Showtime Networks Games System Imminent
Broadband game delivery still not quite launched
GameTap still no real competition
Microsoft and Showtime have announced further ‘not quite launchedness’ information for the ‘On Broadband Networks’ games download infrastructure, which is set to compete with Turner Broadcasting’s GameTap system.
The announcement that Microsoft would be working with Showtime came at the recent National Association of Broadcasters conference (NAB2007) and signals the imminent arrival of On Broadband.
In short, Microsoft is to provide the business software underpinning Showtime’s system, which is due to roll-out to ISPs in the second quarter of this year (e.g. now’ish).
However, the press blurb tells us that the system offers “a turnkey, fully integrated, private-label game service for high speed access cable and DSL broadband providers. It will deliver the next generation of interactive video game entertainment.”
Okay, so what does all that jargon mean? Well, first up, the system, enabling users to log-on and play games online, is sold by Showtime and its partner Broadband Libraries to broadband providers. The system will integrate into an ISP’s existing setup without the company having to do any actual work itself (e.g. ‘turnkey’).
So, what’s a ‘private-label game service’? A private-label product is one that is made by one company and then sold by another under its own label. Frankly, it’s the marketing spiel for what everybody has called ‘own-brand’ for as long as supermarkets have been flogging sickly ready-meals. ‘Own brand’ just doesn’t sound as mysterious and important though, does it?
To avoid any confusion, however, let's be clear that the 'own-brand' ('private label') relates to how the On Broadband system is integrated and not to the games themselves. You're not going to see Halo on your local ISPs home page branded as Cheapo Network Shooty Fun.
Therefore “It will deliver the next generation of interactive video game entertainment”, looks just a little overblown from where we’re sitting. Also, has anybody ever heard of a ‘non-interactive video game’? Of course not.
The most recent Top 5 games on GameTap’s, for example, is:
1. Myst Online: Uru Live
2. Restaurant Empire
3. Sam & Max Episode 5: Reality 2.0
4. Pac-Man
5. Bug!
So, you’ve got to hope that the increased competition offered by On Broadband will at least improve the offerings available to PC gamers from these kind of systems. The last thing we’d wan to see if the development bar being dragged lower and lower.
The announcement that Microsoft would be working with Showtime came at the recent National Association of Broadcasters conference (NAB2007) and signals the imminent arrival of On Broadband.
In short, Microsoft is to provide the business software underpinning Showtime’s system, which is due to roll-out to ISPs in the second quarter of this year (e.g. now’ish).
However, the press blurb tells us that the system offers “a turnkey, fully integrated, private-label game service for high speed access cable and DSL broadband providers. It will deliver the next generation of interactive video game entertainment.”
Okay, so what does all that jargon mean? Well, first up, the system, enabling users to log-on and play games online, is sold by Showtime and its partner Broadband Libraries to broadband providers. The system will integrate into an ISP’s existing setup without the company having to do any actual work itself (e.g. ‘turnkey’).
So, what’s a ‘private-label game service’? A private-label product is one that is made by one company and then sold by another under its own label. Frankly, it’s the marketing spiel for what everybody has called ‘own-brand’ for as long as supermarkets have been flogging sickly ready-meals. ‘Own brand’ just doesn’t sound as mysterious and important though, does it?
To avoid any confusion, however, let's be clear that the 'own-brand' ('private label') relates to how the On Broadband system is integrated and not to the games themselves. You're not going to see Halo on your local ISPs home page branded as Cheapo Network Shooty Fun.
Therefore “It will deliver the next generation of interactive video game entertainment”, looks just a little overblown from where we’re sitting. Also, has anybody ever heard of a ‘non-interactive video game’? Of course not.
The most recent Top 5 games on GameTap’s, for example, is:
1. Myst Online: Uru Live
2. Restaurant Empire
3. Sam & Max Episode 5: Reality 2.0
4. Pac-Man
5. Bug!
So, you’ve got to hope that the increased competition offered by On Broadband will at least improve the offerings available to PC gamers from these kind of systems. The last thing we’d wan to see if the development bar being dragged lower and lower.
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