Personal Technology

Computer game fans are getting their titles via broadband instead of from retail shelves

July 22, 2004

By VICTOR GODINEZ / The Dallas Morning News

It's easy to forget that consoles aren't the only game in town.

Michael Hogue / DMN New Web services from Yahoo and Comcast and the new Phantom console from Infinium Labs allow gamers to download titles via broadband.

Sales of games for video consoles such as the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube hit $5.8 billion in 2003.

But PC games raked in a respectable $1.2 billion with much less fanfare than their console counterparts.

Now a handful of companies are hoping they can boost computer game sales by adopting a new way for PC gamers to buy and play their favorite games.

Call it the all-you-can-eat buffet model.

These companies are banking that gamers, instead of driving to a store, browsing through crowded shelves and maybe purchasing one $50 PC game, will subscribe to what is essentially an online streaming service.

For a monthly fee, you'll be able to play as many games as you want, downloading one section of the game at a time through your broadband connection.

Two models for subscription-based PC gaming are emerging: one using a regular PC hooked up to a computer monitor, and a more specialized PC-in-a-box system that attaches to a television like a standard video game console.

Games on demand

Yahoo (gamesondemand.yahoo.com) and cable TV and Internet service provider Comcast (www.comcast.net/gamesondemand) already have their systems up and running.

For $14.95 a month, you can log on to their gaming sites with a standard PC and access roughly 100 titles, with more on the way.

Comcast's titles include fairly new blockbusters such as Neverwinter Nights, Unreal Tournament and Dead Man's Hand. Popular games on Yahoo's service include recent titles such as Civilization III, Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 and Mafia.

Both also offer simple board and puzzle games, as well as children's releases.

As long as your subscription is active, you can play any of the games as often as you like.

"Video on demand has been out for some time, and we think that consumers are growing more and more accustomed not just to the on-demand concept, but to what the benefits are that on-demand can bring them," said Jeanne Russo, director of corporate communications for Comcast Online.

Comcast's Games on Demand service also eliminates the risk of buying a game that your PC doesn't have the horsepower to run, thanks to a built-in application that checks whether your machine matches the required hardware, said Jen MacLean, director of sports, entertainment and games for Comcast.

"You go to the store and look at the requirements, which are kind of buried on the bottom of the box and say things like they require DirectX 9.0 and 64-megabyte video card," she said. "We do the job of making sure the customer can actually play the games."

Phantom system

The other subscription model for PC games comes from Infinium Labs Inc.

Infinium's Phantom system was once considered "vaporware" by many gamers.

But with finalized technical specs, a formal unveiling at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May and a targeted launch date of Nov. 18, the Phantom is clearly on its way.

The Phantom has the guts of a PC but the visage of a console.

Like a PS2, it plugs into your TV, and the sleek box nestles comfortably with your DVD player or home theater system.

But you never insert a game disc into the Phantom.

Using a separate broadband connection, gamers will be able to buy or rent PC games for the Phantom's hard drive and play them with a specially designed keyboard and mouse on their television.

Hard-core gamers have posted their critiques of the Phantom on gaming message boards, mainly regarding the two-year, $29.95-a-month subscription, a lack of first-run games and the inability to upgrade the Phantom's hardware as more technically demanding games are released. (You can also buy a Phantom for $199 and pay a month-to-month subscription.)

But hard-core gamers aren't Infinium's main target, said Mike Goodman, an analyst with the Yankee Group.

Mr. Goodman said that publishers will still want to release their top-tier games to retail stores first, where they can collect the full $50 price from serious gamers.

But games-on-demand services such as the Phantom mean that older games that have exhausted their retail runs won't disappear, he said.

"Once that game has sold what it's going to sell in retail, you then create – the way the movie industry has done with theatrical, video and cable releases – a second window," he said.

And the subscription model means that Infinium doesn't need a lot of customers to make a profit, Mr. Goodman said.

"Their pricing is designed in such a way with long-term commitments that tie you into the service that make sure you maintain that subscription," he said.

And the versatile PC platform means that Infinium could eventually expand the Phantom's focus.

"Right now, that's gaming," Mr. Goodman said. "But that doesn't mean that you cannot successfully layer on additional services. It could just as easily be music or video."