Infinium Announces Strong Publisher Support

In a move that indicates the video game industry is embracing digital distribution as a vehicle to expand the market, more than 20 major game publishers and independent developers have signed on to supply titles for the Phantom Game Service, an on-demand game service to be offered by Infinium Labs.

In the first of a series of planned announcements, Infinium Labs unveiled an initial content partner roster for the Phantom Game Service that includes four of the top 10 PC publishers in the industry; game companies that represent, collectively, one-third of the current PC games market, according to PC Data' s July report.

Publishers and developers supplying content include 21-6 Productions, BraveTree, Chronic Logic, Codemasters, Dreamcatcher Interactive, eGames, Eidos, Enlight Interactive, Framework Studios, GamerBlitz, Gameware Development, GarageGames, Global Software Publishing, Interplay, Kuma Reality Games, Legacy Interactive, Max Gaming, O-3 Entertainment, Riverdeep, Skunk Studios and Vivendi Universal Games. Atari Inc. has also signed on to supply select titles for the service.

The company has already secured more than 500 titles, a wide breadth of content which includes more than half of the 50 best PC games of all time, as rated by Gamerankings.com.

" Our agreements demonstrate that game publishers and developers are recognizing that digital distribution offers them a significant opportunity to expand sales in conjunction with the existing retail model. They' re joining with us to promote market expansion," Kevin Bachus, president and COO, Infinium Labs, said.

In addition to securing a new audience for their latest releases, Infinium Labs' content partners will recognize a new revenue stream from their back-catalog of previously released games. Retailers will get incremental revenue from the sale of hardware, subscriptions and games.

The Phantom Game Service will offer a wide range of game genres including Action/Adventure, Strategy, First Person Shooter (FPS) and Role Playing Games (RPGs) as well as Classic Games, Arcade Games, high quality Educational Titles, Games for Young Children and Board Games. Consumers subscribing to the service will be able to access the game of their choice anytime, day or night, from a consumer electronics device sitting near the TV in the living room, and play brand new titles as well as popular old favorites, games made by independent developers, imports and games not sold at retail.

The Phantom Game Service will help content creators reach several largely untapped audiences. Although avid gamers have expressed the highest level of initial interest in the service, Infinium Labs' research studies also suggest that an enormous and growing segment of the population - lapsed gamers who played games earlier in life but no longer participate in a gaming lifestyle - are an important new target.

" By making the game selection and purchase process as easy as watching television, we plan to welcome former gamers back into the fold. It' s always gratifying to see the immediate enjoyment they get from playing on our service," Bachus said. " Amazed at how fast they can call up games and begin having fun, they see that the Phantom service offers something for the whole family."

" From the European perspective this is a hugely significant move. First because the European games industry as a whole will have access to new and highly lucrative markets and ultimately for consumers when the Phantom service is launched here," adds Greg Koler, who heads up Infinium labs in Europe.


-Chris Cook