The Fourth Annual Spring Internet World '97 that took place between March 10-14 was the place to be if you had any involvement with the Net. This year the L.A. Convention Center was the house for over 450 exhibitors kicking and screaming about how they were the best thing that's ever hit the Net since its creation. There wasn't a great deal about online gaming at the show; the main focus was around Internet tools, development, and technologies. In fact, out of the 61 conference sessions that were held during the event, only one dealt with games! The topic of that panel was real-time Internet gaming, where it is now, where it's going to be in the future, and who's at the cutting edge. This was actually my personal highlight of the show and felt it a shame that there weren't as many attractions that involved this growing market of online gaming.

While out on the floor, I did find a spoonful of booths that had gaming as their theme. Berkeley Systems is the company that convinced every computer user that screen savers were not only a necessity for the longevity of your monitor, but also embedded into our heads that screensavers could also be a form of entertainment. They're, of course, also behind the highly popular You Don't Know Jack series of trivia games. Because of the success of this title, they're making it an online game that's now available through their new online entertainment Network, beZerk. Through the beZerk Network, users will be able to compete in You Don't Know Jack The Netshow, a twisted pop-culture game show, or a beta version of YDKJ Sports The Netshow. Another badge of success just came recently at the first annual Webby Awards in San Francisco. where the beZerk Network was honored as Best Game Site of the Year. Julie Wainwright, president and CEO of Berkeley Systems said that, "Winning Best Game Site reinforces our belief that unique, breakthrough online entertainment, like that offered on beZerk, is the future."

Other companies on the floor included the ImagiNation Network and Engage Games Online. These two companies were similar in many respects because of their views on online gaming; the games that are offered on both these services are very broad-based, hit a wide range of gaming genres. Unlike other online gaming networks, both ImagiNation and Engage aren't focusing on niche games and are going after more than just the 18-35 year old male demographic. Dean DeBiase, president and CEO of ImagiNation, says its strategy is "to build loyal online communities through engaging content that appeals to the mass market." One thing that sets ImagiNation apart from the other online networks is the format they're using, CyberPark, a 3D world where users begin by creating a person that represents thems and that they'll use to travel and interact within this world. For instance, while walking along a CyberPark street, if you come across a casino, you'll be able to enter that casino and have the option of sitting down at a table to play a game of cards. I thought this 3D world to be very unique and am very curious to see how people are going to take to this new approach.

Another booth at the show that I found interesting was the one occupied by Creative Labs. Although they weren't showing anything that dealt with games, what they were showing--a beta version of their new Internet "channel" called Inspire--was impressive. For those not familiar with channels, they're pretty much what they sound like. Think of channels like the same ones you would find on television. Users will be able to enter a channel and then choose what they want to view. So, much of the material found on a channel will be exclusive, similar to the way that Friends is exclusive to NBC. Many people believe channels to be the future of the Net, feeling that instead of the chaotic structure that is currently apparent with the Web, people will have certain channels that they'll frequent. Probably the most popular channel out right now is PointCast. In any event, Inspire had a very appealing look, was easy to navigate around, and is also going to be interesting to see how well it catches on as one of the first to take part in this new trend.

Lastly, the real-time Internet gaming conference that I attended was not only eye-opening, but also somewhat audibly entertaining. When you get four guys with four different ideas, doing essentially the same thing, there's bound to be some friction. The panel consisted of Daniel Goldman, chairman of The Entertainment Network; Brian Apgar, founder/ executive vice president of development for Mpath Interactive; Bob Huntley, president of DWANGO; and ImagiNation's Dean DeBiase. Each of the panelists gave a brief two-minute heads up about their company, their business plan, and their service -- all except for DeBiase, who talked for a good five minutes about how great The ImagiNation Network is before he then showed a five-minute video about CyberPark.

After the introductions, moderator Wes Nihei, editor in chief of GamePro, began asking questions to the panel. This is when things got a bit ugly. Given, a fist fight never erupted or outright blasphemy was never heard, but the biting undertones toward each others plans were enough to make me cringe with delight.

The questions began with the basic query, "What type of demographic are you going for?" Unsurprisingly, everyone basically had the same answer which was the 18- to 35-year-old male. Apgar said that Mplayer did show that they also have "young 12-13 year old female players," and Dean DeBiase broke the norm by saying that ImagiNation's demographic is "very complex" and that they have "games in all categories and are targeting a mass market." Other questions asked the panel to explain what they are using to attract gamers to their service. Daniel Goldman said that they were focusing on the "hard-core gamer," and Bob Huntley said that DWANGO is working to "make players feel safe by providing moderators in the lobby." However, the gloves really came off when the question of how they plan to make their companies a success arose. DWANGO's plan was simple, Bob Huntley stated that it's all about "player skill level match-ups," while The ImagiNation Network is hoping for success by making it "easy to install with a cool interface, and you don't need much technical know how." Then, Goldman decided to go straight for the Mplayer jugular by saying that TEN has gone through "chaos but have reached a successful business model without giving the service away for free." Apgar, however, defended his free service by saying that he believes "that there are going to be many successful business models. There's going to be many ways to begin making money, like television has established. Television makes money by monthly cable subscribers, by pay-as-you-go viewers, and also solely by advertising."

All in all, the discussion moved along very smoothly and raised awareness of just how popular online gaming is becoming. With its growing popularity on top of the fact that video games in general bring in more revenue than movies, it's slightly odd that this Spring Internet World didn't have more exhibitors focusing on online gaming than it did. Perhaps the Internet World that's being held this summer in Chicago will be a different story.