Intel, Samsung promise continued support for WCG

By Alex Villafania INQUIRER.net DESPITE the Philippines not winning a single award in the World Cyber Games Grand Final in the last seven years, Samsung Electronics Philippines and Intel Philippines said they will continue supporting the local activities of the WCG, hoping that eventually, gaming tournaments in the country will become a respected spectator sport and produce professional gamers. Intel Philippines country manager Ricky Banaag said the gaming community is heading toward that direction with gaming shops purchasing more powerful PCs that could run resource-intensive games. He added that many local tournaments are being conducted, indicating a growing community of semi-professional gamers. "Our latest processors are aimed toward the gaming industry and we see that the demand is high. Hopefully more gamers will see themselves competing in a tournament level," Banaag said. For his part, Samsung Philippines general manager for Marketing Jerry Lacson said the company believes it takes a while to nurture professional-level gamers and that by continuing to back WCG Philippines, more companies will become interested in supporting Filipino gamers. He also belied misconceptions that gaming has few beneficial purposes and said that the company is promoting responsible gaming. Organized by eSports, WCG Philippines 2008 will include Counter-Strike 1.6, WarCraft III: Frozen Throne, Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath, and Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock tournaments. The eight winners in these games will be sent to Cologne, Germany for the WCG 2008 Grand Final. A contingent will also be sent to Singapore for the Asian Cyber Games that will include Defense of the Ancients, Need for Speed ProStreet, Guitar Hero III and Virtua Fighter 5 competitions. The WCG Philippines preliminaries will start on May 17 and provincial eliminations will be held in Davao and Cebu.