GameTap Launches Command & Conquer; Resurrecting Multiplayer Myst (October 7, 2006)

[ChrisReid]

GameTap has added a new trio of EA games to its library. Sid Meier's Gettysburg!, the original Command & Conquer and C&C Red Alert are now available to play. For those who were worried that Wing Commander Privateer's addition to the service might have been cancelled, don't despair. Both Privateer and Red Alert were announced at the same time near the beginning of this year. In related news, Gamespot is reporting that multiplayer Myst Uru is being brought back to life via GameTap. The game's dedicated fan base is cited as one of the main reasons that the series is being resurrected. New content will even be added over time, so fans that once thought their favorite series were gone have new reasons to be excited.

That Uru Live has life at all is probably surprising to some. The game had a strong fan base before it was shut down during beta on February 9, 2004 due to a lack of financial resources. Left with no official place to play the game, many players stayed together in an unsupported freeware version of the game called Until Uru, made available by its developer, Cyan Worlds.

Big game companies like Electronic Arts and Activision should take note: Communities of gamers increasingly say they won't let their favorites go quietly into the night, and small companies like GameTap are trying hard to tie into that fandom ...

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Original update published on October 7, 2006

 

[criticalmass]

Big game companies like Electronic Arts and Activision should take note: Communities of gamers increasingly say they won't let their favorites go quietly into the night, and small companies like GameTap are trying hard to tie into that fandom

That last sentence in the quote, and the one following (read the article, guys) really makes me think: The public is clearly starting to pick up the gauntlet and shows the industry what it wants.
This has happened before; but in other parts of the entertainment industry, it's relatively easy: You don't like the stuff supported by publishers - go write your own book, write drama, set up a play, paint publicly, sing in the street. That often worked - often, the industry reacted and picked up the new §trend".

I'm quite surprised to see that happen in the game industry now. Sure, the talent and the technology is there for people to create their own stuff, but I would think that computer game companies, despite all their market research, would be too aloof to bend back upon themselves.

Not that anybody'd done anything yet. But a public voice like that could be all that it takes - I'm really curious about what happens next.

 

[Lt.Death100]

EAs support for C&C and FMV just keeps gaining momentum! This is good news for WC fans!

 

[meisdavidp]

Not that anybody'd done anything yet. But a public voice like that could be all that it takes - I'm really curious about what happens next.

I know this example has been used to death, but there's this game... you may have heard of it. It's called Counter-Strike. Lots of people love it. Lots of people love to hate it. And as for the game itself, began as some folks who wanted something more tactical than Half-Life Death Match. People liked it and companies noticed all the attention it was getting. What happens next? Money.

The folks that made counter-strike were hired by valve. Now they're part of "the enemy". All I see as having really changed is that now potential hires have more of a chance to show off a resume.

But that statement was just about the availability of technology point you raised. I agree that Gametap has been a surprising developement in gaming. Now if only they would keep improving more than the game library while people are still paying attention. Better tech support and a reduced memory footprint for the front-end are things they really need to invest in.

There's another tricky point in this. Since they didn't make most of the games, they can really only provide minimal support. This wouldn't be too much of a problem but for that fact that a very sizable portion of their library is emulated. This ends up with weird situations where people can play games like Beyond Good And Evil and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, but not Dig-Dug.

I remain hopeful of the future, though.

Edit: should probably have mentioned I'm a subscriber and have only my experiences with GT to go on.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

It's worth pointing out that GameTap is pretty far from some idealistic startup, too -- they have millions and millions of dollars in venture capital from companies like Electronic Arts in the first place. This is an example of the big companies seeing a market and making a product for it, nothing more.