•  
  •  
 

Document Type

Article

Abstract

[First paragraph]

In the August 2002 issue of Business 2.0, Geoff Keighley sketches the profits that companies such as Sony, Disney, Microsoft and others hope to make, as they enter into, or expand their existing, online multiplayer gaming ventures. With Everquest attracting some 150,000 players within six months of launching, each of whom was prepared to pay $10 a month to participate in online multiplay, it is easy to see why those in the industry are excited at having discovered such an apparently reliable revenue stream, with Keighley citing Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment President, Yair Landau's claim that "This is no internet hype story." If we are to believe reports such as this one, online multiplayer (or as they are now called, "massively multiplayer" [MMP]) games are set to be the next "big thing." Yet while companies are just now realizing the profit making potential of MMP hosting, the phenomenon of multiplay, where computer gamers play each other over a network, can hardly be considered new. As I sit down to write this, QuakeCon 2002 is well underway in Mesquite, Texas. Originally organized by Quake fans, the event is now held annually in the hometown of the game's creators, id software, hosted by them and their sponsors. This year, QuakeCon once again features a giant Local Area Network (LAN), over which more than 1,300 players will compete against each other in multiplayer mode, in what is dubbed a "BYOC." And beyond the enormity of these gatherings, there are a lot of less well known stories about multiplayer groups who get together to lan.

Download

Share

COinS