# Game Lounge is up



## jamieh1 (May 1, 2003)

Ch 110 Game Lounge is now up, sorta...

The channel is up but is not yet active, Message says. 
The service is currently not available on this reciever, but will be soon.

visit www.GAMELOUNGE.com
to learn more about this exciting new service. Only on Directv!

This is on my R15, and HR20

Also shows channels in the 9000s labled Game lounge, when you go to those channels it loads the same screen and goes back to 110.


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## bjflynn04 (Jul 27, 2004)

It is up on my D11-500s but I haven't tried the D10-100 yet and I get the not available on this receiver message on my R15 too.


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## jal (Mar 3, 2005)

HR10-250 reads "Not Available On This Box"


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## jamieh1 (May 1, 2003)

Got to have Directv brand reciever, D10, D11, D12, R15, HR20 and maybe one day H20


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## shaun-ohio (Aug 24, 2002)

yeah only 5.95 a month, what a bargain !!!


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## shaun-ohio (Aug 24, 2002)

shows 9901-9924 in the guide list also, it just shows game loading


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## WolfClan Dan (Jan 10, 2007)

are you serious?


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## ericm31 (Dec 30, 2005)

I can't wait to be able to play: 

BARBIE® WORLD FASHION TOUR™ 

Yay..


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## mtnagel (Sep 18, 2006)

Now I need to set my spending limit lower so the kid won't buy games.


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## jimb726 (Jan 9, 2007)

I show the channels on my HR10, it said Games loading last night. Will be curious to see what it says this evening when I get home.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

jimb726 said:


> I show the channels on my HR10, it said Games loading last night. Will be curious to see what it says this evening when I get home.


Don't expect much on your HR10-250... as the Game Lounge is definently dependent on Interactive Features, and the HR10-250 is not interactive.


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## naijai (Aug 19, 2006)

The game lounge is going to be available initially on the D10 series,D11 series and D12 receivers all other interactive directv receivers will be available later in the year


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## shortkud (Jan 24, 2007)

jimb726 said:


> I show the channels on my HR10, it said Games loading last night. Will be curious to see what it says this evening when I get home.


On my HR10 it now says "Game Lounge is not available on this box". I assume you will see the same this evening.


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## Pink Fairy (Dec 28, 2006)

Some of the games are cheesy, but my roommate is addicted to the Mah Johng game


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## tony4d (Sep 5, 2006)

No thanks, I'll stick with Xbox 360 Xbox Live arcade games with a real controller.


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## Supervolcano (Jan 23, 2007)

Solitare and FreeCell for $5.95 a month?
Hell, even Bill Gates gives that to it's customers for free.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Supervolcano said:


> Solitare and FreeCell for $5.95 a month?
> Hell, even Bill Gates gives that to it's customers for free.


The Game Lounge has neither Solitare nor Freecell, but for 5.99 it's got a pretty good selection of games and services. DirecTV has promised new games every other week, the graphics aren't that bad for games that were made specifically for these punny CE devices, and of course it's cheaper than what you would have to pay for all of the games on Dish with the same kind or variety.


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## pappys (Jul 27, 2006)

jonaswan2 said:


> The Game Lounge has neither Solitare nor Freecell, but for 5.99 it's got a pretty good selection of games and services. DirecTV has promised new games every other week, the graphics aren't that bad for games that were made specifically for these punny CE devices, and of course it's cheaper than what you would have to pay for all of the games on Dish with the same kind or variety.


hmmm....looks like they do have both of those games at the gamelounge central....here


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## saxon2000 (Oct 25, 2006)

Gee, I really don't see my R15 as a game center. With all these great TV channels, who has the time?


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

pappys said:


> hmmm....looks like they do have both of those games at the gamelounge central....here


They do, and it might be up in the Game Lounge right now because I've just learned, by reading the help files, that DirecTV cycles the games (I think there is a "day shift" and a "night shift"), so if they are not in there now, they will probably be in there in a couple of weeks (or at least by the time the HR20 gets the capability to do the Game Lounge).

Of what I played (and I played everything, but Sudoku Jam last night), the games are really not all that bad. I think that NDS's games are the most put together and professional looking, but they all were very fun andd cheesy. The leaderboard thing is neat, you can gain tokens pretty easily, and Uno is always fun! I also love that they use the Watercoolers XM channel for the background music. My favorite game so far is JamTris, which is Tetris with a different name.


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## leww37334 (Sep 19, 2005)

The really interesting question is, If D* is so strapped for bandwidth, then where did the bandwidth come from for this new feature?


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

leww37334 said:


> The really interesting question is, If D* is so strapped for bandwidth, then where did the bandwidth come from for this new feature?


Well, they did get rid of the Kids Mix and probably streamlined the Active channel. They've also been planning to do this for a while, so there may have been some reserved bandwidth just for the Game Lounge. And the games really aren't that advanced or complicated, and the more complicated games will just be downloaded to the +Plus DVR's HDDs when that service becomes available.

ETA that they only have a maximum of 15 games up at one time right now.


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## dscott72 (Jan 9, 2007)

jal said:


> HR10-250 reads "Not Available On This Box"


I doubt any new bell or whistle, like the mix channels, will be available on a DirecTv/Tivo box of any sort. Not that I am happy about it, but why do you think D* will bend over backwards for units that eventually they will not support.


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## TANK (Feb 16, 2003)

So what percentage of the receivers are the D10 series and newer ?


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

TANK said:


> So what percentage of the receivers are the D10 series and newer ?


I don't think anyone has the numbers, but the D10 series and newer boxes are the only receivers that have the appropriate middleware to run the games and all DirecTV's new interactive applications.

Don't you think it would be kind of difficult to make sure that these games run on EVERY SINGLE RECEIVER when they all probably run vastly different types of middleware or may not have any middleware at all?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

You'd think that with DirecTV now releasing interactive services that they'll be *charging for*, it would be an incentive to get it up and running on the H20...


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Jeremy W said:


> You'd think that with DirecTV now releasing interactive services that they'll be *charging for*, it would be an incentive to get it up and running on the H20...


Actually, I believe the H20 will receive Game Lounge before the HR20 will. I read it in an FAQ somewhere on DTV's website I think, I just have to find it.

But I realy wouldn't be complaining since I think the HR20 will be the very last receiver to be able to access this during in March.


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## FavreJL04 (Feb 4, 2006)

Has anybody heard when the Game Lounge will be functional on the R15. Not a big deal so much since I have two D11s (daughter's bedroom, living room) but it would be nice to lounge in my bedroom (R15) and play games if I choose.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

FavreJL04 said:


> Has anybody heard when the Game Lounge will be functional on the R15. Not a big deal so much since I have two D11s (daughter's bedroom, living room) but it would be nice to lounge in my bedroom (R15) and play games if I choose.


I would think sometime in Feb. (But definately by March) with "Plus" (off-disk) games comming out in "early 2007."


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

jonaswan2 said:


> Actually, I believe the H20 will receive Game Lounge before the HR20 will. I read it in an FAQ somewhere on DTV's website I think, I just have to find it.


You can't tease us like that. I'm not saying you're lying, but I didn't see anything about the H20. So please try and find that again, because that would be exciting news for H20 owners.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Jeremy W said:


> You can't tease us like that. I'm not saying you're lying, but I didn't see anything about the H20. So please try and find that again, because that would be exciting news for H20 owners.


http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=769353&postcount=3

I think I must have got it from this thread, but I could have sworn I read it else where. Oh well, I guess I'm just crazy . He is as reliable a source as any since (I think) he works for DirecTV. You should PM him for more info.


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## flipper2006 (Oct 2, 2006)

ericm31 said:


> I can't wait to be able to play:
> 
> BARBIE® WORLD FASHION TOUR™
> 
> Yay..


Barbie!!! I cant wait!!!! Ahhh, lets figure out ways to make more revenue to make up for all the credits we are giving out with our problematic boxes :nono:


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

flipper2006 said:


> Barbie!!! I cant wait!!!! Ahhh, lets figure out ways to make more revenue to make up for all the credits we are giving out with our problematic boxes :nono:


Hey! That game isn't that bad (but once you play it through once, there is no reason to play it again). I think that the Mattel games (other than Uno) are the worst, but none of the games are _that_ bad. You can find much worse on the internet.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

Not on my D10-300 yet.They will probably fix this and my Caller ID at the same time(wishful thinking).


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## BillyT2002 (Oct 19, 2002)

If the DirecTV people are smart and listening. This is the perfect opportunity to make use of the unused USB ports. It would be REALLY COOL if DirecTV would create or support a USB gamepad controller (like an XBOX/Playstation controller or what not) and sell them to us for $50 to $100 (or at least tell us which one to buy which was compatible with these games. Who really wants to use a television remote control to play games. A real game controller would be far superior and the USB ports need a use. Even better would be if they supported a wireless USB gamepad controller. Ideally, you could plug in an XArcade and/or SlikStik arcade control panel into the USB port to play the games.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

BillyT2002 said:


> If the DirecTV people are smart and listening. This is the perfect opportunity to make use of the unused USB ports. It would be REALLY COOL if DirecTV would create or support a USB gamepad controller (like an XBOX/Playstation controller or what not) and sell them to us for $50 to $100 (or at least tell us which one to buy which was compatible with these games. Who really wants to use a television remote control to play games. A real game controller would be far superior and the USB ports need a use. Even better would be if they supported a wireless USB gamepad controller. Ideally, you could plug in an XArcade and/or SlikStik arcade control panel into the USB port to play the games.


All of the games are specifically tuned to be the best they can be with the DTV white remote. I just don't think that any of their interactive game developers want to refresh their games to add additional controller support. I'm not even sure if the middleware they use has any USB support. I know NDS doesn't say anything about it on their website.


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## okiekegler (Oct 4, 2005)

The way I read it, you only get a certain number of hours when you purchase the "all-access" monthly pass. You get charged monthly, but get a limited amount of hours depending on what time of day you purchase the games. At best, you can get 51 hours of game play. Am I misunderstood?


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## BillyT2002 (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, if the monthly pass doesn't include unlimited play and if the only game controller is the television remote control, then the game lounge is useless to me and I won't be purchasing it. Most likely, I'll just add a notebook HTPC running Windows Media Center to my television this year, anyway. Then I can run MAME. I have every arcade and console game ROM in existence on DVD. So, I'm set.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

okiekegler said:


> The way I read it, you only get a certain number of hours when you purchase the "all-access" monthly pass. You get charged monthly, but get a limited amount of hours depending on what time of day you purchase the games. At best, you can get 51 hours of game play. Am I misunderstood?


You're confusing the All-Access pass with the Game Pass. The Game Pass allows you access to one category of games for up to 24 hours, while the All-Access pass allows unlimited access to all games for one month.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

BillyT2002 said:


> if the only game controller is the television remote control, then the game lounge is useless to me


The games are designed to work with the remote control. It's not like they're RPGs where you need quick precise movements.


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## BillyT2002 (Oct 19, 2002)

Jeremy, if you go back and actually read post #38, then you'll hopefully realize that I pretty much already know that these games are set up to use the remote control and I was and still am expressing my opinion that playing games with a television remote control is not something that I'm particularly interested in.

I restate that it would be FAR SUPERIOR, if DirecTV could enable the "unused" USB ports on the back of the receiver to support a real game controller or a PC keyboard. This is my opinion and I think it would make for a better gaming product if they were to do so.

I have no vested interest though as I have a plethora of other ways in order to play games on my high-definition television set.

I merely submit my opinion for DirecTVs benefit.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

BillyT2002 said:


> I restate that it would be FAR SUPERIOR, if DirecTV could enable the "unused" USB ports on the back of the receiver to support a real game controller or a PC keyboard. This is my opinion and I think it would make for a better gaming product if they were to do so.


It would also be FAR SUPERIOR if they built an Xbox 360 into the receiver, so that we could play real high def games. But that's not the type of gaming DirecTV is going for, so they're not going to do that. A controller is useless for the type of games DirecTV is offering.


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## BillyT2002 (Oct 19, 2002)

Building an entire XBOX 360 into the HR20 box is a far cry more difficult in terms of complexity from merely adding the USB support to allow the use of a game controller.

You're XBOX 360 idea is impractical and overkill for what the average DirecTV customer is looking for I think in this gaming service.

However, my idea is both practical and shouldn't be too difficult to do. If a game can be written to poll the television remote control for input, it shouldn't be too difficult to poll the USB controller for that same input. I'm not even suggesting that they add support for every USB game controller under the sun. I'm merely suggesting that they make a deal with a company that manufactures USB game controllers (say Logitech or Mad Catz) and then they add support to allow users of this game service to use one of these potentially "supported" USB game controllers.

The television remote control does not have the right feel for playing arcade style games. A game controller does. I can't imagine that there are are a lot of gamers out there that are going to want to play games using a television remote control (or at least once the novelty wears off).

Television remote control gaming has been available on DISH Network receivers for a long time and back when I played with it (which was a few years ago now), it was fun for all of about a day or two and then I moved on.

Now maybe I'm wrong, but I'm imagining that some of the games which will be offered will be arcade style games.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

BillyT2002 said:


> Now maybe I'm wrong, but I'm imagining that some of the games which will be offered will be arcade style games.


There's the problem. You're making assumptions about games that may be added in the future. For now, there are no arcade style games on there, and there is nothing that points to them in the future either. I think DirecTV knows what they're doing here, and if you think that a controller is necessary to enjoy these games, then you're obviously not who DirecTV is targeting.


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## BillyT2002 (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, I have no way of knowing up front what types of games that DirecTV is going to be offering with this service as the service still says coming soon at least on my reciever. My first assumption would be that simple arcade style games would be offered such as snake, pacman, space invaders, etc. (Maybe not the original games, but cheap knock offs so as to keep them on the cheap and probably less sophisticated than the games on my cell phone.)

Generally, an arcade style game is a game where you can move a graphical sprite around in various directions and perhaps shoot sprite bullets, missles etc around in different directions while avoiding other stationary or moving sprite obstacles and perhaps even shooting at them and killing them.

Any type of game that uses the sort of arcade style definition which I give above will be far better suited to play using a game controller, rather than a television remote. That's my opinion.

These are also the types of games that DISH Network offers.

I guess I won't really know what games DirecTV will offer until they become available. However, if they are arcade style, they will be a lot more exciting with a game controller than with a television remote control.

I'm not sure what the point of further elaborating on this is except that my wife will agree that I'm very good at beating a dead horse to death.

I came up with what I think is a practical and good idea that in my opinion should cost DirecTV very few resources to implement and let's face it, the USB ports really do need a use other than for wireless internet/intranet access alone.

DirecTV can do with it, what it will or probably will not.


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## tonyc (Jun 12, 2006)

In one of directv annual reports I think it was 2006 , they annouced a new service called directv gamestar which would of been computer style games, but what they came out with is gamelounge which more like kid games. the interesting thing I found out was gamestar is owned by IDT entertainmant who's parent company is Newscorp. gamelounge is operated by skilljam which is a division of Fun technologies that is 51% owned by liberty media.


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## CraigM (Jan 20, 2007)

I read that Microsoft is doing the XBOX 360 IPTV edition, which will be out by Christmas. I think the XBOX 360 will act as a cable box because the XBOX 360 will have Microsof't IPTV Edtion software in it. I wonder if you could hook DirecTV up to it also?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

CraigM said:


> I wonder if you could hook DirecTV up to it also?


No. IPTV is delivered over a broadband connection, unlike DirecTV which is delivered via satellite. It's completely different.


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## CraigM (Jan 20, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> No. IPTV is delivered over a broadband connection, unlike DirecTV which is delivered via satellite. It's completely different.


Thanks. I didn't realize IPTV was broadband only. Does DirecTV want to do IPTV?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

CraigM said:


> Thanks. I didn't realize IPTV was broadband only. Does DirecTV want to do IPTV?


An IPTV network is basically a whole new distribution scheme. DirecTV would have to build out terrestrial wired networks, which isn't going to happen.


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## CraigM (Jan 20, 2007)

I found this article were it stated DirecTV working with Microsoft and the XBOX 360.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/17/directv-blade-coming-to-360-dashboard/


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

CraigM said:


> I found this article were it stated DirecTV working with Microsoft and the XBOX 360.


That is very old news, and we don't even know if that deal is still happening. But it actually had nothing to do with gaming.


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## CraigM (Jan 20, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> That is very old news, and we don't even know if that deal is still happening. But it actually had nothing to do with gaming.


You are right. I found this article that said DirecTV and the XBOX 360 was a rumor.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/17/directv-blade-to-bring-hd-tv-and-flicks-to-xbox-360-dashboard/


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## okiekegler (Oct 4, 2005)

Jeremy W said:


> You're confusing the All-Access pass with the Game Pass. The Game Pass allows you access to one category of games for up to 24 hours, while the All-Access pass allows unlimited access to all games for one month.


As copied from gamelounge.com:

How much does Game Lounge cost? 
An All-Access Pass (Monthly Subscription) is $5.95 and allows you to play all games in that category for at least 24 hours. If you order after 6pm, you will receive 30+ hours of play for that pass. Unless you cancel, a $5.95 charge will appear on your bill every month. Individual Game Passes are available for $1.95 each. (end copy)

This clearly indicates that you can play all the games in the category you purchase for at least 24 hours depending on what time you order. The other option is to play only one game for the same amount of time for the lesser charge of $1.95. Some folks are going to be disappointed if they're thinking it's unlimited access for the entire month for a single charge of $5.95.


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## Supervolcano (Jan 23, 2007)

okiekegler said:


> As copied from gamelounge.com:
> 
> How much does Game Lounge cost?
> An All-Access Pass (Monthly Subscription) is $5.95 and allows you to play all games in that category for at least 24 hours. If you order after 6pm, you will receive 30+ hours of play for that pass. Unless you cancel, a $5.95 charge will appear on your bill every month. Individual Game Passes are available for $1.95 each. (end copy)
> ...


Not stepping on your toes.
Just setting the record straight.
Your quote and interpretation are both incorrect.

The part about "24 hours" is noted within the "Game Pass", not the "All-Access Pass". A monthly subscription of All-Access is exactly what the words define (all access for one full month).

Here is the link to the FAQ page at gamelounge:
http://directv.skilljam.com/help/Ar...ently+Asked+Questions&an=1&ur=1&sb=1#Section2

Here is the correct quote:


> How much are the Game Lounge passes?
> Prices:
> All-Access Pass (Monthly Subscription) - $5.95
> Game Pass - $1.95
> ...


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

leww37334 said:


> The really interesting question is, If D* is so strapped for bandwidth, then where did the bandwidth come from for this new feature?


I was just going to say this. Were lacking so many channels, premium movie chanhels both SD and HD and they are offering this and all the garbage, IMO, on channel 101 and others ?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Bobman said:


> Were lacking so many channels, premium movie chanhels both SD and HD and they are offering this and all the garbage, IMO, on channel 101 and others ?


Every channel is someone's favorite, and at the same time someone else's least favorite. DirecTV has to balance everything out.


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## okiekegler (Oct 4, 2005)

Thanks for the info. To set the record straight, I didn't "interpret" anything and certainly didn't misquote the information that was given. I went to the site that is listed on the game lounge channel and that was exactly what I quoted. The link that you posted makes much more sense. However, the FAQ on the gamelounge.com site certainly indicates that your hours would be limited with the all-access pass. Please take the time to visit gamelounge.com and click on the FAQ there.......this is what you'll find:

"How much does Game Lounge cost? 
An All-Access Pass (Monthly Subscription) is $5.95 and allows you to play all games in that category for at least 24 hours. If you order after 6pm, you will receive 30+ hours of play for that pass. Unless you cancel, a $5.95 charge will appear on your bill every month. Individual Game Passes are available for $1.95 each."

Perhaps they should have copied the information from the FAQ that you quoted to the gamelounge.com site as well. How is one to know that you need to go to a site other than the one that is listed on the channel? I appreciate receiving the correct information. Don't really appreciate the assumption that I was twisting it into anything other than what it stated!


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## FavreJL04 (Feb 4, 2006)

I gathered the same as you about the 5.95 pass still having a time limit on it. When I called DTV to set it up they told me it was unlimited time so I guess we'll see what happens. It would be dumb to call it All Access when it is acutally limited access.


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## Supervolcano (Jan 23, 2007)

okiekegler said:


> I appreciate receiving the correct information. Don't really appreciate the assumption that I was twisting it into anything other than what it stated!


I apologize, didn't mean to offend you.
I was reading one FAQ and you were reading the other.
At first I thought maybe you cut n pasted it incorrectly.
It was D*'s webpage designer who incorrectly merged 2 paragraphs together.
Your quote is a misprint and needs to be corrected by D*.

All Access Pass IS DEFINATELY a monthly pass to all games for the whole month for $5.95


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## okiekegler (Oct 4, 2005)

Supervolcano said:


> I apologize, didn't mean to offend you.
> I was reading one FAQ and you were reading the other.
> At first I thought maybe you cut n pasted it incorrectly.
> It was D*'s webpage designer who incorrectly merged 2 paragraphs together.
> ...


Not offended at all......just a little bit lost in the information criss-cross. I'm sure D* will NEVER leave anything out there that might confuse anyone ever again. Really.......Never EVER, EVER, EVER! :lol:


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## islesfan (Oct 18, 2006)

BillyT2002 said:


> Who really wants to use a television remote control to play games.


Isn't this the whole point behind the Wii?


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

The message on one of my receivers says it isn't available on it and I haven't checked the other one yet. I feel sure it will probably say the same thing. But I mostly feel about the games like I do the music on D. At least if you aren't interested in playing games on your TV you don't have to pay for it  But there is no way to get out of the music, if you don't want it


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Dolly said:


> The message on one of my receivers says it isn't available on it and I haven't checked the other one yet. I feel sure it will probably say the same thing. But I mostly feel about the games like I do the music on D. At least if you aren't interested in playing games on your TV you don't have to pay for it  But there is no way to get out of the music, if you don't want it


Right now it's only currently availible on the D10, D11, and D12 series of receivers. Then it will be availible for the D10-300, then the R15 and H20, and then finally the HR20.


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## Dolly (Jan 30, 2007)

jonaswan2 said:


> Right now it's only currently availible on the D10, D11, and D12 series or receivers. Then it will be availible for the D10-300, then the R15 and H20, and then finally the HR20.


I feel dumb, but I have no idea what the numbers are for either of my receivers


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Dolly said:


> I feel dumb, but I have no idea what the numbers are for either of my receivers


The D10, D11, and D12s are all standard receivers, the H20 is the HD receiver, the HR20 is the Plus HD DVR and the R15 is the Plus DVR. The Tivos will never get interactive functionallity.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

Dolly said:


> I feel dumb, but I have no idea what the numbers are for either of my receivers


1.Don't feel dumb you are here and learning OK?
2.On the Back of the receiver where the Receiver ID is you should find a number.
D10-100/200 ect.
3.Open the door where the access card is.you should find a number there also.
4.Some receivers have the number on the front(lower left).Good Hunting and Good Luck!.


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