be honest, I believe from an outside perspective it was not what constitutes a real Formula E race, the essence of professional racing. Our intention going into the races was primarily to entertain the fans at home rather than racing for results.”

“I can understand that we took it too far with our idea. In retrospect, we did not think about the seriousness and consequences of this and made an enormous mistake. I stand by my mistake and accept the consequences for what I’ve done and want to emphasize that I’m relieved that the sim racings guys haven’t been dragged into the scandal too much. It’s my responsibility and I’ll bear it.”

Although the series is for entertainment purposes only, with no points or prize money being awarded, and Abt admitted the “prank” immediately, Audi has taken a dim view of Abt’s shenanigans, and kicked him off the team.

In a statement Audi explained:

“Daniel Abt, after six years and 63 races, will no longer drive for Audi in Formula E. He has been part of our Formula E team since the debut of the racing series in September 2014, and our official factory driver since the autumn of 2017. In Mexico and at our home round in Berlin, Abt took two fantastic Formula E victories and scored a total of ten podium results. With Daniel, we celebrated great success and made enormous strides with Formula E. We are thankful for our time together and look back on it proudly.

“However, integrity, transparency, and consistent compliance with applicable rules, especially with regards to the past, are top priorities for us at Audi. We stand by our culture of tolerating mistakes. However, the incidents that took place during the ‘Race at Home Challenge’ sim racing series were not a mistake, but a conscious decision to go against the rules.

“That is what makes the big difference for us. Therefore, unfortunately, we had no other alternative than suspending Daniel Abt.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Though it’s very likely that Abt didn’t intend anything nefarious in this incident, his statement makes it clear that he doesn’t take esports seriously, so Audi’s decisive actions should be applauded. With the esports industry growing rapidly, it’s critical to protect the integrity of all competitive play, whether there’s prize money or betting involved or not.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Blockchain

VCOIN LAUNCHES DEBIT CARD WITH UPHOLD: IMVU USERS EARN IN-GAME & SPEND IN REAL LIFE

VCOIN has teamed up with Uphold on a debit card that lets IMVU users spend currency earned in-game on real-world purchases.

Published

5 years ago

June 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

Vcoin launches debit card with uphold: imvu users earn in-game & spend in real life

VCOIN, the transferable digital currency used in the social metaverse app IMVU, has launched a debit card in partnership with digital money platform Uphold, allowing users to take value earned inside the virtual world and spend it in real life.

IMVU users can now withdraw VCOIN to an Uphold account and spend it using the Uphold debit card, earning 2% cashback on every purchase, both online and in store.

How the card works

The card is available first to US residents, with international availability to follow. Digital-only cards are free to order and use through the Uphold Card app, while a physical card carries a one-off fee of $9.95. Cashback on purchases is paid into the cardholder’s Uphold account.

From virtual economy to real wallet

VCOIN was first introduced inside IMVU, the friend-discovery and social metaverse app operated by Together Labs. IMVU runs one of the larger virtual economies of any social platform, with around 27 million transactions and 14 billion credits changing hands each month, according to the company.

The debit card closes the loop between that in-app economy and everyday spending. Creators and users who earn VCOIN by selling virtual goods or participating in the community can now convert those earnings into money they can use at ordinary merchants, rather than keeping the value locked inside the app.

A test case for the creator economy

The launch reflects a wider effort across gaming and virtual worlds to let users earn real income from in-game activity. It also highlights the regulatory hurdles involved: by routing withdrawals and spending through Uphold, an established and regulated money platform, VCOIN relies on a partner already set up to handle compliance, identity checks and card issuing.

How widely users adopt the card will be watched closely by other platforms considering whether to let virtual currencies flow out into the real economy.

Blockchain

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE’S WOLVES ENTER ROCKET LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Published

6 years ago

November 5, 2020

AYO News Staff

English Premier League football club Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) has entered the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS).

Wolves already fields rosters in FIFA 21, FIFA Online 4, PUBG, Identity V, and Pop Kart Racing, and is the first Premier League club to enter the RLCS.

Discussing the news Wolves General Manager for Marketing and Commercial Growth, Russell Jones, said:

“Gaming and esports remain a crucial part of our brand growth strategy and signing such talented and ambitious players to represent our Rocket League esports team is another step forward in our journey to build stories outside of football and widen the appeal of the Wolves brand across the world.

“We have spent the last six months scouting teams and players and are delighted to welcome Rix, Luis and Ole, who will become Wolves Esports for the remainder of the current RLCS season X and beyond. We will be offering the team our full support as they compete in the winter split.

“I’d also like to thank the University of Wolverhampton who continue to be an exceptionally supportive partner of the Wolves Esports programme.”

While Team Captain of Wolves Esports Rocket League, Rix Ronday, added:

“It is a real honour to captain the first-ever Wolves Esports Rocket League team. I’m confident that we have recruited two of Rocket League’s most exciting talents in Ole and Luis and we are working hard behind the scenes to prepare for the RLCSX Winter Split kick-off.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Wolves have already demonstrated their enthusiasm for esports, using it to strengthen what is now a powerful global brand – for example, way back in February 2019, it became the first Premier League club to enter Chinese esports, through a partnership with Weibo eSports Club.

And, given the very real possibility of COVID-19 causing further disruption to football, diversifying the brand into multiple esports seems like a smart way to ensure fan engagement can continue, come what may.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Blockchain

FIFA 21 CHALLENGE IS MOST WATCHED EA ESPORTS EVENT YET

Published

6 years ago

November 4, 2020

AYO News Staff

The EA SPORTS™ FIFA 21 Challenge has smashed the viewership record, with an Average Minute Audience of over 250K.

A one-day esports tournament that paired top global professional footballers with the world’s best FIFA players, the EA SPORTS™ FIFA 21 Challenge drew an average minute audience (AMA) of 254,057 with a total watch time of 1,024,696 hours, making the event the most-watched EA operated esports broadcast in history.

In fact, the broadcast more than doubled the viewership metric set by the next most-watched EA operated FIFA event, the FIFA Global Series FUT Champions Cup: Barcelona, which took place over multiple days in January 2018 and registered an AMA of 92,678.

During the competition, four esports players paired with four professional footballers from international clubs Liverpool, West Ham United, Inter Milan, and Borussia Dortmund, clashed on October 29 for the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Challenge.

Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fnatic’s Tekkz took home the trophy and won $20,000 on behalf of their selected charities

In addition to incorporating celebrity participation to reach non-traditional gaming audiences, the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Challenge was the first event to utilize FIFA Global Series Viewership Rewards, creating an interactive broadcast for viewers with in-game benefits for watching to further drive engagement and subsequent play time.

Reflecting on the event EA SPORTS FIFA Commissioner, Brent Koning, said:

“EA SPORTS FIFA is woven into the fabric of football culture. Bringing professional footballers and our esports pros together creates entertainment that sets our tournaments apart.

“The success of the FIFA 21 Challenge reinforces our strategy and vision for broadening the esports audience, creating content for our fans, and underscores the value of entertainment-driven events that branch outside of traditional esports.”

The FIFA 21 Challenge was a part of a series of EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series pre-season invitationals, featuring notable influencers, footballers, and FIFA pros, in partnership with the interactive entertainment world’s biggest video streaming and content platforms.

It’s a nod to EA’s renewed competitive gaming strategy, which leverages the convergence of traditional sports, competitive gaming, and pop culture to create new, engaging, and accessible broadcasts for diverse audiences.

AYO.NEWS says:

Viewership figures like this illustrate just how integrated esports, especially FIFA, is becoming in mainstream football culture, and the growth looks set to continue, and reflects well on EA’s competitive gaming strategy. Last month, EA announced improvements and a bigger prize pool for the upcoming esports season.