RealNetworks, Inc. has announced the launch of RealArcade, a free gaming service that allows players to find, acquire, manage and play PC games. The initial beta release, available May 14, 2001, includes over 120 games from more than 40 publishers. In the past year, over 4 million unique registered users have downloaded PC games from the Real.com games Website. The company hopes to build on that user base with RealArcade, offering customers a powerful new delivery network and Internet gaming interface. The proprietary system is designed to keep gamers up-to-date with the latest game releases, allowing for fast online purchase, download and cataloguing. The service also has built-in capabilities to find and connect with other online gamers. Features include message boards for sharing strategies and ideas, user reviews and ratings, built-in chat for real-time interaction and a community-wide scoring system that lets users post scores and track progress against others. The initial lineup of available games includes TEX ATOMIC BIG BOT BATTLES, KAYAK EXTREME and SUPER BUBBLE POP; massively multiplayer games including EVERNIGHT and SMALLBALL; and Web-based games including POPCAP and GAMEGATE. According to Rob Glaser, founder and CEO of RealNetworks, "RealArcade offers PC gamers an immersive entertainment experience that's like nothing else. Our goal was to make it fun and simple to find, organize and play a mix of games across the widest range of genres. RealArcade's easy interface, rich features and community environment will earn the 'high score' with consumers." The RealArcade development system was previously unveiled to the game publishing community in March 2001. The RealArcade service is only available for Windows-based computer systems. For complete information visit www.realarcade.com.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
