Xfire to host PS3 online tournaments

Xfire will organise and host multiplayer online tournaments for PlayStation 3 users when the console launches later this year according to Xfire CEO Mike Cassidy.

The company already runs its Play With events for PC users, which sees users playing for and against some of the worlds' leading professional gaming clans.

"We'll bring professional console teams and let anyone who wants to play with them to do so using Xfire technology. The same thing that you see on the PC, you'll see on the PS3," Cassidy told GamesIndustry.biz.

"With our Play With events we think of it as everyone wins, because it's a way for anyone in the world to play with some of the top, professional gamers," he continued.

"It's like playing a hole of golf with Tiger Woods. That's what it's like for gamers, they get to play for five or ten minutes with some of the best gamers in the world. We've had over 100,000 people do these online events."

Xfire is currently developing a middleware solution for Sony's PlayStation 3 that will allow developers to use its PC and console communication tools in upcoming online titles. Cassidy confirmed that at least six titles are currently using the system, with more on the way.

"We've been talking to developers and publishers even before the official announcement," he said. "We've got half a dozen games already in the works, and we're talking to the majority of the top twenty PS3 game developers in the world about PS3 integration of Xfire."

Developers and publishers already in partnership with Xfire include EA, Activision, VU Games, Ubisoft, 2K Games and Lucas Arts.