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GameTap is not dead yet, confirmed after poking it with a stick photo

After GameTap fired its entire editorial staff, the assumption was that the downloadable game service was in a decent amount of financial trouble. Recently, GameDaily conducted an interview with GameTap’s vice president of content, Rick Sanchez, in which he assured the interviewer that “the rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated.” This apparently means the service is here to stay.

In regards to the editorial staff firing, Sanchez alludes to the fact that it was consumer disinterest, rather than a move to alleviate funds for a sinking ship.

...the decision to cease publication of our editorial product and our online video had more to do with customer feedback than anything else.
The most important aspect of the GameTap service is its ability to keep providing quality games. To that end, Sanchez states:
In the next couple weeks we'll be revealing a major new partnership deal, which should put to bed any notion that we're not active in the digital distribution space.
Sanchez then goes on to talk about GameTap’s move to more web-based games, which frankly, makes me dislike the service even more. I originally joined GameTap to get access to the few PC classics that they offer, like King’s Quest. When I moved on to the larger PC titles, I was very surprised to find that few worked as well as they should. Regardless, I still think that axing a ton of staff is usually an indication that something more is going on other than broken games.

 








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16 comments | showing # 1 to 16
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Danmartigan's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 16:47
Danmartigan
Hooray for stick poking!
Nyteshade's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 16:49
Nyteshade
I signed up for GameTap when it was still young, but then I upgraded to a 64-bit OS. GameTap said in their forums since x64 was used very little they didn't feel the need to support it (not like their games work well on x86 either). I canceled right then and there and never looked back...

Plus, like Brad says, your lucky if half the games even work.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 17:13
king3vbo
Yeah Gametap had some serious issues, it was time for them to die
catsithx's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 17:17
catsithx
You know lets sign a petition saying they should coles down Gametap. We all know how good petetions work right? lol
Faceless One's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 17:23
Faceless One
That stick must have been solid steel with a serrated spear point heated to the point of actually turning white.
DaedHead8's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 17:33
DaedHead8
I still enjoy the occasional game from gametap. It's still easier than pirating even if I've never subscribed.
sbshootme's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 18:45
sbshootme
I like Gametap, they have Deus Ex and Thief:DS for free, which are brilliant games.
Jetsetlemming's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 18:45
Jetsetlemming
Gametap has some serious issues. The free service is far too spammy, pressuring you to buy a gold subscription every time you so much as look at it- the GAMES should do that for you. I found the concept of only downloading PART of the game then loading the rest as you need it buggy- it crashed two games I attempted which had been installed in this partial manner. If they fixed those two things, it'd be a good, usable service, but as of yet they have no, so...
Sam Spectre's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 19:21
Sam Spectre
Ugh I hated Gametap. I had a 1 month trial. It was very buggy and it just felt trashy.
BluDesign's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 19:57
BluDesign
Why would they need to partner with anyone?

They're owned by Turner Entertainment, which is part of Turner Broadcasting, which is part of CBS, which is part of Viacom, which is one of the fucking BIGGEST companies on the planet.

Again... Why?
DinnertimeNinja's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 21:12
DinnertimeNinja
I haven't experienced any bugs at all with gametap aside from one.

Dreamcast games don't seem to work with my PS2 controller (via USB connector) so I am forced to not play them at all since playing with a keyboard would bite hard.

Then again, I don't play many of the "newer" PC games from the service. I get my Sam & Max, NeoGeo, and classic game fix from them. My PC isn't top of the line anymore so I don't really bother with the newer games on the service.

Again, I payed $60 for a year and I've definitely gotten my share of gaming from them. I'd recommend it without reservation, ESPECIALLY for adventure game fans as the service has a bunch of older ones as well as a few good new-ish point and clickers.
Excel-2011's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 22:52
Excel-2011
Given how frequently I see GameTap commercials these days, I never woulda guessed GameTap is in any kind of financial trouble.
Mr Jonson's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/02/2008 23:48
Mr Jonson
@ The-Excel:

GameTap is owned by Turner Broadcasting, so that kinda helps them out with the TV spots I guess
apocsymph's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/03/2008 01:16
apocsymph
I have gametap. I haven't had any significant problems with it. All the games I've downloaded so far work nicely. I haven't had any spam issues with them. Not sure what you're all talking about but I happen to like gametap.
boatorious's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/03/2008 07:31
boatorious
It's curious that you thought they were sinking when you heard they fired the editorial staff. I just assumed that it turned out editorial staff was just not paying off, because you wouldn't expect that having a writing staff would pay off for a game distributor.

Kind of like if GM fired their juggling staff, the first thought I would think was "Why does General Motors need a juggling staff?"
Kurtz's Avatar - Comment posted on 07/03/2008 08:48
Kurtz
I had it for about four months, and I was kind of hit and miss. I loved the ability to play all Sam and Max games, lots of oldies without tinkering with roms and emulators, and new games that I would have never bought at full price but were good enough for some hours of time wasting (Jericho, Overlord, Just Cause).

But some titles just don't work or have problems and support in most case will tell you to "update the video card drivers"... In the end I was pissed off and canceled the subscription.

I actually still think it's a great idea, if you just are looking for something to spend some hours with, GT offers millions of gameplay hours at pratically nothing, but without improvement to the service and a better catalog (very spotty, great RPGs (all bioware/black isle titles) and turn based strategy (all sid meier and impression games) and pretty lame adventure and action games....
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