The sole publicly-listed UK online games company, On-line Plc, has taken its first step into the US market through a deal with Concentric Network Corp. Cupertino, California-based internet Service Provider, Concentric, is setting up Games Gateway, a games center on the internet that it will announce at the E3 show in Atlanta, Georgia next week. London-based On-line will initially offer its internet multiplayer game, Iron Wolves, a World War II submarine simulation, on the games network, with the Age of the Throne, a Java-based multi-user dungeon style game and Talking Heads, a cartoon chat system, being added at a later date. This is our first proper move into the US market, said Michael Hodges, managing director at On-line. It gives us a chance to tap into a market that covers 70% of on-line gaming. Concentric subscribers will pay $1.75 per hour for game play in the Gateway and On-line will take an unspecified percentage of that. On-line joins Villeurbanne, France-based Infogrames Entertainment in providing games for the new service. Concentric has existing partnerships with Total Entertainment Network and Engage games online, and recently announced a new partnership with Unified Gamers Online Inc.
