Advertisement

Register for free to remove this ad

Despite Wednesday’s rant about E3, there are a bunch of pretty hot games coming out, even if some of them are mostly visual upgrades to last year’s model. Although I complained about the lack of innovation on display, I’m really not a gaming snob. To me, a fun game doesn’t need to be revolutionary. A good time is really all I’m after. That being said, for the CAG E3 2005 Best in Show pick, I wanted the winner to be more than just a good time. I wanted to highlight the most innovative and potentially ground-breaking product at the show.

CAG E3 2005 Best In Show Selection – GameTap

GameTap, which is owned by Turner Broadcasting, is a monthy subscription-based service which will allow its members to play (on their PCs) thousands of classic arcade, console (ranging from Atari 2600 to Sega Dreamcast), and PC game titles. Subscribers will also have access to additional media content, such as commercials and interviews, as well as brand new content created just for GameTap. As a sample of the type of new content that will be developed, we were shown a clip of Space Ghost interviewing Billy Mitchell, the Pac-Man champion who looks like he’s still stuck in the 80s.

For a service like this, the user interface is integral to success which GameTap seems to have recognized. The interface seems easy to navigate and, I must admit, a bit sexy. Every game has a large identifiable graphic/logo which can be quickly and easily browsed through, and each game has its own section for additional content (as mentioned above). It isn't easy to describe, but the style reminded me of a cross between Minority Report and The Matrix. I recommend checking out this video if you want to see it action.

What excites me most about GameTap is its potential to bring core gamers (dorks like me) and the casual gamer into the same virtual community. It's hard to imagine another gaming product with the prospect for such mass-appeal. It also does my heart good to see some new life breathed into these older games that were not easily available to the general public. The service will also offer online leaderboards for comparing high scores and the programmers are looking into implementing online multiplayer play (but no promises). I was told that the monthly fee would be between $10-$15 a month. At $10, I feel the service is a great deal, but at $15, it might be too pricey and scare off casual gamers (and some of the MAME savvy core gamers). I would like to see a $10 basic plan, and $15 “Gold” plan which includes online multiplayer (for some games) .

Some of you may remember that something similar was attempted before. Time Warner, who owns Turner Broadcasting, gave this a shot back in 1993 when, along with its partner Sega, they launched The Sega Channel. This was a monthly subscription service that would allow Sega Genesis owners to download and play games through their console. I recommend checking out this article if you want to learn more about The Sega Channel.

In a pretty strange coincidence, we had a member of the GameTap Beta Test team post on our forums to invite CAGs to come and apply to test out the service. I’m looking forward to helping shape something with such exciting potential. Congratulations, GameTap, and good luck!

Originally Posted by CheapyD As a sample of the type of new content that will be developed, we were shown a clip of Space Ghost interviewing Billy Mitchell, the Pac-Man champion who looks like he’s still stuck in the 80s.

I must see this. That guy cracks me up...well...both of them do. I guess only one is intentionally doing it though.

I knew a guy who had the Sega Channel, and this was late into its lifespan...must have been like 1996-97. Was pretty neat but since it was basically limited to Genesis it was nothing special as far as I'm concerned. Having so much stuff to draw from for the Gametap concept is nice though. If it were $10 I'd probably go for it.

Nice... this gametap looks very promosing, there are alot of games i can see from that video that would cost more than 15 to buy anyway!

score!

Although it doesn't surprise me, I haven't seen much on this. It's a great idea. I'm guessing they're making an all purpose emulator for the thing?? I loved Sega Channel back in the day. I'm sure the game companies would support it, as it'll battle emulation. The interface will make or break this thing though.. making an all purpose emulator can't be all that easy.

PC gaming is dead. I seriously doubt this service will last more then two years.

Originally Posted by thorbahn3 PC gaming is dead.

Please elaborate.

Originally Posted by thorbahn3 PC gaming is dead. I seriously doubt this service will last more then two years.

half life 2, doom 3, mmorpg's, counterstrike, etc....

Lol, as I was reading this article I pictured Cheapy sitting in a brand new car counting $100 bills. How much is GameTap paying you anyway? I hear Ted Turner's got deeeeep pockets.

I'm looking forward to the follow up article that discusses the tastyness of McGriddles.

Originally Posted by evilmax17 Lol, as I was reading this article I pictured Cheapy sitting in a brand new car counting $100 bills. How much is GameTap paying you anyway? I hear Ted Turner's got deeeeep pockets. I'm looking forward to the follow up article that discusses the tastyness of McGriddles.

Heh heh...I'm still car-less. The only thing I got from GameTap/Turner was a free bottle of water during the demo.

Never had a McGriddle, but since I'm not a big fan of McDonald's I wouldn't shill for them, even if they asked. I wouldn't want to be responsible for the fatifying of the World.

However, if Mr. Turner & Co. is reading this, I do think I would be a good spokesman for GameTap . CheapyD is going to be jobless soon so somebody hire me for something .

Originally Posted by thorbahn3 PC gaming is dead.

Every year or so, although probably more often than that, someone comes along and says PC Gaming will die a horrible death at the hands of consoles or other convergence/convenience devices, such as discussed in this article. I don't buy it. PCs are a unique platform to which many gamers have a loyalty. The fact that everyone doesn't have the same hardware provides an interesting variety of options. And simply the fact that PCs are already in our homes and do so much more for us than gaming give us a reason to keep playing games on them. If you don't believe me, look at WoW and HL2 and any number of other recent titles which have sold impressively well. There's still a market for the games, so devs and pubs will be there to provide the games and reap the benefits.

GameTap, which is owned by Turner Broadcasting, is a monthy subscription-based service which will allow its members to play (on their PCs) thousands of classic arcade, console (ranging from Atari 2600 to Sega Dreamcast), and PC game titles.

Most pc gamers already do that... for FREE.

Not to mention that PC gamers are used to playing games online for free and having access to tons of mods, fm's and other content, by developers and the mod community alike, for FREE.

Just the other day I was mailed a FREE CD with a brand new 600meg fan made expansion (which is awesome!). These gamer communities are going to laugh at this pay service.

Originally Posted by CheapyD Please elaborate.

Every year sales of PC games go down & down. This is because people would rather buy a cheap system then a expensive PC that they have to upgrade every year. The only thing the PC has going for it is online play which will be killed once the next gen systems come out with easy to hook up ways (Wi-Fi). Sure there will always be PC games (freebie net games) but it has had it's best days behind it.

Originally Posted by thorbahn3 Every year sales of PC games go down & down. This is because people would rather buy a cheap system then a expensive PC that they have to upgrade every year. The only thing the PC has going for it is online play which will be killed once the next gen systems come out with easy to hook up ways (Wi-Fi). Sure there will always be PC games (freebie net games) but it has had it's best days behind it.

PC game sales went down from $1.2 billion in 2003 to $1.1 billion in 2004. I don't think that's exactly heralding the apocolypse for the platform. Many new games retail for $29.99 while their console counterparts sell for $49.99. That may account for some of the "lost" sales. With all the licensing fees and testing required on a console, game development can become costly, whereas on a PC someone could write a game out of their garage and make a nice sum of money selling it cheaply. In order for the same title to break even, it would have to sell more units on a console than PC, which it usually does anyway.

There is already a similar service called Console Classix http://www.consoleclassix.com/
It lets you play many NES and Atari games for free. For SNES and Genesis games you'll have to pay a monthly $5 fee. It doesn't have as many games as GameTap promises to have, but hey free NES games!

I knew this wasn't going to be the most popular selection, but hey, I call it as I see it.
I guess in less than a year, we will find out if I know what I am talking about.

I think GameTap's real challenge will be selling themselves to the casual gamer. As most of you know, the causal gamer market is where the real money is. Getting them to dish out $15 a month is going to be a really tough sell, IMHO. $10 seems a lot more digestible.

I think the core gamers will buy into the service if the quality is there (at least those who aren't down with piracy). Even so, playing ROMs on your PC will be an entirely different experience than GameTap. As with many things, you get what you pay for. $10 a month is only $120 a year (or 2 Xbox 360 games )

As long as Turner doesn't screw it up, GameTap's constantly evolving multimedia game library, combined with online leaderboards should be too good to pass up for people like us. The hope of online play is also significant and should be packaged into some kind of premium service, perhaps priced at $15.

My expectations are high, as from what I've seen and heard, Turner is investing a lot of resources into this project. I am hoping we will all be very impressed when GameTap launches later this year, and you will post back in this thread, writing, "OMG Cheapy, you so smart!".

It's interesting.

I was actually a Sega Channel subscriber back in the day and I really liked it. I was able to play some Japanese games that I otherwise would not have been able to play.

Originally Posted by thorbahn3 PC gaming is dead. I seriously doubt this service will last more then two years.

That's what they said when they came out with Pong back in 1973..DUHHHH

Well, I guess Turner's PR people weren't that excited about their award, since they didn't mention it on their Press page. Come on guys, the Cheap Ass Seal of Approval is rare!

Gametap....was this the Phantom from last years E3?

Originally Posted by radjago Every year or so, although probably more often than that, someone comes along and says PC Gaming will die a horrible death at the hands of consoles or other convergence/convenience devices, such as discussed in this article. I don't buy it. PCs are a unique platform to which many gamers have a loyalty. The fact that everyone doesn't have the same hardware provides an interesting variety of options. And simply the fact that PCs are already in our homes and do so much more for us than gaming give us a reason to keep playing games on them. If you don't believe me, look at WoW and HL2 and any number of other recent titles which have sold impressively well. There's still a market for the games, so devs and pubs will be there to provide the games and reap the benefits.

The problem is that while MANY console games ell upwards of 500k units each year, barely any PC game eve reach 500k.

So, from a business standpoint, you could definately make the argument that PC gaming is dying.