AOL Launches Video Game Ranking, Competition Service
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - America Online on Wednesday said it
would launch a service allowing video game players to enter
tournaments to compete for bragging rights and prizes.
The new AOL Ladders service, a partnership with Case's
Ladder, a division of eUniverse Inc. (EUNI.PK), will be offered
for games on Sony Corp.'s (6758.T) PlayStation 2 console.
Support for Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (7974.OS) GameCube is planned
for next year.
The service, free to AOL subscribers, comes as game
publishers and console makers, looking for new sources of
revenue, take steps toward launching their own game leagues.
With the industry entering a slower growth phase,
pay-for-play events and other subscription services have been
seen as a way for publishers and service providers to stem
declines in revenue and extend the financial life of games
beyond the point of sale.
In gaming ladders, players sign up to compete in a
particular game on a particular platform. After finding an
opponent, players play and then report their statistics. As
players improve they rise up the "rungs" of the ladder.
Jeremy "Case" Rusnak, founder of Case's Ladder, told
Reuters that AOL players would be able to find opponents either
in chat rooms or by instant messenger.
AOL members, Rusnak said, are essentially getting a $19.95
yearly Case's Ladder "Gold" membership for free, with the
option to upgrade to the $9.95/month "Platinum" or $19.95/month
"Diamond" memberships, with more services and features.
Among the games initially available on AOL Ladders are
"Madden NFL 2004," "SOCOM II: U.S. Navy Seals" and "Tony Hawk's
Underground."
"For us the most important thing we can do to enhance our
games offerings ... is to bring the community right to the
center of those offerings," Matthew Bromberg, vice president
and general manager of AOL Games, told Reuters.
AOL also said it would expand the service next year by
allowing subscribers to form leagues and manage tournaments.
As online gaming becomes more commonplace, hardware makers
and game publishers have rushed to set up their own gaming
leagues, particularly for sports titles.
Publishers like Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS.O) have
suggested those leagues could eventually become pay-to-play,
and Bromberg said the ability to offer paid competitions was a
key goal for his unit.
AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc. (TWX.N), and Sony's video
game unit, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, are working
on a version of the AOL service designed to run on the PS2.
Sony executives have said they expect that to launch this year,
once they release a hard drive for the PS2.
Quelle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jetzt fehlen nur noch die Games dazu...
Sollte man diesen Service nur als AOL Kunden nutzen können bin ich eh nicht dabei!
Ich wünsche mir ein Service wie XBox Live für die nächste Nintendo Konsole...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - America Online on Wednesday said it
would launch a service allowing video game players to enter
tournaments to compete for bragging rights and prizes.
The new AOL Ladders service, a partnership with Case's
Ladder, a division of eUniverse Inc. (EUNI.PK), will be offered
for games on Sony Corp.'s (6758.T) PlayStation 2 console.
Support for Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (7974.OS) GameCube is planned
for next year.
The service, free to AOL subscribers, comes as game
publishers and console makers, looking for new sources of
revenue, take steps toward launching their own game leagues.
With the industry entering a slower growth phase,
pay-for-play events and other subscription services have been
seen as a way for publishers and service providers to stem
declines in revenue and extend the financial life of games
beyond the point of sale.
In gaming ladders, players sign up to compete in a
particular game on a particular platform. After finding an
opponent, players play and then report their statistics. As
players improve they rise up the "rungs" of the ladder.
Jeremy "Case" Rusnak, founder of Case's Ladder, told
Reuters that AOL players would be able to find opponents either
in chat rooms or by instant messenger.
AOL members, Rusnak said, are essentially getting a $19.95
yearly Case's Ladder "Gold" membership for free, with the
option to upgrade to the $9.95/month "Platinum" or $19.95/month
"Diamond" memberships, with more services and features.
Among the games initially available on AOL Ladders are
"Madden NFL 2004," "SOCOM II: U.S. Navy Seals" and "Tony Hawk's
Underground."
"For us the most important thing we can do to enhance our
games offerings ... is to bring the community right to the
center of those offerings," Matthew Bromberg, vice president
and general manager of AOL Games, told Reuters.
AOL also said it would expand the service next year by
allowing subscribers to form leagues and manage tournaments.
As online gaming becomes more commonplace, hardware makers
and game publishers have rushed to set up their own gaming
leagues, particularly for sports titles.
Publishers like Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS.O) have
suggested those leagues could eventually become pay-to-play,
and Bromberg said the ability to offer paid competitions was a
key goal for his unit.
AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc. (TWX.N), and Sony's video
game unit, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, are working
on a version of the AOL service designed to run on the PS2.
Sony executives have said they expect that to launch this year,
once they release a hard drive for the PS2.
Quelle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jetzt fehlen nur noch die Games dazu...
Sollte man diesen Service nur als AOL Kunden nutzen können bin ich eh nicht dabei!Ich wünsche mir ein Service wie XBox Live für die nächste Nintendo Konsole...
