Digeo, Charter Play I-Games

Cable World, Nov 18, 2002

Ozzy Osbourne's not the only guy out there who has a hard time operating his remote. As cable ops introduce a variety of interactive services, the doohickeys that change the channel are performing more complex tasks, to the consternation of metal gods and soccer moms alike. But Charter and Digeo may have an entertaining solution to all that.

Both companies have announced the launch of i-Games, an interactive channel that allows viewers to replicate simple arcade play, using their remotes like joysticks. Thus far, two games are being offered to more than 650,000 Charter digital cable subs, including the single-player puzzle "Picnic Antics" and the simulated poker offering "Deal With It."

According to Aaron Sheedy, Digeo's senior director of basic ITV, the relative simplicity of the games serves to assist customers in learning the basics of ITV. "It's a good way to ease users into interacting with their televisions," Sheedy says.

Matt Dahlin, Digeo's director of programming for games, says that i-Games isn't meant to go head-to-head with interactive console systems. "We're not trying to compete with the Xbox," Dahlin says. "I-Games is structured along the solitaire model. It's another form of what ITV can be."

I-Games has generated 2 million screen views, 30% of Charter's i-Channel usage.