AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Online Game Services, Inc. (OGSi), a business unit of GNi, and BitTorrent, home to the global standard for delivering high-quality files and media over the Internet, announced today at the Austin Game Developers Conference (GDC) that they have partnered to develop a download solution for online gaming.
Under the terms of the agreement, OGSi will augment its industry-leading games hosting and transport offering with BitTorrent’s peer-assisted content delivery service to create a world-class platform for game developers. The OGSi download platform will be offered to all OGSi online game customers with game download and video streaming requirements.
The peer-assisted download platform provides game developers an efficient and scalable content delivery solution, enabling a superior user experience. Unpredictable and unscheduled popularity of a game title is commonplace in the industry, and the cost to scale has often been prohibitive. With BitTorrent DNA, game developers can focus on providing the best possible user experience rather than provisioning infrastructure which may or may not be needed.
“By leveraging the efficiency of BitTorrent DNA, game developers using the OGSi platform won’t be punished for their popularity. In fact, with BitTorrent, the more popular the game is, the faster the downloads are for users,” said Ashwin Navin, president and co-founder of BitTorrent, Inc. “Although many gamers are already fans of BitTorrent, with DNA they’ll enjoy the most sophisticated BitTorrent client they’ve ever had, one which improves download performance and video quality without compromising game play.”
OGSi CEO James Hursthouse commented: “We are extremely pleased to be working with BitTorrent on this solution. We believe that the combination of GNi’s extremely high-quality network, along with the flexibility and reach of the BitTorrent DNA solution provides exactly the right balance of power, price/performance and quality that the games industry is looking for.”
The joint solution also allows developers to serve parts of the world where robust server infrastructure may not exist, and network connections are limited or erratic. All this without having to restart large game downloads when connections are lost. Lastly, the service provides game developers with detailed reporting and insights into the entire infrastructure including the managed BitTorrent peer network. Reporting from the edge of the network enables the most comprehensive view of the server, CDN, and peer-network activity from the user’s perspective, including download statistics and performance.
Under the agreement, both parties are evaluating the expansion of their pre-existing relationship in the form of additional data center services from GNi and support for BitTorrent’s Center of Excellence, which will provide real-time demonstrations of peer-to-peer download acceleration. OGSi will continue to operate its worldwide online games hosting infrastructure to provide hosting service to game developing companies, from beta stages through full commercial ramp-up, providing rock-solid 24/7 support, competitive pricing and passion for gaming ensure the maximum possible return for their customers. BitTorrent will continue to exclusively develop, maintain and offer the BitTorrent client software, both as an executable and software development kit (SDK).
About BitTorrent
BitTorrent is the global standard for delivering high-quality files over the Internet. Millions of users worldwide are using BitTorrent’s leading peer-assisted content delivery platform to publish, discover and download digital entertainment content quickly, easily and securely. Founded in 2004, BitTorrent is a privately held company backed by venture capital firms, Accel and DCM (formerly known as Doll Capital Management). The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information, visit http://www.bittorrent.com.
About Online Game Services, Inc
Online Game Services Inc. (OGSi) is a business unit of GNi, an award-winning, rapidly expanding managed services company. GNi provides the operational expertise, economies of scale, and vendor relationships that ensure OGSi’s game hosting is second to none in terms of both price and performance. OGSi has been refining its game service provider business model since its inception in June 2004. By providing games companies with fully-managed, dedicated game hosting services, comprising best-of-breed server and network infrastructure, and expert network design, deployment and operation within a "pay-as-you-grow" model, customers can offset much of the risk and cost associated with online game deployment. For further information, visit http://www.onlinegameservices.com.
About GNi
GNi has become a leading provider of customer-centric managed services that extend customers’ infrastructure while dramatically reducing their total cost of ownership (TCO). GNi provides the expertise, resources and solutions to meet and exceed customers’ unique onsite and off-site requirements. Services include managed internet, world-class network security, disaster recovery, server management and hosting, operations management, and solutions consulting. GNi’s unique P.O.W.E.R. (Process Organized with Efficient Resources) methodology delivers consistent levels of excellence for efficiently managing peak loads and guaranteeing uptime. For more information, visit http://www.gni.com.
Under the terms of the agreement, OGSi will augment its industry-leading games hosting and transport offering with BitTorrent’s peer-assisted content delivery service to create a world-class platform for game developers. The OGSi download platform will be offered to all OGSi online game customers with game download and video streaming requirements.
The peer-assisted download platform provides game developers an efficient and scalable content delivery solution, enabling a superior user experience. Unpredictable and unscheduled popularity of a game title is commonplace in the industry, and the cost to scale has often been prohibitive. With BitTorrent DNA, game developers can focus on providing the best possible user experience rather than provisioning infrastructure which may or may not be needed.
“By leveraging the efficiency of BitTorrent DNA, game developers using the OGSi platform won’t be punished for their popularity. In fact, with BitTorrent, the more popular the game is, the faster the downloads are for users,” said Ashwin Navin, president and co-founder of BitTorrent, Inc. “Although many gamers are already fans of BitTorrent, with DNA they’ll enjoy the most sophisticated BitTorrent client they’ve ever had, one which improves download performance and video quality without compromising game play.”
OGSi CEO James Hursthouse commented: “We are extremely pleased to be working with BitTorrent on this solution. We believe that the combination of GNi’s extremely high-quality network, along with the flexibility and reach of the BitTorrent DNA solution provides exactly the right balance of power, price/performance and quality that the games industry is looking for.”
The joint solution also allows developers to serve parts of the world where robust server infrastructure may not exist, and network connections are limited or erratic. All this without having to restart large game downloads when connections are lost. Lastly, the service provides game developers with detailed reporting and insights into the entire infrastructure including the managed BitTorrent peer network. Reporting from the edge of the network enables the most comprehensive view of the server, CDN, and peer-network activity from the user’s perspective, including download statistics and performance.
Under the agreement, both parties are evaluating the expansion of their pre-existing relationship in the form of additional data center services from GNi and support for BitTorrent’s Center of Excellence, which will provide real-time demonstrations of peer-to-peer download acceleration. OGSi will continue to operate its worldwide online games hosting infrastructure to provide hosting service to game developing companies, from beta stages through full commercial ramp-up, providing rock-solid 24/7 support, competitive pricing and passion for gaming ensure the maximum possible return for their customers. BitTorrent will continue to exclusively develop, maintain and offer the BitTorrent client software, both as an executable and software development kit (SDK).
About BitTorrent
BitTorrent is the global standard for delivering high-quality files over the Internet. Millions of users worldwide are using BitTorrent’s leading peer-assisted content delivery platform to publish, discover and download digital entertainment content quickly, easily and securely. Founded in 2004, BitTorrent is a privately held company backed by venture capital firms, Accel and DCM (formerly known as Doll Capital Management). The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information, visit http://www.bittorrent.com.
About Online Game Services, Inc
Online Game Services Inc. (OGSi) is a business unit of GNi, an award-winning, rapidly expanding managed services company. GNi provides the operational expertise, economies of scale, and vendor relationships that ensure OGSi’s game hosting is second to none in terms of both price and performance. OGSi has been refining its game service provider business model since its inception in June 2004. By providing games companies with fully-managed, dedicated game hosting services, comprising best-of-breed server and network infrastructure, and expert network design, deployment and operation within a "pay-as-you-grow" model, customers can offset much of the risk and cost associated with online game deployment. For further information, visit http://www.onlinegameservices.com.
About GNi
GNi has become a leading provider of customer-centric managed services that extend customers’ infrastructure while dramatically reducing their total cost of ownership (TCO). GNi provides the expertise, resources and solutions to meet and exceed customers’ unique onsite and off-site requirements. Services include managed internet, world-class network security, disaster recovery, server management and hosting, operations management, and solutions consulting. GNi’s unique P.O.W.E.R. (Process Organized with Efficient Resources) methodology delivers consistent levels of excellence for efficiently managing peak loads and guaranteeing uptime. For more information, visit http://www.gni.com.
