189:
hub where players could post or accept "game offers". These offers would include information such as the game's name, the selected difficulty, the time they would to play, and even specific people they would like to play against. For any game offers that were over-subscribed, the person that created
153:
in
Australia and the US. At its peak, there were more than 100,000 registered users and 50,000 active monthly users in the UK. It was sold to Gameplay plc. for £5.5 million in 2000, but following the sale, the service began to make losses and in August 2001 it was reduced to a shell company and was
358:
to
Gameplay plc. in 1999–2000 for £5.5 million. However, in June 2001, Gameplay plc. was facing financial difficulties and so proceeded to sell off assets. As part of this, they made the 5 lead server administrators redundant, however those staff continued to support the service unpaid. In August
370:
to Arena
Technik Limited for £132,500, mentioning that the service had generated losses from the date acquired, and also stated that "As at 31st July 2001, the company's year end, the net book value of the Wireplay assets was nil."
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was built in to various PC games to allow players to engage in multiplayer online play via a closed dial-up network/service. A lag of 105 milliseconds was achieved assuming players met the minimum requirements of a BT
994:
989:
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the offer could select which users would join the game. Before a game began, there was the opportunity for players to chat with each other in a lobby.
344:
were introduced to
Wireplay as part of BT's "Play Games Now" service. The games' official governing bodies got on board with the new opportunities of
465:
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By 1999 this number had increased to over 100. As of August 2000, this number had increased further to 125 with the addition of games such as
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Clubs could be created for up to 30 players and could be restricted by passwords. There was also a news section containing editorials and
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by the public. The pilot consisted of 1,500 players including 150 players that were able to sign up as part of a competition run by
29:
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capability built into the game itself, with the online service being launched from the game's menu. The service was created by
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158:. Arena Technik then bought the service on 31 August 2001. The service endured for a time but was finally shut down in 2014.
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to have matches separated by which mods were active, improvements for Peer 2 Peer and server based games, and a new GUI.
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service they'd released by playing four tables at once in an event known as "BT Wireplay
Challenge". Chess along with
185:, password etc. which would then grant them access to the "notice board". The notice board was essentially a manual
277:. The 1500 players were expected to use a dedicated BT hotline to update BT on their experiences with the service.
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and allowed players to run through the set-up and play with other players via a phone line and server located in
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In 1999, there were 50,000 active users a month and over 1,000 users connecting and playing simultaneously.
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service that allowed players to match up and play PC games with each other remotely. Compatible games had
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In June 1996, it was officially released to the general public. This release date was lined up with the
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and was released to the public in the UK in June 1996. 18 months later, BT licensed the technology to
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stores across the UK to enable those without access to the service from home to be able to play.
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Version 2 initially increased support for up to 1,000 concurrent players, later rising to 3,000.
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was acquired by
Gameplay plc. and added numerous improvements such as allowing games such as
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was about to lose its connection to the internet and so they were to move on to other work.
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603:"This month's hottest news on Wireplay, the UK's number one online gaming network"
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In addition to home/personal gaming, the service also ventured into the world of
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299:, with BT licensing the technology to telephony companies in those countries.
48:
36:
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251:
466:"Remember Wireplay? Learn more about BT's role in pioneering online gaming"
28:
831:"Investegate |Gameplay PLC Announcements | Gameplay PLC: Sale of Wireplay"
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v3 client, the number of compatible games dropped to 100 as of June 2001.
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182:
171:
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53:
41:
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could support 500 concurrent players and 50,000 registered players.
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in London in
September 1995 where visitors were able to test out a
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of the service. The prototype featured the games virtual pool and
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941:
911:
678:
Games As A Service: How Free to Play Design Can Make Better Games
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to allow for a more competitive, rather than casual experience.
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and allowed official tournament play to be carried out online.
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tournament which was being held in
England. Due to the timing,
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18 months later, the service was also launched in the US and
106:
174:, a PC with an Intel Pentium 486 processor and a 9600bit/s
627:"Fundamentally Games | Project-based Executive Production"
137:
was an online multiplayer gaming network available as a
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By June 1998, there were 68 compatible games including
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A registration process allowed for players to choose a
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On 17 December 1998, Oscar Clark, the vision lead for
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89:
77:
67:
59:
47:
35:
524:"Wireplay - New Wireplay build - Beta this..."
551:"Go on, make that call ... it's good to play"
8:
21:
995:Internet properties disestablished in 2004
27:
20:
16:Defunct online multiplayer gaming network
317:in 1998 when they hosted Quakedelica, a
990:Internet properties established in 1995
703:"Garry Kasparov vs David Howell (1998)"
441:
246:at the Live 95 Consumer Electronics at
508:. No. 28. January 1996. pp.
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366:On 31 August 2001, Gameplay plc. sold
7:
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922:from the original on 15 August 2000
882:"Official Wireplay - All the games"
601:Christmas, Warren (December 1998).
500:"BT takes online gaming initiative"
752:Richardson, Tim (15 August 2001).
648:"Oscar Clark | Develop Conference"
575:Homer, Steve (25 September 1995).
14:
975:Wireplay Official Site (Archived)
952:from the original on 10 June 2001
892:from the original on 26 June 1998
855:Bramwell, Tom (31 August 2001).
728:"BT Today : Computer Games"
681:. CRC Press. pp. 128, 134.
675:Clark, Oscar (5 February 2014).
857:"ArenaTek buys Wireplay assets"
804:Bramwell, Tom (9 August 2001).
780:"Gameplay division sold for £1"
778:Richardson, Tim (17 May 2001).
306:were opened inside a number of
526:15 August 2000. Archived from
265:In January 1996, BT opened up
1:
942:"Gameplay - Wireplay - Games"
912:"Gameplay - Wireplay - Games"
549:Green, Tim (8 January 1996).
401:Microsoft Flight Simulator 98
226:Version 3 was released after
359:2001, the staff noted that
292:compatible games released.
1021:
1005:Online video game services
652:www.developconference.com
197:were all possible within
26:
428:With the release of the
302:In 1997, Wireplay-ready
754:"Wireplay up for sale"
378:shut down altogether.
321:tournament in London.
242:BT publicly announced
835:www.investegate.co.uk
784:www.theregister.co.uk
758:www.theregister.co.uk
193:Leagues, ladders and
1000:Game server browsers
806:"Wireplay reunited?"
288:was among the first
195:knockout tournaments
154:looking to sell off
151:telephone companies
84:Game server browser
23:
918:. 15 August 2000.
707:www.chessgames.com
374:Finally, in 2014,
315:competitive gaming
37:Original author(s)
688:978-1-317-90887-6
530:on 15 August 2000
416:Colin McRae Rally
332:to promote a new
308:Blockbuster Video
212:Service evolution
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948:. 10 June 2001.
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888:. 26 June 1998.
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60:Initial release
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464:Smith, Chris.
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395:Age of Empires
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330:Garry Kasparov
304:Internet cafés
282:UEFA Euro 1996
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954:. Retrieved
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864:. Retrieved
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838:. Retrieved
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630:. Retrieved
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584:. Retrieved
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558:. Retrieved
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532:. Retrieved
528:the original
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68:Available in
49:Developer(s)
18:
611:. pp.
407:Warcraft II
187:matchmaking
128:(2000-2001)
96:Proprietary
984:Categories
436:References
338:backgammon
861:Eurogamer
810:Eurogamer
422:Half-Life
326:Wireplay,
297:Australia
252:prototype
232:Half-Life
125:/wireplay
121:.gameplay
109:.wireplay
63:June 1996
950:Archived
946:Gameplay
920:Archived
916:Gameplay
890:Archived
886:Wireplay
430:Wireplay
376:Wireplay
368:Wireplay
361:Wireplay
356:Wireplay
354:BT sold
346:Wireplay
319:Quake II
290:Wireplay
267:Wireplay
244:Wireplay
228:Wireplay
218:Wireplay
199:Wireplay
183:nickname
172:landline
167:Wireplay
162:Features
156:Wireplay
147:BT Group
143:Wireplay
135:Wireplay
54:BT Group
42:BT Group
22:Wireplay
956:1 April
926:1 April
896:1 April
866:1 April
840:1 April
815:1 April
789:1 April
763:1 April
737:1 April
712:1 April
657:1 April
632:1 April
608:PC Zone
586:1 April
560:1 April
534:1 April
475:1 April
286:Euro 96
256:Descent
238:History
139:dial-up
102:Website
91:License
72:English
685:
470:BT.com
342:bridge
328:hired
334:chess
176:modem
958:2020
928:2020
898:2020
868:2020
842:2020
817:2020
791:2020
765:2020
739:2020
714:2020
683:ISBN
659:2020
634:2020
615:–23.
588:2020
562:2020
536:2020
512:–13.
505:Edge
477:2020
419:and
404:and
389:Doom
340:and
260:York
123:.com
79:Type
269:to
119:www
113:.uk
111:.co
107:www
986::
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833:.
808:.
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667:^
650:.
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485:^
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444:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
