January 6, 2006
Turner Broadcasting’s GameTap
Network and Intel Team-Up To Bring Broadband Gaming to the Digital Home
New 10 foot enhanced version of
GameTap offers hundreds of games and original video programming for Intel® Viiv™
technology-based Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
GameTap and Intel Corporation today
announced that GameTap, Turner Broadcasting’s first-of-its-kind broadband games
and entertainment network, is verified to work with the Intel® Viiv™ technology
platform, bringing the digital PC entertainment experience to life 10 feet away
on a television monitor.
GameTap offers access to original
programming and more than 300 of the greatest videogames, playable from a
broadband connected PC. With games from a wide variety of platforms, genres and
publishers, GameTap has been heralded as the “#1 pick” in Electronic Gaming
Monthly’s “Hot 10 List” for January 2006.
With the “10 foot” version of
GameTap, consumers will have on-demand access to a universe of games and video
programming on their television monitor through their PC running Microsoft
Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. As an Intel Viiv technology verified
service, it is now easier to play GameTap using wireless USB peripheral game
controllers and MCE remote control. Rich 3-D navigation and sophisticated
graphics, combined with the speed of processing through Intel’s powerful
dual-core processors, will make the GameTap gaming experience a unique Intel
Viiv technology verified application.
“Playing GameTap just got better for
consumers as we take the experience beyond the PC environment and into virtually
any room in the home,” said GameTap General Manager Stuart Snyder. “The ability
to expand the playground to a large screen and experience the network in a
bigger way brings the consumer into an even more immersive world of video games
and makes playing even more compelling.”
“For all of us who love playing
video games, GameTap’s effort to bring its huge selection of video games to the
comfort of the couch is ground-breaking,” said Intel’s Kevin Corbett, vice
president, Digital Home Group and general manager, Content Services Group.
“Adding this type of experience to Intel Viiv technology-based PCs furthers our
goal of bringing new forms of interactive entertainment to the living room.”
“We’re pleased that GameTap is
making their library of on-demand games available in an optimized format for
Media Center Edition Users,” said Dave Mendlen, director of Windows Consumer
Marketing at Microsoft Corp. “They join our growing list of content providers,
helping us deliver consumers the most diverse and relevant selection of digital
lifestyle and entertainment content available at the touch of a button on a
remote control.”
GameTap features everything from
Pong®, Pac-Man® and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell®, to Sonic® and Myst®. Turner has
licensed nearly 1,200 games from 24 publishers, including Activision, Atari,
Capcom®, Cyan, Codemasters, Dreamcatcher Interactive, Eidos Interactive,
Electronic Arts, First Star Software, G-Mode, Intellivision Lives, Ironstone,
Knowledge Adventure, Midway, Namco, SEGA, TAITO, Take-Two Interactive Software,
Taurus Media, Team 17, Telegames, 3000AD, Ubisoft and Vivendi Universal Games.
To play, game lovers just download
the GameTap software, which acts as a gateway to the GameTap vault. The
multi-level vault features a diverse mix of titles and platforms – something for
everyone. These are organized in a series of game rings, including "hot picks"
and user favorites, as well as games organized by game type (e.g., action,
adventure, strategy, etc.) and game system (e.g., Sega Dreamcast and Genesis,
Atari 2600, PC games and more). Once a game is selected, each title displays an
associated "InfoCard" that includes directions for playing, control options, and
tips, as well as parental controls (the vault contains "E," "E10+" and "T"
titles, only) and top scores from the GameTap community.
Because games reside securely on the
PC, not across a network, they play as if they were still on the console or at
the arcade, with fast response times, 3D effects, and original colors and
characters. Like a premium channel, subscribers will pay a flat monthly fee for
an "all-you-can-play" experience on up to two household PCs and also can have
several sub accounts.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. a
Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product
around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable
industry.
Intel, the world leader in silicon
innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually
advance how people work and live.
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center
Edition 2005 delivers advanced computing plus easy-to-use integrated digital
entertainment, including live and recorded television, movies, music, photos and
radio, that consumers can enjoy when and how they want. It provides an
all-in-one digital entertainment hub, accessible on either a PC monitor or TV
display, using a single remote control.
Intel and Intel Viiv are trademarks
or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United
States and other countries.
