Comcast, they got Gaming
Online gaming just might be the next source of revenues for carriers. A few months after Verizon announced its plans to offer a special gaming service over its fast FiOS connections, now Comcast is saying that it loves to game. Today they are making their GameInvasion.net available nationally.
Game Invasion was previously available only to Comcast’s High-Speed Internet customers and is now being made available to consumers everywhere at www.gameinvasion.net. Comcast’s 8Mbps High-Speed Internet subscribers will continue to receive the added value of a free membership to the IGN Founders’ Club, a premium gaming package.
Comcast has partnered with Major League Gaming (MLG), and will also distribute MLG’s television show, MLG Pro Circuit, on GameInvasion.net and on Comcast’s ON DEMAND service. Comcast as you remember bought TechTV and rebranded its as G4 TV, with a heavy focus on Games.
Verizon’s Jason Henderson had told us that “gaming is a leading activity for over 75% of broadband users, and since we have over six million DSL subscribers, we had to develop a portfolio of services built for the preferred product models of each.”
Thanks for the reference. Some question whether or not gaming can be good in the current regulatory environment. Obviously, we think it can be and I discussed in detail on Poliblog. Eric Rabe, Verizon http://poliblog.verizon.com/PoliBlog/Blogs/PoliBlog/EricRabe9/166/The-Grinch-Who-Stole-Gaming.aspx.
It’s interesting to see MLG making these partnerships. I’ve worked with the organization for the past year or so and they are entirely unreceptive to promote or give back to many of the online organizations/communities that report on their activity.
For example, their forum moderators constantly squelch any mention of external sites in their forums. If you are a print source, however, your article will surely hit be plastered all over their frontpage.
Is this an example of a company that just doesn’t get the new web mentality, or does the self-reliant mindset make more sense for a budding brand?
I think that it’s a good move on the part of Comcast. This is yet another result of broadband’s increasing prevalence.
Mike
http://www.thosestupidgames.com
“This is yet another result of broadband’s increasing prevalence.”
Really? An incumbent cable provider offering fairly inane content that’s available at any of a hundred other websites in a quest to increase ad-revenue?
Interesting
How do we as a local service provider extend this game site to our customers??
Jacomo
Comcast ain’t got no game!