  Screenshot from GameCrush.com. |
It's only a week old, but already an online dating site for video game
players has been inundated with requests and been forced to shut down until
it can add more servers to meet demand.
GameCrush.com is a dating website with a twist. Users log in and, for a fee,
can "meet, match and play" with other online games via "play dates" the
website sets up.
The site is a full-fledged social networking and gaming platform, allowing
visitors to set up profiles, browse other people's profiles, and chat with
each other via video and text messaging. If they find someone they like,
they can purchase one-on-one gaming time, starting at $6.60 for ten minutes.
In the game mode, two users play popular video games together with live
video chatting.
But for now, gamer daters will have to wait.
The site's servers quickly died when they were inundated with as many as
10,000 visitors in only five minutes. Now the site has been shut down until
the development team can install the necessary hardware upgrades to meet
demand.
"Still figuring out how to deal with the overwhelming interest," the site's
developers posted to their Twitter feed on March 26.
Visitors to the GameCrush.com homepage are now met with the site's logo and a
brief message that reads:
"The GameCrush Public Beta is temporarily unavailable due to the incredible
user response (more than 10,000 inquiries in five minutes). We are adding
new servers to provide players with the best PlayDate experience possible.
Games with GameCrush PlayDates start at $6.60 for ten minutes."
For now, would-be users are invited to sign up to a mailing list that will
let them know when the site is actually ready to launch.
