AOL acquires GameDaily video game site

NEW YORK - The video games site GameDaily is now part of AOL. Time Warner Inc.'s Internet unit said Wednesday it bought the consumer Web site and its industry newsletter earlier this month from Gigex Inc. AOL said it plans to turn GameDaily into its flagship brand for video games. Financial terms were not disclosed. AOL, which said GameDaily is among the most-visited sites for information on video games, is trying to boost visits to its ad-supported Web sites to offset expected revenue declines from a recent decision to drop subscription fees for many high-speed Internet users. "Video game sites have become a valuable resource for advertisers wishing to reach the young male audience, and GameDaily is a brand that resonates with these highly sought-after consumers," said Ralph Rivera, vice president and general manager of AOL Games. AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said GameDaily visitors "are not simply casual gamers. ... These are loyal, dedicated, active gamers from a demographic very attractive to AOL and advertisers. They are rigorous users of online products and features." He said a "handful" of employees will transfer to AOL. AOL plans to add its existing AOL Games articles and features to GameDaily, while integrating the new material with AOL's other games sites, including Games.com, which the company launched in May after buying the Web address for an undisclosed sum. Earlier this week, AOL LLC said it bought Userplane, a developer of Web-based chat and other communications technologies, and plans to integrate it with its popular AOL Instant Messenger platform.-AP