Verizon Communications launch on-demand gaming services

Verizon is hoping to attract a wide audience of both core and casual gamers, as the company announces the launch of several new on-demand services.

First on the list of new services is Verizon Games-on-Demand, which offers a range of titles no longer easily obtainable in stores to be directly downloaded in a similar fashion to existing services provided by Comcast and Yahoo. In what is becoming an increasingly crowded market for on-demand services, Verizon hopes that its uniquely tailored packages will attract new audiences and set them apart from the competition.

Verizon Games-on-Demand: Unlimited will give subscribers access to more than 200 titles, at a cost of USD 14.95 per month. However, it's the lower priced Family Place service with over 100 child-friendly titles for USD 7.95 per month that Verizon are focusing on in terms of advertising and promotion.

Jason Henderson, Verizon Communications games product manager stated "what we're paying a lot of marketing attention to will be the family place version, which is fairly unique. What we tried to do is something like an old-fashioned family primetime thing."

Henderson believes that the range of titles available, some of which are aimed at a slightly older audience, is what will set Family Place apart from rival Comcast's child-oriented subscription service. More packages aimed at providing niche titles to specific audiences are planned for the future, though no firm announcements have been made so far.

Verizon are also launching a re-branded version of the Gamespot GameCentre service called Verizon Game Network. Offering tournaments, customised game servers and additional benefits (including membership of Gamespot Complete), Verizon Game Network will be available at new, lower monthly rate of USD 7.95.

The new services are just a small part of the company's plans for the future, which Henderson believes will be fuelled further by the next generation of online capable consoles.