MIDASPLAYER
LAUNCHES MULTIPLAYER PLATFORM WITH ‘TRUE SKILL’ POOL GAMES
London, Friday 17th September 2004. Midasplayer.com, Europe’s largest
skill-gaming site is now multiplayer, with users able to face-off in real time
at 8 ball and 9 ball pool.
In a skill gaming market estimated to be worth $137million and tipped to grow at
an annual 40% to 2007*, the addition of multi-player gaming will enhance the
playing experience and increase the stickiness of the platform. Midasplayer
expects to boost customer value with the exciting new games.
The new multiplayer Pool Kings is based on the popular
Pool King game already featured on the Midasplayer site. Users
enter a lobby and choose a partner, before negotiating whether to play for money
or just for fun. As in real-world pool, play is turn-based,. Players can use
their customisable avatars to emote and comment on gameplay.
Midasplayer Pool Kings features a unique innovation: The break
is decided by means of a digital ‘lag’. Players must bounce the white ball off
the far cushion and place it closest to the near cushion in order to start. In
other online pool games, the break is decided randomly, bringing an unacceptable
level of chance to the outcome of the game. This feature typifies the strict
compliance with continental European regulation that has made Midasplayer the
preferred choice of Yahoo!, msn.co.uk, AOL.DE, T-Online, Lycos and 14 other
European portals.
Midasplayer COO Toby Rowland comments: Pool Kings is instantly playable and
brilliantly addictive. It is also the only pool game to comply with gaming
regulation in continental Europe. Now that we have created our multiplayer
platform, our users can expect to see us launching many more multiplayer games
in the coming months.”
With the addition of the two new games and with new distribution deals in place,
Midasplayer expects to significantly increase its three million games played
every month on the site. Toby Rowland continues: “We have built tremendous scale
in just one year of life and now have distribution in place with the majority of
the major European portals. We are now setting the agenda in international skill
gaming and look forward to bringing unique skill gaming experiences to our
customers.”
