• by Shankar Gupta , September 11, 2006

EPSN.com late last week launched a section devoted to news about sports video games, including Madden Football 2007 and NHL 2007.

The site's initial sponsor is Turner Broadcasting's GameTap video game network, which sells subscriptions to a host of popular video games.

The ESPN.com site, ESPN Video Games, includes a host of material from Ziff Davis Media's 1UP Network, such as polls of gamers, videos of the game being played, reviews, previews of upcoming titles, and downloads of wallpapers and demos, among other features. The site also will contain a sports-focused spin-off of 1UP's popular video podcast, the 1UP Show.

Ira Becker, senior vice president and general manager of the 1UP Network, said the partnership with ESPN will allow 1UP to put its content in front of a more mainstream audience. "We've recognized that that game industry is broadening," he said. He added that the ESPN site will offer links back to 1UP, which will help the 1UP grow its audience. 1UP currently draws fewer visitors than main rivals IGN.com (owned by News Corp.) and GameSpot (owned by CNET Networks).

With the new ESPN deal, 1UP's editorial staff will devote more coverage to sports games, Becker said. He added that 1UP's editorial division expects the partnership will give them more leverage with game developers and publishers when working to report gaming news.