Feature: 'Saving the Albatross: Lycos COO Brian Kalinowski on Exclusive Content'

In the first of today's main features, Lycos COO Brian Kalinowski discusses the future plans of recently-launched Lycos Games portal with Gamasutra, focusing specifically on the need for exclusive content in a gaming portal. In this extract, Kalinowski discusses the desire to have Lycos publish content from independent developers: "Clearly one of our goals was to create a gaming destination to put us not only with other gaming portables, but to first of all differentiate ourselves with introduction of exclusive games, games that we will acquire from US and Asia as well as European markets. And second, in line with our overall strategy, create a site where independent game developers will eventually find a home for the distribution and sale of their games." Details for Lycos' relationship with independent game developers have not yet been worked out, though Kalinowski did share a few scant details. "We're going to be creating an entire platform for the indie developers, to allow them to basically upload their games, create executables and distribute and market them through our network, with some marketing tools that we provide for free, as well as some services that they can pay additional fees for," he said. "We haven't gotten to that step yet, but the launch of Lycos Games now is the foundation of our larger gaming vision." You can read the full Gamasutra cover feature, including discussion on what might set Lycos apart from the competition (no registration required, please feel free to link to this feature from external web sites).