A new game download service launched by a British company boasts superfast downloads and offers gamers the option to start playing their games before the full copy of the software has been transferred to their PC hard drive.
The developers behind the new service at Awomo told BBC News that what they are offering is "a super-fast way of distributing games."
Awomo boss Roger Walkden claims that it is "the first time...a system does for games what iTunes does for music."
CVG's very own John Houlihan added that "File size [of games] still makes digital downloading prohibitive in many cases, but as fibre optic comes in, that will really change things."
The business of fun
Other PC game downloading services such as Valve's Steam and Direct2Drive require that gamers download the full game before being able to install it to their hard drives and get on with the important business of fun.
In contrast Awomo takes "the core files used to play the game, which is enough to get you up and running, and then download[s] the rest of the content in the background," according to Walkden.
For example, (if you are quick) you can currently grab yourself a free copy of Tomb Raider Legend – a 7.2GB file in total - though Awomo users are only required to download 652MB of that data before they can head off for some virtual adventuring with the lovely Lara, while the rest of the game continues to download in the background.
The success (or failure) of the service will depend on the library and pricing of games that Awomo is able to offer its users.
TechRadar will be keeping an eye on Awomo's growing library in the coming months to see if the mighty Valve might finally have a serious competitor in the PC game download 'space'.
