ESPN.com Launches Sports Video Gaming Section, GameTap Sponsors

ESPN has launched a special coverage area for sports-oriented video games, sponsored by subscription-based gaming portal GameTap. Most of the content will come through a partnership with Ziff Davis’s Game Group, which includes sites like 1UP.com, GameVideos.com and FileFront.com, and magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly and Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.

GameTap’s involvement is a “sponsor-plus” sort of arrangement. The company will offer site content and experiences around classic arcade games in addition to having a banner and a button on the front page. I just talked to an ESPN spokesperson, and it sounds like GameTap’s role is pretty loosely defined for now, with plans for classic games to be made available to ESPN.com visitors “in some way.” Other sponsors are in the works, he said. “GameTap is the only sponsor or advertiser, but we’re close to signing several blue chip advertisers and there are other opportunities available as well.”