America Online Aquires PlayOnline.com Service
America Online; one of the largest ISP's in North America has officially stepped into the gaming field, by purchasing Square's very own PlayOnline multiplayer service.
Published: April 1, 2001
In an unprecedented move made today, new reports confirm that America Online has finalized their purchase of Square Co.'s PlayOnline multiplayer service.
The two firms had been secretly negotiating the terms of the deal over the past two months. The PlayOnline service, including its network infrastructure and services will be sold entirely to America Online to the tune of $1.3 million. As part of the deal, America Online is expected to continue to support existing Square software, such as Final Fantasy X in the future.
America Online will link 15 of their own servers throughout the world, including 4 hubs in key locations with the existing servers that are currently available for the service. North America's largest ISP has also promised that as apart the deal, they hope to make PlayOnline the most powerful and most readily available online service in the world.
As apart of the deal, America Online plans to incorporate a new pay-per-play plan in which gamers will pay a certain fee based on the amount of time spent utilizing the new service. The firm also plans to distribute free software to existing PS2 owners, which will integrate AOL's custom-built PlayOnline browser to connect to multiplayer servers.
It is expected that the PlayOnline service will no longer remain constrained to PS2 and PC hardware, and in the months leading up to the XBox and Gamecube launches, their new PlayOnline service will also support these platforms as well.
A representative for Square stated the following in regards to the recent developments:
[blockquote]"We are happy and excited to have worked this new deal with America Online. Under the new ownership, we feel that America Online will be able to provide excellent services for both console and PC owners."[/blockquote]We will have more information on this story as it breaks.
The two firms had been secretly negotiating the terms of the deal over the past two months. The PlayOnline service, including its network infrastructure and services will be sold entirely to America Online to the tune of $1.3 million. As part of the deal, America Online is expected to continue to support existing Square software, such as Final Fantasy X in the future.
America Online will link 15 of their own servers throughout the world, including 4 hubs in key locations with the existing servers that are currently available for the service. North America's largest ISP has also promised that as apart the deal, they hope to make PlayOnline the most powerful and most readily available online service in the world.
As apart of the deal, America Online plans to incorporate a new pay-per-play plan in which gamers will pay a certain fee based on the amount of time spent utilizing the new service. The firm also plans to distribute free software to existing PS2 owners, which will integrate AOL's custom-built PlayOnline browser to connect to multiplayer servers.
It is expected that the PlayOnline service will no longer remain constrained to PS2 and PC hardware, and in the months leading up to the XBox and Gamecube launches, their new PlayOnline service will also support these platforms as well.
A representative for Square stated the following in regards to the recent developments:
[blockquote]"We are happy and excited to have worked this new deal with America Online. Under the new ownership, we feel that America Online will be able to provide excellent services for both console and PC owners."[/blockquote]We will have more information on this story as it breaks.