BT launches new broadband package for console gamers

Telecoms giant BT has announced the launch of new broadband packages aimed specifically at console online gamers, offering them an all-in-one solution to getting their Xbox or PS2 online.

Unlike other packages from the supplier, which rely on USB connections directly into the user's PC, the new online gaming oriented services will come with a router modem - a device which allows Xboxen, PS2 network adapters and PCs to be plugged in simultaneously.

Subscribers to the new service can choose between an account on BT Broadband and a BT Yahoo! Broadband account, and the product is set to launch with a £30 cash back offer which is valid until the end of March 2004.

The console-focused service will also be promoted in the run-up to Christmas and beyond by a number of promotional activities with key game publishers, and a widely available CD-ROM featuring a broadband demonstration and trailers for key Xbox and PS2 online titles.

BT sees console gaming as one of the key factors in boosting the numbers of households using broadband services in the UK. The company hit its target of one million DSL users this year, and is now aiming for 5 million users by 2006.

Figures from Screen Digest suggest that up to 1.4 million consoles (PS2s and Xboxen) will be online by that time, representing about 1 in 8 of the installed base of network gaming capable consoles. The UK is expected to be a leader in this field within Europe, with 17 per cent of broadband subscribers playing console games on the service by 2006, compared with only 8.5 per cent across the continent as a whole.