TotalGaming.net delivers PC games electronically
Popular no-DRM gaming service enters new phase
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Brian Clair
([email protected])
Phone: 734-927-0677 X 129
Livonia MI – July
19, 2005. Stardock Entertainment, best known for its award-winning PC strategy
games such as The
Political Machine and Galactic
Civilizations has released TotalGaming.net: Phase 2.
TotalGaming.net is an electronic distribution network in which users can pick a
game, press a button to buy it, and then immediately download it. Users download
their games through Stardock’s Secure Software Delivery system, Stardock
Central.
Stardock has already lined up agreements with companies such as
Ubi Soft, Take 2, Strategy First, and others to put their games on to
TotalGaming.net. In addition, Stardock is working with numerous independent game
developers to get the best Indie titles onto the service. Phase 2 of
TotalGaming.net represents the latest expansion of the gaming network to include
a host of new indie game titles and additional purchase options.
"We have
two distinct goals for TotalGaming.net," said Brian Clair, Director of
TotalGaming.net at Stardock. "First, we want to provide a proven electronic
distribution channel for publishers who want to leverage their classic game
assets. Second, we want to provide an outlet to independent game developers to
get their games out there."
In addition to having titles developed by
Stardock such as Galactic Civilizations, The Political Machine, LightWeight
Ninja, and others, better known offerings such as Robin Hood, O-R-B, and
Disciples II: Ultimate Edition are also available. Independent games such as
Chronic Logic’s Gish, BreakQuest by Nurium, Jets‘n’Guns by Rake in Grass, Astral
Masters by Apus Software, Xeno Assault II by Jagged Blade Software and more have
been added as well.
Users can either purchase games individually or they
can purchase a TotalGaming.net membership which provides them with tokens that
can be used buy the available titles at a discounted rate.
What makes
TotalGaming.net stand out is that rather than relying on Digital Rights
Management (DRM), it has a model that is more akin to iTunes. Customers use a
secure client called Stardock Central to download the games where they are
"activated" via the program at the server. The technology, called Secure
Software Delivery (SSD), was developed and used for Stardock’s corporate
software products for several years. Once the game is downloaded, gamers can
burn their titles to CD for use on all their personal computers (similar to how
users can burn their iTunes purchased music to CD). Stardock believes that this
increased convenience to users far outweighs any theoretical benefit that the
heavy use of DRM provides.
"As game developers, we are intimately
familiar with software piracy," said BradWardell, President & CEO of
Stardock. "Over the years, we have concluded that the best way to combat
piracy is to reward your customers with greater value. Our system makes it more
convenient to play by the rules than to pirate the games."
Stardock
hopes the comb ination of server-side security and client side
convenience will give TotalGaming.net a technological edge over other electronic
distribution networks. The system was used during 2003's launch of Galactic
Civilizations. The game was released simultaneously at retail outlets world-wide
as well as electronically, the first major PC game to do so.
"Gamers
want to know that when they purchase a game, it’s theirs – forever. They don’t
want to have to worry whether the company they purchased the game from is still
around 3 years from now. They don’t want to have to worry about losing serial
numbers or whether they can install it on their new computer," said Wardell.
"We believe that electronic distribution of games can be a great boon to
first-tier publishers and Indies alike if gamers feel secure in what they are
buying."
Individual games on TotalGaming.net vary in price and can be
purchased individually. Alternatively, users can purchase a TotalGaming.net
membership for $69.95 and receive tokens to purchase games at a substantial
discount.
TotalGaming.net’s website is http://www.totalgaming.net. It also
provides forums, daily news on the game industry, game-related articles and help
for independent game developers.
# # #
About Stardock: Stardock is
the world’s leading developer of Windows enhancement utilities. Its software is
used by over 10 million people worldwide, as well as major companies like
nVidia, ATI, Alienware and Microsoft. It runs the website www.WinCustomize.com
that is visited by over 3 million different users monthly.
Its software can
be found on the machines of end users, corporate desktops, and even in movies
and TV. Stardock also develops PC games such as the award-winning Galactic
Civilizations and 2004’s popular political strategy game, The Political Machine.
Stardock’s home page is
www.stardock.com.
TotalGaming.net
Individual games sell for
between $5 and $50 on their own
TotalGaming.net membership is $69.95 which
provides additional discounts to the aforementioned games.
Home page: http://www.totalgaming.net
Trademark Notices:
Total Gaming™, Stardock®, and Stardock
Entertainment are trademarks of Stardock Corporation.
All other
trademarks are held by their respective owners.
Sample Screenshots:
