Turner To Preview GameTap Broadband Entertainment Network at E3

Turner To Preview GameTap Broadband Entertainment Network at E3

LOS ANGELES, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Gamers, publishers and the broader interactive entertainment industry will get a first look at GameTap, the new broadband entertainment network announced late last month by Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), a Time Warner company. Turner will demonstrate GameTap at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, May 18-20th -- in the Staples Center's Lakers Conference Room.

The first network of its kind, GameTap allows subscribers to access a large vault of games, from the early arcades all the way through console games and PC titles, using a broadband-connected PC. The network, which will also feature original Turner programming, will launch this fall.

Turner to date has licensed nearly 1,000 games from 17 publishers, including Activision, Atari, Eidos Interactive, G-Mode, Intellivision Lives, Midway, Namco, SEGA, TAITO, Team 17, Ubisoft and Vivendi Universal Games. GameTap will launch with 300 games, from Pong, Pac-Man and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, to Sonic and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. New titles and programming will be added each week.

"After months of hard work by more than a hundred programmers, producers and graphic artists, this is a milestone for us at Turner -- a chance for gamers to finally get their hands on GameTap," said Blake Lewin, GameTap's inventor and vice president of product development and innovation. "While we are still porting games and signing publishers, GameTap is finally in dress rehearsal, and we can't wait to see the audience response."

At its Staples Center meeting room, Turner will preview its downloadable proprietary GameTap software, which acts as a gateway to the GameTap vault. The multi-level vault is divided into "rings" that organize the collection. Rings include "hot picks" and user favorites, as well as games organized by genre and platform. Once selected, each title displays an associated "InfoCard" that includes directions for playing, control options, and "cheats," as well as parental controls (the vault contains "E," "E10+" and "T" titles, only) and top scores from the GameTap community.

Because games reside securely on the PC, not across a network, they play as if they were still on the console or at the arcade, with fast response times, 3D effects, and original colors and characters. GameTap supports navigation and game play using both keyboard and mouse, as well as most USB peripherals. Like a premium channel, subscribers will pay a flat monthly fee for an "all-you-can-play" experience on up to two household PCs. Pricing has not been announced.

Turner will also preview its original programming now under development for GameTap. The streaming video content is expected to include an all- GameTap mix of short segments, advertisements, interviews, celebrity features, and "game trailers." Delivered via streaming video, the programming "will celebrate games in the same way that Cartoon Network celebrates animation and TCM celebrates classic films," said Andrew T. Heller, president of domestic distribution for Turner.

Dennis Quinn, executive vice president of business development for Turner, noted that, for the gaming industry, GameTap fills the need for a viable post- retail sales channel. "While a film can go from theater to premium channel, from DVD to Turner Classic Movies, games -- even great ones -- have had a much shorter lifespan," he said. "Publishers are embracing GameTap because we are giving the kind of longevity to gaming titles now enjoyed by movies, songs and books."

About Turner

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment products around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.

Source: Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

CONTACT: Christa Bailey, +1-760-918-9015, or cbailey@accesspr.com, or
Molly Musler, +1-415-844-6230, or mmusler@accesspr.com , both of Access
Communications for GameTap ; or Misty Skedgell of TBS, Inc., +1-404-885-4396,
or misty.skedgell@turner.com

Web site: http://www.tnt.tv/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Turner executives will be available for interviews at the Staples Center's Lakers Conference Room, May 18-20, 9am-4pm. To arrange an appointment, please contact: Christa Bailey, +1-760-918-9015, or cbailey@accesspr.com , or Molly Musler, +1-415-844-6230, or mmusler@accesspr.com , both of Access Communications for GameTap ; or Misty Skedgell of TBS, Inc., +1-404-885-4396, or misty.skedgell@turner.com

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