OTTAWA — US software behemoth Microsoft has doubled a cash reward for information on the whereabouts of a Canadian boy who ran away from home after his father took away his Xbox game console, it said Tuesday.
Brandon Crisp, 15, took off on his bicycle from his Barrie, Ontario home on October 13 — Canada’s Thanksgiving holiday — and rode east along an old rail line.
He has not been seen since.
His father told local media he had removed Brandon’s Xbox, built by Microsoft, after noticing changes in behavior since Brandon started playing “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” online.
The boy started skipping school, stealing money and ignoring his studies, his father said.
MANILA, Philippines — Having been a costume player for six years, Ricah Baltazar admitted that costume play or popularly known as “cosplay” has influenced the way she dresses today.
Baltazar, 21 years old, considered her black punk outfit during the interview as an everyday wear. Being an anime fan influenced her to join cosplays.
“From anime, na-introduce ang cosplay. Then, from cosplay, na-open up ang iba’t ibang klase ng fashion sense [Cosplay was introduced through anime characters. Then, cosplay opened opportunities for other fashion],” said Baltazar.
One of the fashion styles that influenced Baltazar was Gothic Lolita. Japanese Lifestyle defined Gothic Lolita as a Victorian style fashion sense among Japanese adolescents and noted that the style is a subculture that began in 1997 and was later turned into a clothing genre in 2001 as it became available in major department stores.
At 15, Baltazar began joining cosplays. She remembers saving up P3,000 for a costume. But now that she is working, she spends P6,000 for a tailor-made costume.
“Kung maraming details, mas mahal. I am a very detailed cosplayer kasi kaya as perfect as close to the character as possible. [If the costume has a lot of details on it, it’s more expensive. Since I’m conscious with the details of the costume, I want it to be close to perfect to the character as possible],” explained Baltazar.
Dressed up like an anime character or wearing a gothic Lolita outfit with red hair — which she dyed a number of times for 4 years — Baltazar said she still gets mixed reactions from people she meets.
“Minsan unkind yung mga comments like stereotypes, emo, fantaserye. Some of them are friendly. Depende na rin un sa kung alam kasi ng tao ‘yung ginagawa namin. The more exposure, the more that they know, the more that they will understand. [Sometimes, I receive unkind comments like I am being stereotyped as an emo or a character in a fantasy series. Some are friendly. It depends whether the person know what we’re doing. The more exposure that costume players get, the more people will be informed. Hence, they will understand.],” said Baltazar.
For six years since Baltazar started joining cosplays, she has collected 11 costumes, two gothic Lolita outfits and six wigs.
Cosplay is about having fun and making the characters come to life, added Baltazar.
“We just want to have fun. We enjoy cosplay, copying characters. Just a hobby really,” stressed Baltazar.
MANILA, Philippines — The online game business in the Philippines is heating up with online game publisher Level Up! leading the pack with a triple-treat launch of games.
MANILA, Philippines — Game publishing company Asian Media unveiled a new casual game that will be the company’s first free-to-play.
Asian Media sealed a partnership with Korean game developer NCSoft to launch the game Exteel in the Philippines.
The game is an anime-themed, third-person shooter. Players control “mechanaughts” or armored robots over huge futuristic maps.
The mechanaughts can be armed with various weapons including swords, spears, submachine guns, rifles, rocket launchers, among others.
The mechanaughts’ features can also be customized with booster packs, body armor, and even warpaint.
Despite Exteel being identified as a casual game, its graphics can be compared to many hack-and-slash type online games. Exteel requires a minimum 800 Megahertz processor, 256 megabytes of memory and a 128 Mb videocard.
In an interview, Asian Media Chief Operating Officer Ronald Allan Aquino said they might start closed beta test of the game in Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia by the first quarter of 2009.
He also explained that the decision to go free-to-play was due to the huge market for such games. In contrast, Asian Media started out selling boxed games and pay-to-play of Lineage II.
For now, Aquino said the local website for Exteel is still being developed, though enthusiasts can visit the game’s official site.
MANILA, Philippines — Thailand remains the undisputed champion in this year’s Ragnarok Online World Championships (RWC).
Thailand is followed by South Korea and Indonesia in second and third place, respectively.
The Thai team is composed of Ratchasak Kanchanasapha, Mana Pattharavilaloet, Minlawat Tararuthai, Somporn Sinsanguan, Hatsakan Santitaweechai, Ekkasit Nimket, and Narin Sukwisutthichot.
This is the second time the Thai team won in the RWC. They won in last year’s RWC held in their home country.
