The next time you see your AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) window pop up, it might not be your bored nephew with time to kill or the work of a relentless spammer randomly pimping lewd sites. No, it just might mean it's your move.
As Time Warner's (NYSE:AOL) America Online launches a series of multiplayer games this week to go along with its latest version of instant messaging software, it's time to get your game face on, folks. Or, at the very least, your game avatar.
It seems as if everybody is playing games these days. From Nokia (NYSE:NOK) entering portable game systems with N-Gage to McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) teaming up with Sega to distribute electronic games in its kid meals, everybody seems to be a reluctant bench warmer, just begging to be put into the game.
And AOL isn't some newcomer to the playing field. It's a seasoned veteran, having partnered with the likes of NTN Communications (AMEX:NTN) and video game giant Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) in the past to offer users free and premium online diversions.
Incorporating games into AIM won't be the elixir to cure the online giant's ails. Like Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) Messenger, the platform is popular even for those who have a different Internet service provider. But that's the beauty here. It's a brand builder. If games make AOL a hip purveyor of entertainment, maybe the brand can resurrect its image. AOL has raised the stakes. Now it's your move.
Do you think that games and instant messaging software were meant to be together or will it be a case of killer app overkill? What will this move mean to the AOL brand? Will "You've Got Mail" be replaced by "You've Got Game?" All this and more -- in the Time Warner discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
