We recently had a few minutes to talk with Rick Sanchez and ask him some questions about the new online service called GameTap. Most recently, Sanchez served as vice president of publishing at IGN Entertainment, Inc., the leading community-based Internet media and services company for video games. At IGN, Sanchez managed the day-to-day operations for IGN.com, RottenTomatoes.com, GameSpy.com, GameStats.com, the Planet network and the Vault Network, which draw a combined audience of more than 18 million monthly visitors. He also managed the organization’s broadband group, developing original content and the delivery strategy. He recently became the Vice President of Content for GameTap and from our conversation with him he’s very happy to be part of their team.

Can you give us your definition of what the GameTap Service is?
GameTap is Turner’s first-of-its-kind broadband entertainment network that offers games-on-demand plus original programming via a broadband connected PC.

Are there different subscription levels of service? How much is a subscription?
GameTap is an all-you-can-play service for a monthly fee of $14.95. You can have up to seven sub accounts under one master account.

Will the GameTap software take advantage of Computer Gaming Controllers?
All games support play via keyboard and most USB peripherals.

What’s the official release date of GameTap?
Gametap will be available the week of 10/17 to general public.

When we met with GameTap representatives at E3, they informed us that many of the games that are provided through your service are from previous gaming systems.  What range of systems have you converted games for? Any of the major ones?
GameTap content currently spans from arcade to early consoles such as Atari 2600 to more advanced hardware like Dreamcast and PC.

You’ve been involved in the gaming industry for quite some time now, what excites you the most about the GameTap service?
Two things. The first is the opportunity to bring some of the best games of all time to an audience that probably hasn’t had the chance to play titles like the Genesis’ Phantasy Star series or my favorite Atari 2600 title, Yar’s Revenge. Along that same line, I’m also really enthusiastic about being able to re-introduce games that just didn’t make it above the noise level, like Ubisoft’s Beyond Good and Evil. That was a great game that almost nobody played and I hope to be able to develop a new audience for it through GameTap. The second thing I’m excited about is our original video content programming.

With GameTap expanding it’s depth from just playable games to include video content, which of the segments do you think will be the most popular?
That is a really tough question and I’m not sure I know the answer. At launch, I think the GameTap original Space Ghost episodes will be some of our most popular content, because it is already a familiar and well loved program. I think our magazine program, Tapped In, will likely develop a following pretty quickly as well. Our flashback show, Class of ???? may turn out to be sleeper hit for us as well. Then there are our entertainment segments like Day in the Extra Life that will really resonate with anyone who pumped a quarter into a Pac Man machine. The great thing about GameTap is that there is always going to be new video content coming through the network.

Does Turner have any plans to expand its gaming involvement into its TV channels?
Some of the GameTap content from the Media Plex will be featured on Adult Swim. More on this will be revealed in the marketing release due out very soon.

Turner held a Game Jockey search a while back. Who was the lucky winner?
Kathy Keats was the winner of the GameTap GJ search and will host Tapped In, our magazine show program that goes behind the scenes of the games players know and love, as well as some of the lost treasures and hidden gems of the GameTap catalogue.

Thank you for your time Rick and we look forward to seeing what GameTap has to offer.

For all who’d like to check out a brief segment of GameTap’s original programming click here.