In addition, players who subscribe to a clubhouse game can play it with any of their MSN Messenger contacts in the United States, whether or not those friends subscribe to the game. Microsoft said the new "clubhouse" games offer the ability to keep track of wins and losses and ranking among friends. MSN Messenger already offers seven free games including checkers. "The popularity of online gaming is booming, with nearly 50 million people already jumping on the Internet instead of pulling a boxed game from their closet when they want to play games," Blake Irving, Microsoft corporate vice president, said in a statement. Microsoft also is offering introductory price discounts for year-long subscriptions. Monthly subscriptions for "Wheel of Fortune," billiards and "Upwords" cost $4.99 per game, while a monthly subscription to chess costs $3.99. Customers in the United States can play all the games for free as part of a 14-day trial. Microsoft said its MSN Instant Games Clubhouse initially will offer four head-to-head games: "Wheel of Fortune," a word game called "Upwords," an online billiards game and a version of chess. MSN Messenger, ICQ, AOL's AIM and Yahoo's IM program are competing to attract millions of computer users who want the ability to communicate online at quick speeds, without many of the hassles of e-mail exchanges. The move, which coincides with the release of an upgrade to the software, comes on the heels of a new version of America Online's rival ICQ instant messaging program, which also features games. Microsoft on Thursday introduced a new subscription service for playing games using its MSN Messenger instant messaging software.
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