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Total Entertainment Network

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Total Entertainment Network (TEN) was an online gaming service that existed from September, 1996 until October, 1999. T E Network, Inc., which created and operated the TEN service, was formed from the merger of Planet Optigon and Outland in June, 2005 when they received their first round of VC funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

The service offered PC game players a place to play DOS and Windows-based games online with and against other players, to chat, to download game-related content, and to compete for high scores and to win tournaments. The service was bundled with many PC games and offered as a subscription service. Some of the games supported on TEN include Duke Nukem 3D, NASCAR Racing Online Series, Magic: The Gathering Online, ARC, AD&D's Dark Sun Online, Quake, Quake 2, Shadow Warrior, Wulfram, Warheads, Masters of Orion, Blood, WizWar, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Command & Conquer, Panzer General, Twilight Dawn, Diablo, Warcraft, Deadlock: Planetary Conquest, and Myth.

Many online games, especially PC games adapted for online game play, require low and consistent latencies to play well. It was a major challenge circa 1996 for consumers to find consistent low latency connections to central servers or to other game players because of the latency intrinsic to dial-up modems and the heavy congestion at the Internet peering points. T E Network, Inc. partnered with Concentric Network Corporation to offer consumers Internet access dial-up numbers that would provide the reliable low latencies they needed to play online games. Concentric optimized their network and their dial-up technology for the TEN service.

After the success of Blizzard Entertainment's free Battle.net service for Diablo and their claim that offering online play as a feature of the game boosted retail sales by 10%, PC game publishers started following Blizzard's lead and offering free online game play. This undermined the subscription business model of TEN and their strategy to be the exclusive place to play popular PC games online. As Internet advertising was starting to gain traction, T E Network decided to focus on easy-to-access and easy-to-play browser-based games that would appeal to a broad audience and attract enough unique users to drive an advertising-based business model. T E Nework, Inc. became Pogo.com, Inc. to pursue this new strategy.

Beta Version from Planet Optigon

Planet Optigon developed and launched a beta version of an online gaming network and community portal that was called the Total Entertainment Network. It was a subscription service with a DOS client that offered Chess, Checkers, SimCity, email, and chat. It was available via Sprint's national dial-up network. This version was discontinued soon after T E Network, Inc. was formed.

References

  1. "TEN goes commercial; Leading interactive entertainment network for game players offers special introductory pricing to first 25,000 members," Business Wire Sep. 23, 1996. Available online at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/TEN+goes+commercial%3b+Leading+interactive+entertainment+network+for...-a018698627
  2. "Planet Optigon, Outland to merge and form "The Total Entertainment Network"; Online Entertainment companies merge, receive venture financing from Kleiner Perkins, Caulfield & Byers," Business Wire Apr. 24, 1995. Available online at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Planet+Optigon%2c+Outland+to+merge+and+form+%22The+Total+Entertainment...-a016857194
  3. "3D Realms Titles Go Exclusively to TEN for 5 Years; TEN to be exclusive online partner for all upcoming titles, including Duke Nukem 3D," Business Wire Mar. 19, 1996. Available online at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/3D+Realms+Titles+Go+Exclusively+to+TEN+for+5+Years%3b+TEN+to+be...-a018104297
  4. "NASCAR Speeds onto the Internet: TEN Puts Pedal to the Metal with Sierra On-Line and NASCAR," Business Wire Dec. 3, 1996. Available online at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/NASCAR+Speeds+onto+the+Internet%3a+TEN+Puts+Pedal+to+the+Metal+with...-a018896455
  5. "TEN Shakes Up the Gaming World With Addition of QUAKE; First commercial Internet entertainment network adds to list of high-quality content," Business Wire Sep. 30, 1996. Available online at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/TEN+Shakes+Up+the+Gaming+World+With+Addition+of+QUAKE%3b+First...-a018731815
  6. "TEN and Concentric Forge Alliance to Provide Fastest Possible National Gaming Network," Business Wire May 16, 1996. Available online at http://www.thefreelibrary.com/TEN+and+Concentric+Forge+Alliance+to+Provide+Fastest+Possible...-a018290454
  7. "TEN Becomes pogo.com: Bingo Beats Quake," Wall Street Journal Interactive, Oct. 1999. Available online at http://www.costik.com/pogo.html
  8. "Showdown at the Virtual Corral," San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 5, 1995. Available online at http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/1995/01/05/DD7710.DTL

See also

External Links