Comcast and IGN Entertainment Launch Game Invasion Service - New Package Offers Premium Connection, Content, and Community for the Ultimate Online Gaming Experience
Comcast, the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, has teamed with IGN Entertainment, the Web's number one video game information destination, to launch "Game Invasion" - a premium gaming service offered free of charge to Comcast's 8Mbps customers.
Together, Game Invasion plus Comcast High-Speed Internet provide online gaming enthusiasts and hardcore gamers alike an unparalleled gaming offering - by combining the three features needed for the ultimate gaming experience: premium connectivity, content, and community. Game Invasion subscribers can enjoy free access to IGN's videogame news; previews; reviews; cheats and codes; videos and trailers; along with movie reviews, music, gear, and sports content.
"Our partnership with IGN, leaders in video game information on the Web, further demonstrates Comcast's commitment to deliver an unsurpassed entertainment experience to our growing base of broadband customers. IGN owns the most compelling video game content and community resources available anywhere in the industry," said Charlie Herrin, Comcast's senior vice president of Internet development.
"We're pleased to team with the nation's number one broadband provider to offer gamers an ultimate gaming experience," said Dale Strang, EVP and General Manager, IGN Entertainment. "The pairing of Comcast's fast, reliable speeds with IGN's game content and downloads provides gamers the competitive advantage they are chasing."
Nearly 90 percent of online gamers cite a stable connection and speed/network reliability as the most important ISP features when it comes to online gaming.*
"The Game Invasion service offered by Comcast and IGN directly responds to the demand of the sophisticated gamer audience, coupling the ultimate in broadband speed and reliability with the richest online content available," said Michael Cai, director of broadband & gaming at Parks Associates. "With this offering, Comcast demonstrates its commitment to the extreme gamer community, while furthering its leadership in the gaming space."
The Game Invasion service includes a free subscription to IGN Founder's Club for customers who subscribe to Comcast's 8Mbps service - a $120 annual value. IGN Founder's Club offers exclusive content, tips, cheat codes, exclusive files and more to give gamers a one-up on the competition. IGN Founder's Club benefits include:
FilePlanet - First access to over 330,000 free gaming downloads including demos, mods, patches and more.
Download Manager - Users can queue and download any number of files simultaneously.
GameSpy Arcade & Arena - Access to 16 million registered users for online multiplayer games, competition ladders and tournaments via premium cheat-free servers.
IGN Insider - Exclusive content and community features for members.
IGN Entertainment's global editorial staff contributes more than 2,500 articles, screens and videos monthly, establishing IGN as the premier destination for online and hardcore gamers. IGN also operates the second- and fourth-largest message boards on the Internet, with more than four million message board postings per month.
Comcast's industry-leading gaming offering on Comcast.net (http://www.comcast.net/games) offers a wide range of best-in-class gaming services - targeted to casual gamers up through hardcore gaming enthusiasts. Comcast online gaming services and content partners include: Comcast Arcade (hundreds of great casual games), Games on Demand, Wild Tangent, GameFly, G4 and Game Invasion.
Additionally, Comcast provides ongoing game promotions and special offers for Comcast High-Speed Internet customers, including free game downloads, game trials, and gaming subscription service trials.
*Data gathered by Comcast and Ignited Minds from a focus group consisting of "gaming enthusiasts" living in the Comcast footprint
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 21.5 million cable customers, more than 9 million high- speed Internet customers, and 1.5 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.
The Company's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, OLN, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One and four regional Comcast SportsNets. The Company also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia. Comcast Class A common stock and Class A Special common stock trade on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbols CMCSA and CMCSK, respectively.
About IGN Entertainment
IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, Inc., is a leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 35 million unique users worldwide in the month of March 2006, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is the web's number one videogame information destination and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related website, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle websites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. and in Montreal.