IP e-Games has finally launched the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) Zhu Xian Online in the Philippines.

Beijing-based Perfect World Co. Ltd developed this game. It is also the same group behind Perfect World Online, also published by Level Up! Games.

This is the first time that e-Games introduced an online game developed by a Chinese company.

Its previous games are all developed by Korean game companies.

ZX Online is currently in “closed-beta” and will go on open beta during the first quarter of 2009. Closed-beta means the game is only open for selected or limited number of players who are often invited.

ZX Online is based on a popular Internet novel of the same name. It features elements of a Chinese mythological love story, which involves Zhan Xiaofan, a man from the Righteous group was betrothed to Lu Xueqi. However, Zhan loved Biyao, the daughter of their enemy, the Heretics. Their rivalry is put aside as the Righteous and the Heretics are attacked by monsters and demons from the Middle Plain.

ZX Online has received several awards in China, including recognition in the Baidu Top 10 Outstanding Online Games.

ZX Online Community Manager Bea Navarette said the game the local publisher is deploying is the international English version, which will not require a lot of translation.

Like many MMORPGs, ZX Online features a battle system, pets and mounts, flying and a “3D pathing” option, where players can just click on a location in the game’s huge map and will automatically take characters to the designated point.

X-Play, the joint venture between IP e-games and GMA New Media, announced the launch of Audition 2, the patch for the casual online dance game Audition Dance Battle.

The patch will be made available to users in January 2009 and will improve the first game’s graphics and gameplay.

Audition was published in the Philippines in 2006. Aside from popular pop songs, the game also features some Filipino songs.

(Photo: X-Play Audition Product Manager Jason Tomas dances with some fans of the casual online game Audition, which is celebrating its second year.)

X-Play Product Manager Jason Tomas said the patch will also update Audition’s songs and graphical user interface.

“This will be the biggest and grandest patch for Audition,” he says.

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WIRELESS service provider Smart Communications is expecting growth in the mobile gaming business in the Philippines with stronger sales of Java-enabled mobile phones.

The company has already expanded its Game Station WAP service with a series of tournaments for mobile phone gamers. The prizes include PlayStation 3 game consoles and over P100,000 in cash.

Gian Conde, Smart Product Assistant for Value Added Service and Data, said gaming is huge in the Philippines, as shown by the popularity of online PC and stand-alone games, as well as handheld devices, such as the PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS.

The sales of Java-enabled phones that are capable of running games have also increased, largely because of lower cost of handsets.

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MANDALUYONG CITY — Game development firm Kuju Manila has launched the first Filipino-made Nintendo Wii game called Circus Games.

Circus Game was launched in the US this October and is targeted at younger players, groups and families.

The game can be played by up to two players and has about 20 different circus themed mini-games. These require the use of the NintendoWiimote and the nunchuk attachment.

Some of the mini-games require players to shoot or throw objects while others allow for catching items.

The game is published by French company Ubisoft, which distributes popular titles such as Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell series. The game is also sold locally at Datablitz for about P2,000.

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CHRISTOPHER Natsuume, best known as the producer of the hit first-person shooter game Far Cry, is one of the speakers at the Business Process Outsourcing Summit that will be held in the Philippines.

Natsuume, who is now co-founder of casual PC games development firm Boomzap (http://www.boomzap.com), will speak about game development during the summit, which starts December 2.

Natsuume will be one of the first major game development icons invited to the Philippines to talk on game development, according to the Games Development Association of the Philippines (GDAP), which worked on bringing Natsuume to the Philippines.

Game development is considered to be niche markets in the booming Philippine outsourcing industry. The local game development industry in the Philippines, however, remains small. However, GDAP has said that the number of companies and employment opportunities have been growing steadily in the last few years.

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