Turner's GameTap Service Launches

Turner Broadcasting has made available to the public the North American version of its GameTap 'all you can eat' PC-based monthly subscription game service, with early prices set at $14.95 per month for unlimited play, but an initial offer giving subscribers the first month free, and the next three months for $9.95 per month. The service, which recently revealed Stuart Snyder as its general manager, is notable because it dips into the officially licensed back catalog of major game companies such as Activision, Atari, Midway, Namco, Sega, Taito, Ubisoft and Vivendi Universal Games, providing possible new revenue streams for classic titles. The full launch line-up for GameTap reveals possibly the largest officially licensed line-up of classic games ever assembled, including titles for the Sega 32X (Knuckles' Chaotix), arcade systems (Robotron 2084, Asteroids, Galaga), Atari 2600 (Pitfall!, Circus Atari, Breakout), Sega Dreamcast (Hydro Thunder, Mr. Driller), Sega Game Gear (Alien Syndrome, Sonic Labyrinth), Sega Genesis (Gunstar Heroes, Streets Of Rage, Shining In The Darkness), Intellivision (Astrosmash, Night Stalker), Sega Master System (Phantasy Star, Quartet), plus newer titles for Windows (Beyond Good & Evil, Pharaoh, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.) In addition, GameTap has announced that it is sponsoring the Download Fest '05, held in San Francisco on October 8th, and a "celebration of technology and music" that includes GameTap demo stations, as well as music performances from The Killers, The Doves, The Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, British Sea Power, H.I.M., and more. The service is also setting up a 'Gaming Den' to try out GameTap as part of a number of major concerts across North America, setting up at gigs from Beck, My Chemical Romance, Audioslave, Clay Aiken, and Bauhaus, to name but a few.