Comcast is opening up free access to its Game Invasion video-game site -- previously available only to its high-speed-Internet subscribers -- as the cable operator feeds a growing stable of Web properties.
The site, to be available at GameInvasion.net, features video-game news, reviews, trailers and other content. Two of the site’s sponsors are Intel and LucasArts, the video-game division of Lucasfilm.
Comcast also signed a deal to stream USA Network’s seven-episode Major League Gaming Pro Circuit series on GameInvasion.net. Other content partners for the site include Fox Interactive Media’s IGN Entertainment and Comcast’s own G4 video-game network.
When Comcast launched Game Invasion in May, it was available only to subscribers to the operator’s 8-megabit-per-second Internet service. Those subscribers will still receive a free subscription to the IGN Founder’s Club, normally $9.95 per month, which provides free game downloads and access to other IGN services.
GameInvasion.net joins two other sites Comcast launched recently to reach beyond its 24 million cable customers: Fearnet.com, an on-demand horror-movie site (paired with a video-on-demand service of the same name); and Ziddio.com, which hosts user-generated content.
Comcast Interactive Media general manager of games Jen MacLean said the strategy behind making GameInvasion.net available to anyone on the Internet was to tap a large audience for video-game content.
“We’re almost seeing a perfect storm for gaming,” she said, pointing to the recent releases of Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo of America’s Wii game consoles. “This is content we know people are interested in.”
GameInvasion.net is designed to be “much more video-intensive than other gaming sites out there,” MacLean added, noting that Comcast is aiming the site at older, “more sophisticated” gamers.
