TotalGaming.net: Phase 2 Launched

from JoeUser Forums

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:

 
1,974 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
But... isn't the Galciv 2 activation DRM?

And from what I know, iTunes uses DRM as well...
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
I hate iTunes for its resource usage, and I don't like their file format that much either, but I must admit that they do make a very usable media player. It won't wrench me from Winamp, as that does all I want with 1/3 the memory, but I can see the appeal.

As for TotalGaming, it's sweet to be able to buy some of these cool indie games in an standard format. It's a pain going to loads of different sites and registering with different payment system. Just click to buy, then click to download - that's the way it should be. And BlockQuest is sweet.
Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
I find the whole concept acceptable. But my concern is the price tag? regards to the games on offer. Should it not be cheaper then the boxed version, since it is a direct download. Well, it's just my 2 cents.
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Well, the new games are only available online, so they don't really have boxed versions.   In any event, the prices are set by the publisher/developer in question.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

But... isn't the Galciv 2 activation DRM?

The interesting thing about all of the other DRM scheme's I'm aware of (except iTunes, which is more lenient) is that those systems aren't protecting your (the consumer's) rights, they're only protecting the publisher's/developer's rights.  The activation system which GalCiv 2 & Multiplicity (and other Stardock products in the future) use strikes a good balance, protecting both our rights and our customer's fair use rights. Unlike the activation system that Window/Office, etc. uses, our activation won't lock you out from installing something on more than one PC. It won't prevent you from making a backup copy, or sending the program over your home network to another one of your computers. It won't prevent other software from running, install hidden drivers, or force you to uninstall some of your other programs, just so you can get your copy of GC2 to run. What it will do - and this is why we're using it - is prevent someone from putting GalCiv 2 up on Kazaa, Bittorrent, or some other system for massive theft.

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
Well, as long as I don't have to find out that I can no longer install GC2 20 years from now on my 10th different computer because I've run out of activations and Stardock no longer exists (hopefully not ), I guess it's ok (heck, just look at how many people still play MOO2).
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
Heh, you think Windows XXXXP will run a 20 year old game?
Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top
Dual-boot!
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
WinBox! (We have DosBox now... in 20 years, we'll probably have the same for early Windows builds.)
Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top
Hehe.
Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top
Odds are we won't have activation in the retail version of Galactic Civilizations.