GameTap for $5 paid in advance
by Zack Stern 
{ Oct 13th 2006 at 6:00PM }
Is $9.95-per-month too expensive for GameTap? If you want to pay in advance, Cheap Ass Gamer mentions a half-off promotion to get a year for $59.40 -- that works out to $4.95 each month.GameTap will launch episodes of Sam & Max beginning October 17, and Myst Online: Uru Live is expected later this year. Our GameTap interest had been at shrug-level before the promise of new content. Now anticipating those games, we're at raised-eyebrow. $4.95 each month may elevate us to tilting nod.
The half-off promotion ends October 22.
See Also:
Joystiq interviews David Reid of GameTap
Joystiq interviews Dan Connors and Emily Morganti of Telltale
Joystiq interviews Rand Miller of Cyan Worlds
[Via Cheap Ass Gamer]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Oro @ Oct 13th 2006 6:09PM
Hmm, I've been pondering whether or not it'd be worth it for me to get a GameTap subscription. Sam & Max is tempting on its own, plus there's a decent amount of other good games. This half off deal might clinch it. The only thing is I assume I'd have to get a joystick, since I hate playing games with a keyboard.
Does anyone that currently has GameTap have any feedback on whether it's worth it?
eno @ Oct 24th 2006 10:16PM
i actually have gametap and for those who haven't subscribed to it I say that its really worth it. They have tons of awesome games that are just awesome to play and some of them are multiplayer. Also they have some incredible shows(my favorite is mezzo) that you just will laugh your ass off at.
chaoticmagus @ Oct 13th 2006 6:48PM
I agree. While I'm not currently a subscriber because I don't have much time to play games anymore, I was very pleased with what I saw when I did use the service. They're regularly adding games too, so you're always getting more bang for your buck.
George @ Oct 13th 2006 6:59PM
With this offer and the impending Sam & Max goodness, I'd consider joining - but as a UK resident I can't.
They seem to be limiting their consumer base for no apparent reason.
Maybe it's to do with licensing?
LuigiHann @ Oct 13th 2006 7:34PM
They're just now prepping to release in Canada, so Europe will probably be included eventually.
I subscribe, and I think it's worth it.
Number Zero @ Oct 13th 2006 8:16PM
Since Canada can't subscribe, I can't take advantage of this. Poo =(.
Dan @ Oct 13th 2006 9:12PM
Very nice. I've known I'd inevitably be signing up for GameTap once Uru Live's return was announced, and this is definitely a great time to do so.
Moogle @ Oct 13th 2006 9:16PM
I got the e-mail, Canada's next. They apparently just wanted a successful year under their belt before they started expending the effort to expand internationally.
Also, eno, could you sound more like a plant? Good grief.
I had the service for a while and got to play some good games like Grandia 2 (3?) and Beyond Good and Evil that I missed before. I'm really not interested in the very old non-nintendo games that don't stand up on their own anymore. The whole systems a tad buggy here and there (bonus tip: Figure out how to reliably crash the client and support will give you free months every time you call.) BGE had framerate issues on the reflective water and Grandia 2 was corrupted somehow and I lost interest before I got around to calling support about those.
I will probably be taking advantage of the 50% offer so I can play Uru online again. I was in the beta and was crushed when they canceled the online plans. Sam & Max doesn't hurt, and I can finish the other good games.
Dan @ Oct 13th 2006 9:25PM
@ Number Zero:
GameTap is launching in Canada on Oct. 17, which will give you a few days to take advantage of this, which is better than nothing.
taliesin-nine @ Oct 13th 2006 11:06PM
A few months ago I tried a free one week trial of gametap. If you head over to their site maybe it's still available. $10 per month is kinda steep, but I might buy into a $60 per year offer. There's a lot of great games, but the key thing that really makes it attractive is it's ease of use. Games download inside the program very quickly, it's easy to navigate through the library, you can reset the keys for games, and all the games I played were ported wonderfully. It's really a professional service, I recommend trying it.
Disco D @ Oct 14th 2006 12:01AM
Would be better if it was 5 bucks a month with a 1 year contract. I'd do that instead.
unfriendly_cat @ Oct 14th 2006 1:42AM
I recently signed up for Gametap when they added all the Infinity Engine games (Baldur's Gate, Planescape, etc.).
So far it works well, BG1 runs smoothly & includes the expansion pack. Also, all the old shoot'em ups are really good fun. However, there are some glitches: my Logitech gamepad doesn't work with Dreamcast games, which makes Mr. Driller quite hard to play on my laptop, and occasionally it is not possible to exit some games without killing them from the Task Manager.
Overall, if they keep adding games at the rate they are doing now, I'd say that for $60 a year it's probably worth it.
Tom @ Oct 14th 2006 4:40PM
Nice! I'll definitely sign up on the 17th once it comes to Canada. I'm more interested in Uru Live, but Sam and Max sounds cool too. I really gotta go play some old Lucasarts games. I missed out on most of them when they came out.
bioweapon @ Oct 26th 2006 5:06PM
I've been a subscriber to Gametap for a long time. Since I first subscribed, their game count has doubled and includes some amazing games that I never would have played if it weren't for GT (Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, Freespace, Farcry, Homeworld 2 to name a few). They add around 6-10 games every Thursday, which is very exciting because you never know what's coming next week. You know what Gametap reminds me of though? It's like going to Wal-mart and picking up all of those jewel case games for like $10, those Atari emulator things you plug into your TV, and a couple of good modern games. Except with GT, there's 700 of them, and for $10 a month you get like 30 new ones. It's less than the subscription price for most MMORPGs and I get a lot more enjoyment due to the variety (I have played WoW and others, so I'm not just making an uneducated statement.) Online scoreboards are always a plus if you're into that, and they have a decent video service (I enjoy Space Ghost and some of the music videos.) The old school games are emulated perfectly and download lightning fast. It's easy to set them up to use with a controller too. There's games for everyone too... FPS, strategy, arcade, puzzle, family, flight sim, RPG, you name it.