• by Shankar Gupta , April 28, 2005

Turner Broadcasting System Wednesday unveiled plans for an online network where avid video game fans can play their favorite out-of-date titles, such as Tom Clancy's "Splinter Cell," and PacMan.

The network, to be called GameTap, is set for release this fall, and will be subscription-supported. TBS has licensed over 1,000 games from 17 different publishers, and plans to launch with 300 of those titles available.

Users will pay a monthly fee--roughly $10 to $15, according to a spokeswoman for GameTap. After consumers install the GameTap software, they will be able to stream these games from the network's servers. The service will be accessible from up to two household computers.

In addition to the game content, there will also be online content that will stream while the games are loading, including shows promoting new games, clips, and other video. A GameTap spokeswoman declined to comment on whether ads would be streamed as well.

The service aims to provide a channel for game sales beyond retail, and to repackage older content for newer audiences--the Xbox and Playstation generation who never played older systems like Nintendo and Sega--much like TBS's Cartoon Network reruns cartoons from the 60s and 70s for today's kids.