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Joystiq interviews GameTap about big changes and Mac support
Joystiq recently spoke with GameTap's VP of Marketing, David Reid, and their VP of Content, Rick Sanchez, about all the major changes coming to the service this Thursday. Most notable is the introduction of a free ad-driven GameTap service, effectively turning it into a hybrid, adapting casual game site Pogo.com's model while offering more than just casual games. One of the big recent announcements was that Tomb Raider: Legend will be offered free by this ad-driven service and GameTap even created a Lara Croft mega-site to showcase all things Lady Croft. We got a chance to talk to them about what's really going on with the service, which is still very unique in the gaming space, and future growth including ... Mac support. So, let's start off with David [Reid, VP of Marketing]. GameTap has had some serious changes over the last couple years. The service has almost mimicked the life of a cable television station. Starting off by showing mostly re-runs geared to the demographic and slowly introducing original programming. Is this an accurate model of what we should expect in the future? Well, yes and no. You've got some of the history there pretty accurate. Internally, we look at Cartoon Network at how GameTap got started. Turner Broadcasting has this core competence in acquiring content. That's how TBS got started, Cartoon Network got started and how GameTap got started. The real difference is [GameTap] was Turner's first direct consumer business, its first games business and first broadband business. There has been a big push in Turner to get digital fast and build on the expertise they had on the licensing front. What you'll see more of is a less purist game business model and more of an overall broadcast model. Like our ad-supported games service. Providing publishers a much richer sense of opportunity to make money off their intellectual property. Right now, the games industry, it's very much like box office. Like a movie, you see the marketing, you go to the theater and get the experience. The digital retail business we're launching on Thursday is sort of like a box office premiere. Then our subscription business (what we've known GameTap as), which keeps getting better, is video-on-demand. Then the free service is your free broadcast television. So, our model, it's more like what film and TV does rather than what cable does. %Gallery-3513%
The truth comes out about DirecTV's 100 HD channels
Multichannel news got more details about DirecTV's promise for 100 new HD channels, and surprise, surprise, there really aren't 100. First and foremost they are counting the NFL Sunday ticket channels, which seem very lame considering they are not on year round and have been carried for a few years now. That accounts for 13 of the 100 channels, but what about the rest? DirecTV's CEO Palkovic said they are actually adding 70 or 80 "year round" channels, which is still hard to swallow considering how many HD channels are due this year. If you were expecting some of those channels to be from Voom, think again, not only does he say that no Voom channels are included, but disses them by saying the channels DirecTV is adding "will actually be compelling". Wow those are tough words from a company that talks a big game and has failed to deliver anything new but low quality HD locals for the past two years. While we are skeptical of DirecTV's claims we will be the first to jump ship, despite the HR20 if all those HD channels become a reality.
GameTap forgets half its name, adds music content
GameTap has added music content to its diverging focus from being a videogame download service. While game-related video shows -- and some that aren't expressly about games -- were already a part of GameTap, the music areas and new "Artist of the Month" selection confuse the message.GameTap has recently been earning gamer credibility by publishing new titles like Sam & Max episodes and the upcoming Myst Online: Uru Live, but the new music content seems like an idea from out-of-touch marketers to appeal to a younger audience. Even the first two featured bands seem like a scattered approach. Fall Out Boy strikes us as My First Emo, appealing to the Music Television kids with their Total Request Lives. (At least Kyle's cousin likes it.) And The Hold Steady is nearly the opposite, a great rock outfit that sounds like the smokey halls it plays.But, come on, GameTap. If we wanted to listen to The Hold Steady, we'd play it on our stereo. (And if we wanted to listen to Fall Out Boy, we'd turn on an MTV awards show.) We hope that GameTap can turn a profit and please papa Turner without pandering to a music audience.GameTap, it's too early for you to jump the shark; keep the focus on games.
Showtime to launch On Broadband gaming network
Subscription cable network Showtime has announced plans to launch On Broadband, an online gaming service, in second quarter 2007. Although a subscription model will be available, games will be available for purchase a la carte to download for your PC.The service will be sold to cable TV and DSL companies to function under their name, although all the work will be done by On Broadband. No details have been given as to what games will be offered or what prices will be set (and whether that will be up to Showtime or the individual providers).Any comparisons to GameTap might be unfair as this service is not working under an unified name. However, if their intention is to compete with Turner's subscription gaming network, then their next few announcements better be partnerships with some major publishers.
Sam & Max to debut this fall on GameTap [update 1]
After more than a decade of absence, Sam & Max will be returning in an all-new episodic adventure game this fall. The catch? According to this press release, Turner's gaming service that provides a library of games for a monthly fee. GameTap coproduced the title with TellTale Games.An official website has launched for the title, and an official video will debut on the site Thursday. This is big news for GameTap, but we don't know of any plans to distribute the game via conventional means -- will only GameTap players be able to get their Sam & Max fix? Say it ain't so![update 1: not exclusive to GameTap]
