I havent tried Gametap but their concept is intriguing and they are in the news again.
They are trying to provide video games as a monthly service rather than a product. Gametap will be a TV channel for games, which is an interesting idea.
They tout 700 games but the bulk of that is recycled games from years gone by. The nostalgia factor is high but having just tried Gauntlet and Timepilot on Xbox Live Arcade, I can say that those awesome games suck pretty hard today. Games age about as well as haircuts and clothes - go look at your high school photos if you doubt me. Retro games are a great idea that has limited appeal in practice. Today's free web-games are better than arcade games of the 1980's.
Much more interesting is the idea of new games paid by subscription, which naturally lends itself to the idea of episodic games. Valve claims ot be doing episides with Half Life 2 but Tell Tale Games has actually being doing it longer. Moreover, the TellTale games like Bone and now Sam & Max are trying to do an episodic format that more closely resembles TV or comic books, ie weekly or monthly.
It is unclear if they can pull it off, but it will be interesting to watch. With titles like Sam & Max as well as Myst and money from Turner Broadcasting, GameTap has the resources to will get attention.
GameTap Launches 'GameTap Original' Label
October 17, 2006
Turner Broadcasting System has announced that it has formed a new label for its GameTap subscription PC 'all you can eat' gaming service, which currently offers over 700 licensed video games for download and play on demand. The new label, "GameTap Original", will represent a continuation of existing licensing agreements, as well as see new partnerships formed with additional independent developers and publishers to bring more original titles to the service.
Sam & Max: Episode 1, which launches today exclusively on GameTap, as well as the upcoming Myst Online: Uru Live, are two examples of franchises that GameTap has co-published and helped bring back to life. While nothing specific was announced regarding upcoming franchises set to debut as part of the new GameTap Original label, representatives did note that it will be used to identify soon to be announced episodic games based on renowned TV and film franchises.
Finally, supporting its new GameTap Original label, GameTap will be the premiere sponsor of the 9th Annual Independent Games Festival, held in conjunction with the 2007 Game Developers Conference to celebrate the innovation and creativity of independent game developers.
