GameSpy Arcade is a shareware multiplayer game server browsing utility designed for the Microsoft Windows operating system. Gamespy arcade allows players to view and connect to available multiplayer games, and chat to other users of the service. It was initially released by GameSpy Industries, a division of IGN Entertainment, in early 2000, to replace the ageing GameSpy3D program. Version 2 is the latest offering of the software, boasting additional features such as increased speed and advanced server sorting abilities. Currently, the best patch is 2.0.5 Image File history File links Gamespy_arcade_logo. ... Look up shareware in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Online gaming redirects here. ... A game server browser is a software application that enables a user to easily find online multiplayer servers for the Computer games they are playing. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary operating systems by Microsoft. ...

Features

GameSpy Arcade includes various other features which enhance its overall functionality. These include:-

• Ability for users to have their own profiles .
• Scanning a user’s hard disk for Arcade compatible games.
• A basic web browser.
• Voice Chat
• Buddy List

Subscription Levels

GameSpy arcade is essentially free however the software maintains shareware status as there are three different subscription levels which provide extra benefits according to their price.

'Basic users' can be created for free at the GameSpy website and are able to display and connect to games, as well as chat to users inside the game lobby. Various advertisements are shown inside the program for these users.

'GameSpy Arcade', the first pay subscription service, provides extended functionality such as no advertisements and in game voice chat, as well as priority service for technicians to assist in solving problems with the software.

'Founders Club', the second pay subscription service, is the highest possible level of membership to GameSpy arcade. This subscription has benefits which apply across the entire GameSpy network, including FilePlanet access, and ‘Insider’ newsletters. This is the most expensive of the subscriptions on offer.

Gaming

GameSpy Arcade allows one to game online with games such as Halo, Command & Conquer: Renegade, Counter Strike, Unreal Tournament 2004, and other first person games. Additionally, there was Parlor Games, but these were removed due to hacking. Some of the Parlor Games that existed were Y.A.R.N (story making) Reversi, Poker, Checkers, Chess,and Backgammon. Also, GameSpy Arcade's chat allows roleplay in a simple fashion ("/me" command is used to roleplay) JASON Halo may refer to: Halo (optical phenomenon), a ring of light that surrounds an object. ... Counter-Strike, commonly abbreviated to CS, or CS:S for Counter-Strike: Source, is a team-based, tactical first-person shooter game which originated with a total conversion mod created by Minh gooseman Le and Jess Cliffe, of Valve Softwares first-person shooter, Half-Life. ... Unreal Tournament 2004, also known as UT2004 or UT2K4, is a futuristic first-person shooter computer game designed mainly for multiplayer gaming, although the game has a built in single-player mode that mimics multiplayer gaming by featuring AI-bots. ... Reversi and Othello are names for a strategic boardgame which involves play by two parties on an eight-by-eight square grid with pieces that have two distinct sides. ... Poker Room at the Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey Poker is a card game, the most popular of a class of games called vying games, in which players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, which is awarded to the player or players... starting position on a 10×10 draughts board Draughts, also known as checkers, is a group of mental sport board games between two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over the enemys pieces. ... Chess is an abstract strategy board game for two players that is played both recreationally and competitively. ... Backgammon is a board game for two players in which pieces are moved according to the roll of dice and the winner is the first to remove all his pieces from the board. ...

Criticism

Gamespy has often been criticized for showing more concern regarding minor issues such as swearing inside the programs chat system, while the issue of spam is left unattended to. More recently, the issue of spam has been given more focus, with a new warning message whenever a user joins a game lobby.

Some users feel that they have been pressured into using the GameSpy Arcade software, as there is no other alternative with sufficient game support or the large user base. This was especially the case with the recent closing of MSN Gaming Zone, an alternative game server software. Many of the games previously supported by MSN Gaming Zone were moved to GameSpy Arcade, forcing users to install the new software to be able to continue playing these games online. The MSN Gaming Zone was once a popular website that hosted online gameplay, much akin to the GameSpy arcade of today. ...

Also, many users feel that GameSpy Arcade is shit and that they could just use their games inbuilt server browser.

External links

• GameSpy Arcade
• Version History