GameTap: Competition for Revolution and XBLA
GameTap is a subscription-based game service by Turner Broadcasting that is touted as a “broadband entertainment network”. The service provides subscribers with the ability to play hundreds of classic arcade, PC, and console games for a single, flat monthly fee. These games vary in age from the Atari classics to the Sega Dreamcast. (See list of availible titles here)
It is an interesting concept as it provides a fully legal and more robust option to emulators for those looking to play older games on PC. However, it will face some strong competition from both the Nintendo Revolution and its Virtual Console and the XBox 360 and its XBox Live Arcade.
While Nintendo looks to be the iTunes of the gaming world with its cheap individual downloads (and the XBLA has a similar style), GameTap follows the steps of the less-successful Napster and its subscription-based fee structure.
Another disadvantage that I see with GameTap is that it is only for the PC. I would prefer to play my games via a console that is hooked up to my TV and has comfortable controllers.
Since I have yet to personally try the service out, I’ll refer to some of my favorite resources on the Net. Vintage Computing and Gaming wrote up a nice review based on their experiences with GameTap…
“If you can’t stomach the $10 monthly fee to play threateningly vaporous but addictively accessible games, you could always build yourself a makeshift legal alternative to GameTap in the form of a UGS, stocked games that you already own or have otherwise legally purchased or acquired. But without the right front-end software for the job, the convenience of GameTap just isn’t there. And convenience is exactly what you pay for with this service. GameTap is like fast food for games. If you need a quick fix, drive-thru GameTap and order a Double Gameburger. If you’re looking for a more filling, longer-lasting meal, you’ll have to cook for yourself. At $9.95/month, it’s tempting to eat out every meal. But for now, I think I’ll keep making my own burgers.” (Read more)
If you would like futher opinions, I read a great discussion of the service over at the ArsTechnica forums.
If any RetroGaming readers have any experience with GameTap, I would love to hear it. I know that some of the GameTap employees have read this blog (they have commented on some of my Revolution Virtual Console posts), so they can feel free to respond.
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Emulation
4 Comments:
I tried out Gametap when it first went live…
Quote: “*update* After installing I ran the program and was able to log in but the program keeps crashing well trying to download the game library updates. So I uninstalled and cancelled my account.”
I haven’t bothered to try it since then – I’ll just stick with my emulators. It’s cheaper.
I was thinking about trying a month or so, but, it doesn’t seem like something that’ll last long. I get kind of a “Sega Channel” vibe from it.
I am stuck on dial-up, so Gametap is not an option for me. But I do like the idea behind it… just being able to actually download Darkstalkers: The Nightwarriors and legally play it would be worth signing up.
That I get a motherload of other great classics like Robotron, Golden Axe or Phantasy Star is great too!
It’s true that there is a certain imbalance between SEGA and pretty much everyone else – but maybe other people/companies will jump on if it works out – and making it work out, is pretty much our task (and I would at least give it a go).
Though, I expect nothing but perfect emulation – if it doesn’t beat Mame or GENS or whatever near perfect emulator is out there for whatever system you choose – I’d be annoyed.
– dreaming mode on –
I would like to see some kind of legal GameRomSubscription Service – you get a bunch of old games on a CD every month or something, and get to collect it. GameROMs would be treated like real games, and you would be considered actually “owning” the game.
And it wouldn’t be just games, somebody would have sat down and scanned Manuals and covers in nice quality, added “OMAKE”-stuff like Artworks, wallpapers, interviews – you get the idea.
So it’s not just a “rom disc” either, but something you would want to collect and that would be worth spending money on if you are into old games.
Because what we are really missing is some kind of encyclopedia of old games. And I am pretty sure that all the stuff I would love to see is somewhere in an archive over at -insert good old gamecompany here- just waiting to see the light of day again.
– dreaming mode off –
aulbath, there is something like that dream deal you had, it’s StarROMs http://www.starroms.com/ when I posted this, the site was down, but I’ve visited their site before and they offer legal downloads of various MAME games (pretty much all the Atari games and some others) but currently there’s no legal option for other types of ROM’s.
To me GameTap just isn’t really anything I’d want, because the game selection currently isn’t extremely expansive (only about 400 games) and it’s PC only (Windows only at that, which is *enough*, but Mac OS X is coming). Would be more interesting if they made it available for some consoles available now or made their own game system, because GameTap is by Time Warner, one of the biggest companies in the world.
I’m sticking to emulators/do it yourself solutions.
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