In a move that looks to be an early test for the appeal of casual games on TV among people who don’t buy consoles, a platform that enables just that has launched in France.
GameTree TV is the product of Canadian company TransGaming, and its first client is a French set-top box manufacturer. The platform brings casual games such as PopCap’s Plants vs Zombies and Bejeweled 2 to the biggest screen in the house. As VentureBeat reports, it is being added to French broadband operator Free’s Freebox Revolution set-top box, which is designed to provide web-connected entertainment on TV.
Launching with 25 games, additional titles will be added each week. Downloaded games will be charged to customers’ monthly bills.
What’s interesting here is that it’s one of the best examples thus far of ‘apps on TV’, something that’s set to explode over the next few years. The question is, will customers opt for platforms like GameTree TV when big brands like Apple and Google start to expand their interactive TV ambitions. Given the success of the iPhone, the lure of iOS on TV is sure to put small players in the market on edge.
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