GameSpy, also known as GameSpy Industries, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game Web sites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current company is headquartered in Irvine, California. It is currently controlled by News Corporation, the 92.3% shareholder of its parent company, IGN - which was bought for $650 million on September 8, 2005. GameSpy includes coverage for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, N-Gage, Wireless, PC, and Retrogaming. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 692 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1402 × 1215 pixel, file size: 88 KB, MIME type: image/png) http://corpmedia. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (987x2147, 1475 KB) Summary The GameSpy homepage as of March 30, 2006 at 00:20 Coordinated Universal Time. ... // Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a technical, Web-related term used in two distinct meanings: In popular usage, it is a widespread synonym for Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) — many popular and technical texts will use the term URL when referring to URI; Strictly, the idea of a uniform syntax for... IGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games. ... For other uses, see IGN (disambiguation). ... Zombies attacking the player at the starting of Episode 1, Mission 3: The Necropolis. ... Location of Irvine within Orange County, California. ... News Corporation (abbreviated to News Corp) (NYSE: NWS, NYSE: NWSa, ASX: NWS, LSE: NCRA) is one of the worlds largest media conglomerates. ... IGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The PlayStation 2 , abbreviated PS2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... PlayStation 3 , trademarked PLAYSTATION®3,[7] commonly abbreviated PS3) is Sony Computer Entertainments third video game console. ... The PlayStation Portable , officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld game console released and manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... The Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. ... The Xbox 360 is the successor to Microsofts Xbox video game console, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, Samsung and SiS. Information on the console first came through viral marketing campaigns and it was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged... The Nintendo GameCube , GCN) is Nintendos fourth home video game console, belonging to the sixth generation era. ... The Wii (pronounced as the pronoun we, IPA: ) is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... “NDS” redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Altair 8800 was among the first microcomputers to be affordable by an individual, although it initially lacked peripherals and memory. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Origins

The 1996 release of id Software's Quake furthered the concept of gamers creating and releasing "mods" or modifications of games for use by other gamers. Mark Surfas saw the need for hosting and distribution of these mods and created PlanetQuake.com - a Quake-related hosting and news site. The massive success of mods such as ThreeWave Capture the Flag catapulted PlanetQuake to huge traffic and a central position in the burgeoning gaming website scene. id Software (IPA: officially, though originally ) is an American computer game developer based in Mesquite, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Mark Surfas founded GameSpy, an online network of game Web sites and online video game-related services. ...

Quake also marked the beginning of the Internet multiplayer real-time action game scene. However, finding a Quake server on the Internet proved difficult. Gamers could only share IP addresses of known servers between themselves or post them on gaming websites. To solve this problem, a team of three programmers (consisting of Jack "morbid" Mathews, Tim Cook, and Joe Powell) formed Spy Software and created QSpy (or QuakeSpy). This allowed the listing and searching of Quake servers available across the internet. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Surfas licensed QSpy and became the official distributor and marketer while retaining the original programming team. QSpy became QuakeSpy and went on to be bundled with id's QuakeWorld update - an unprecedented move by a top tier developer and huge validation for QuakeSpy. With the release of the Quake Engine-based game Hexen II, QuakeSpy added this game to its capabilities and was renamed GameSpy3D. QuakeWorld logo. ...

Present Operations

Currently, the company's Web sites include the gaming portal, GameSpy.com, created in 1999; many of the "Planet" Web sites devoted to popular video games (such as PlanetQuake, Planet Half-Life and Planet Unreal); ForumPlanet, the network's extensive message board system; and FilePlanet, arguably the largest video game file download site on the Web^{[citation needed]}. GameSpy also offers online matchmaking and community software, such as GameSpy Arcade and GameSpy 3D, as well as software development kits (SDKs), middleware and back-end online services for game developers and publishers. A website owned and run by GameSpy that is dedicated to Valves Half-Life game, and the games following it. ... ForumPlanet, part of GameSpy, is a website spanning a rich collection of online message boards. ... FilePlanet is a video game download service that provides free game patches, mod files and media downloads to its users. ... WWWs historical logo designed by Robert Cailliau The World Wide Web (or the Web) is a system of interlinked, hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. ... GameSpy Arcade is a shareware multiplayer game server browsing utility designed for the Microsoft Windows operating system. ... A software development kit (SDK or devkit) is typically a set of development tools that allows a software engineer to create applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar. ...

GameSpy Arcade is the company's flagship matchmaking software, allowing users to find servers for different online video games (whether they be free or purchased) and connect the user to game servers of that game. GameSpy also publishes the Roger Wilco voice chat software, primarily meant for communication and co-ordination in team-oriented games, where users join a server to chat with other users on the server using voice communication. This software rivals the other major voice chat software Ventrilo and Teamspeak. A teamspeak software, commonly used in online gaming, which allows for voice chat. ... Ventrilo is a popular proprietary Voice over IP program with clients for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Most users of Ventrilo use a headset or microphone and use the program to talk freely to each other, similar to a telephone conference call. ... TeamSpeak is proprietary Voice over IP software that allows users to speak on a chat channel with other users, much like a telephone conference call. ...

The company's "Powered by GameSpy" technology has enabled online functionality in over 300 PC and PlayStation 2 games. In 2005 GameSpy added the PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS to its stable supported platforms. In March 2007, GameSpy added the Wii as another supported platform and will help get some of its games online. The PlayStation 2 , abbreviated PS2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... The PlayStation Portable , officially abbreviated as PSP) is a handheld game console released and manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment. ... “NDS” redirects here. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Wii (pronounced as the pronoun we, IPA: ) is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. ...

In March 2004, IGN Entertainment and GameSpy Industries merged, and was briefly known as IGN/GameSpy before formalizing their corporate name as IGN Entertainment.

By the way many players of Dawn of War HATE GameSpy.

Corporate history

• 1996, Quake is released, as one of the first 3D multiplayer action games to allow play over the internet.
• 1996, Jack Mathews, Tim Cook, and Joe Powell form Spy Software and create QSpy to allow easy searching of internet-based multiplayer Quake game servers. The software was soon updated to include games other than Quake, and renamed from QSpy to GameSpy.
• 1997, Corporate strategist Mark Surfas licensed GameSpy 3D from Spy Software, and creates GameSpy Industries.
• 1999, GameSpy receives angel investment funding from entrepreneur David Berkus. The company also releases MP3Spy.com (later renamed RadioSpy.com), a software browser allowing people to browse and connect to online radio feeds, such as those using Nullsoft's SHOUTcast. GameSpy receives $3 million in additional funding from the Yucaipa Companies, an investment group headed by Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz and Southern California supermarket billionaire Ronald Burkle. GameSpy quickly reached profitability.
• 2000, GameSpy receives additional investment funding from the Ziff-Davis publishing division ZDNet.com and from Guillemot Corp. GameSpy shuts down its RadioSpy division, backing away from an online music market dominated by peer-to-peer applications such as Napster and Gnutella. GameSpy releases GameSpy Arcade.
• December 2000, GameSpy purchases Roger Wilco, MPlayer.com and various assets from HearMe, Inc. While the MPlayer service is shut down, the RogerWilco technology is improved and incorporated into GameSpy Arcade.
• 2001, GameSpy's corporate technology business grows to include SDKs and middleware for video game consoles, such as Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast and Microsoft's Xbox.
• July 2001 GameSpy voted Doom the "#1 game of all time" in a poll among over 100 game developers and journalists[1].
• March 2004, acquired by IGN Entertainment.
• February-April 2004, "Title Fight", a series of polls to choose the best game of all time (similar to the GameFAQs character battles). Half-Life won, beating Super Mario Bros. 3 in the finals.[2]

1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mark Surfas founded GameSpy, an online network of game Web sites and online video game-related services. ... Nullsoft is a software house founded in 1997 by Justin Frankel. ... SHOUTcast is a multiplatform freeware audio streaming technology, developed by Nullsoft. ... Yucaipa Cos. ... ... Michael Ovitz (born December 14, 1946), talent agent and Hollywood powerhouse, served as the head of the Creative Artists Agency from 1975 to 1995. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ziff-Davis Inc. ... A peer-to-peer (or P2P) computer network is a network that relies on the computing power and bandwidth of the participants in the network rather than concentrating it in a relatively few servers. ... Second version (revised 2001) of Napster logo: Cat wearing headphones. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... GameSpy Arcade is a shareware multiplayer game server browsing utility designed for the Microsoft Windows operating system. ... A teamspeak software, commonly used in online gaming, which allows for voice chat. ... MPlayer logo For the free media player, see mplayer. ... A Software Development Kit, or SDK for short, is typically a set of development tools that allows a software engineer to create applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, operating system or similar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The PlayStation 2 , abbreviated PS2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ... The Dreamcast , code-named Black Belt, Dural, Dricas, Vortex, Shark and Katana during development) is Segas fifth and final video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. ... The Xbox is a sixth generation era video game console produced by Microsoft Corporation. ... Doom (or DOOM)[1] is a 1993 computer game by id Software that is among the landmark titles in the first-person shooter genre. ... IGN is a multimedia news and reviews website that focuses heavily on video games. ... GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. ... Half-Life For a quantity subject to exponential decay, the half-life is the time required for the quantity to fall to half of its initial value. ... Super Mario Bros. ...

External links

• GameSpy
• GameSpy Arena
• GameSpy Comrade
• GameSpy3D programming team
• GameSpy Network Listing