WotC, Solid State Partner For M:TG Online Distribution

Content delivery solution provider Solid State Networks has announced that its Branded Client download manager has been selected by trading card, tabletop and role-playing game publisher Wizards of the Coast for distributing the latest version of Magic: The Gathering Online. According to Solid State, the Branded Client solution combines HTTP delivery with “zero-cost” P2P transfers that use the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file sharing protocol. Wizards of the Coast chose the download solution for its popular online collectible card game in order to “aid in the reduction of bandwidth costs, provide more reliable downloads for consumers and significantly enhance users' download experiences.” Senior systems administrator at Wizards of the Coast, Jeremy Stoltz described the selection of Branded Client as “critical to ensuring an enhanced consumer experience from delivery of the game to highly active sessions with numerous simultaneous players,” and added that lower bandwidth costs compared to other solutions have already been seen in “initial tests.” According to Stoltz, the latest version of Magic: The Gathering Online has been significantly redesigned, including an entirely new interface with expanded capabilities for user input, as well as expanded deckbuilding support, and enhanced matchmaking capabilities. "Wizards needed a highly scalable, reliable and cost-effective delivery solution that could handle the large installation files of Magic that would be downloaded by thousands of consumers simultaneously," said Rick Buonincontri, founder, president and CEO of Solid State Networks. "This is exactly the kind of high performance application we designed our P2P client solution to handle, and we are extremely excited to be working with Wizards of the Coast to help reduce their bandwidth costs and help ensure their customers have a superior gaming experience."