Do you like video games? Do you love them? Can you name a large list of games that you consider all time classics and you wish there was a way you could play them again? If you can, do I have a site for you!
Turner Broadcasting System has a service available on the internet called GameTap that allows you to play over 500 game titles right from your computer. I am talking everything from classic Atari and arcade games well into the PC gaming explosion and many of the hits and sleeper classics from the “console wars” a decade ago. The systems that are represented are the 32X, Arcade, Atari 2600, Commodore 64, DOS, Dreamcast, Game Gear, Genesis, Intellivision, Master System, Neo-Geo, and Windows based games. You can view the current list right here. New games are being added every week.
But what is the catch? All these games are provided to you for $9.95 a month. Depending on how many games you play and how much you play them that might be a steep price or a great deal. I know in my past I have spent more money than that at the arcade in one afternoon. It is a fun an enjoyable way to play a ton of games from the past. They also offer a free two week trial of their services. If this is something that may interest you, give it a shot. Just know you will need a credit card even for the free trial and to cancel your membership you will have to call an 800 number and speak to a representative.
The way GameTap works is with client software that you download. You don’t actually keep any of the games on your computer. You start and update the client and then each time you select a game it will download and be playable through the client. For old Atari games this only usually takes seconds, but for some of the larger more modern games it may take a little while to finish downloading.
There is also a feature called GameTap TV which contains news, retrospectives, music videos, animation, and all sorts of game related content available to you streaming through the game client. I just watched an interesting piece done about Sega’s Dreamcast and the then up and comer Sony Play Station.
Overall this service isn’t for everyone but you might just want to try it and see what you think. Has anyone else here tried GameTap and what are your thoughts?
I have listed the minimum system requirements and if you need more help figuring that out the GameTap website provides quite a bit of useful information.
Internet Connection:
• Broadband service: DSL, DSL light, or cable modem (minimum 384k)
Hardware, Software, and Other Requirements:
• Windows 2000/XP
• Pentium III or AMD Athlon 800MHz or better
• 256MB RAM
• 5GB available storage (for application)
• Video Card: 3D-capable video card with 32MB VRAM or greater
• DirectX 8.X and OpenGL 1.1