http://www.halocouncil.com/news/2843
-Yoink!- Gaming Responds
Posted by Cyren | January 2nd, 2013
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If you have been following Sundance and MLG recently there has been some talks of Halo not making it on the circuit because of issues with Microsoft and their new deal with -Yoink!- Gaming. Here’s a post from Halowaypoint forums by Carl Clendenin (Community Manager of VG) talking about the plans and some of the questions hardcore fans are wondering about.
Hey Gamers,
I want to introduce myself first, and then I’ll circle back around with a reply. I’m Carl Clendenin, the Community Manager and Manager of Player Retention for -Yoink!- Gaming. It is my job to accept the feedback from the community (Community Manager) and make your experience with -Yoink!- Gaming the best it possibly can be (Player Retention). My job is to listen, and to give you exactly what you want.
Now with that said, there’s a whole lot to read about on the internet. I’ve read almost every reply that I’ve come across (not just here) but it’d be impossible to reply to everyone as an individual. For that, I’ve left my personal contact details at the bottom here, but feel free to contact us through our official social channels as well.
On to the good stuff.
-Yoink!- Gaming provides tournaments for all skill levels. Game integration and working with game developers to ensure a fun, fair and competitive atmosphere are what we pride ourselves on. We’re here to allow any gamer the chance to compete for epic prizes, without prejudice to his skill level. The best gamers in the world should be rightfully rewarded and crowned as such, but he shouldn’t be the only one winning the prizes.
With that said, the Halo 4 Infinity Challenge is the first of many. We wanted the Halo community to embrace us for the reasons mentioned above – and embrace us you have. Literally hundreds of thousands of gamers have joined the Infinity Challenge, playing over seven million games. For that, on behalf of -Yoink!- Gaming, we give you our sincere thanks.
But. There’s always a but…
We haven’t forgotten or overlooked anyone here. Sure we wanted to kick things off in a big way by including everyone, but competitions like the Infinity Challenge will not be our only form of competition. In fact, I look forward to working with EVERYONE in the Halo community to build competitions that you guys would like to see in the future. You as a community have built something great here, and we’re only here to help you to continue to build upon those things.
Your Feedback
It sounds cliche here, but your feedback helps me to help you. I don’t care if it’s about the rules, or the format, or if you spot a cheater – but the best possible way to shape future tournaments it to let your voice be heard. A closed mouth doesn’t get fed, so let me know what you want to see… even if you have to blow up my Twitter. 
Regarding MLG
This is a question that is bound to come up, so we may as well address it here. I admit that I’ll be short on this topic, but as clear as possible.
Last summer we signed a deal with Microsoft to develop an application to allow gamers to use the -Yoink!- Gaming service directly on the Xbox console via Xbox LIVE. You can read more on this partnership here. My sentiments about competitive and casual tournament options are echoed in that release from last summer.
Our deal was with Microsoft, and Halo 4 falls under the Microsoft Game Studios catalog.
We wish to express that we have no ill intent, and have nothing but wishes of continued success to Sundance and the rest of the MLG team.
In closing
-Yoink!- Gaming fully supports Halo. To kick things off it was our focus to create a tournament that is accessible to all Halo fans. Again, we are not focusing on only the best players, or only North American players. We’re focusing on sharing epic prizes with as many Halo fans as possible.
Remember, this is our first tournament. It is not our only tournament. I look forward to communicating with you guys in the future about how we can make the best possible tournaments a reality.
-Yoink!- Gaming is a customer service based industry. We are here to provide a service for you, the gamers. We work for you. We want what you want.
With that said feel free to contact me in anywhere, at any time, and about anything.
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Carl Clendenin
Community Manager | Manager of Player Retention
Facebook: Redirecting...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VG_Carl
Email: carl.clendenin@virgingaming.com