ATLANTA – Featuring more than 250 original on demand videos, Turner Broadcasting today launched GameTap TV, a free broadband space addition to www.gametap.com.
Of course, with most of these multimedia things, copyright means they’re restricted to U.S. users.
GameTap TV features a mix of new channels and shows for the broadband community. GameTap itself also passed a key milestone today by offering more than 400 video games, making it the largest collection of on-demand games on the Internet. In addition to its new look and content, GameTap subscriptions are now available at a new price of US$9.95 per month.
At the center of the new GameTap TV, GameTap now offers an array of channels each with their own unique focus, all still appealing to fans of the video games lifestyle. In addition, the shows are easily accessible and fun to watch thanks to the "big screen" TV-style viewing controls which also allow subscribers to bookmark programs, games and more, so they can click back to their favorites at any time.
Among the new channels that GameTap’s subscribers will experience for the first time are:
* OnTap channel: This guide delivers the latest programs on the GameTap service. Whether you want the new episode of "Space Ghost Coast To Coast," with Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak in the hot seat or the "Tapped In" story of the SEGA Dreamcast, the best shows on "GameTap TV" are always "OnTap."
* GameTap Originals channel: Exclusive shows you won’t find anywhere else! All of the GameTap original programs are housed in their entirety on this channel, such as the reality show "Challenged" (friends settle grudges with game-offs), "GameTap Survival Guide" (experts teach novices all they need to know to master specific games), "The Class of … ?" (a pop-culture clip and quiz show), and "Hyper 5" (a top five countdown show spotlighting the wild, weird and wacked elements of games), to name a few.
* Music channel: The world of games collides with the music scene in original programming and music videos. This channel brings top musical artists to the network, including "GamePads," a show about celebrities and how games have impacted their lives, and this month’s debut of "GameTap 10," a celebrity-driven top 10 favorite video games countdown show, featuring segments with Fall Out Boy, Joe Nichols and Dem Franchize Boyz, with many others in the wings. Also featured are dozens of music videos spanning the rock, hip-hop and country genres.
* Animation channel: Debuting later this spring, the channel will kick- off with an original series of animated shorts about a campus computer lab and its unusual characters in a usual situation. It is being developed by Soup2Nuts, the creators of "Home Movies," which airs on Cartoon Network. Other original animated features are also in the works.
* Games channel: With an industry record-setting library of more than 400 games, this channel lets subscribers preview games in the network prior to selecting what they want to play. Among the marquee titles joining this month are "Crazy Taxi," one of SEGA’s most revered offerings and "King of Monsters 1 and 2" from SNK. Capcom also delivers its first batch of games, leading off with the legendary "Ghouls ‘N Ghosts" and "Ghosts ‘N Goblins," as well as classic fighter "Dark Stalkers." "Populous" from EA, "Oregon Trail" from River Deep and "Baldur’s Gate" from Vivendi Universal round out GameTap’s new March titles. Stay tuned for what’s new in April: Capcom Week, SNK Week, "King’s Quest" Week and "Street Fighter" Week.
