LOCAL game publisher Z-Zone believes that casual gaming business is not profitable even as local online game publishers are introducing more casual games these days.
Z-Zone, which publishes the online games SkyBlade: Sword of the Heavens and the recently launched Oversoul, is not looking to launch any casual gaming titles anytime soon. It intends to focus on massively-multiplayer online games (MMORPGs).
Z-Zone Vice President for Marketing and Operations DJ Reclamado said casual games are less appealing to some gamers because of the current economic situation.
Reclamado said gamers would rather play MMORPGs that require less purchases of special items since these can be gathered from playing the game. Casual games usually require players to buy more items to become stronger.
He said 2009 is not a good year for casual games, as players are buying less to save up for more important purchases.
“Casual games are about simplicity of game play. Players only get satisfied when they play for a while and the result is immediate. MMORPGs provide satisfaction during longer periods and they can think of better strategies,” Reclamado said.
For now, the company is focusing on promoting OverSoul, which is also developed by Magics Co., the same Korean developer of SkyBlade.
Oversoul started its beta test late last year and has gone commercial in March. The game has been localized to include ancient Filipino names and places to give players a more local feel.
Recently in Casual Games Category
By Agence France-Presse
PARIS -- Following in the footsteps of the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President George W. Bush, anyone can take a virtual swipe at the US leader on the Internet thanks to a new game.
The aim of "Sock and Awe," launched by Britain's Alex Tew, is to knock Bush out with a shoe, a feat already attained by 1.4 million players, according to the website Tuesday.
Aptly named after the US "Shock and Awe" military campaign to knock out Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the game gives players 30 seconds to aim at a figure of Bush ducking behind a rostrum.
It was in protest against the Bush administration's Iraqi policy that journalist Durgham Zaidi threw both his shoes at the outgoing president Sunday during his swansong visit to the battleground. The action won Zaidi widespread plaudits in the Arab world where Bush's policies have drawn broad hostility.
Tew, 24, drew world attention with his "milliondollarhomepage.com," a website he conceived when 21 to help raise money for his university education by selling off pixels at a dollar a piece.
Zaidi, who was taken into custody after the Baghdad incident, has a broken arm and ribs after being struck by security agents, his brother told AFP.
PARIS -- Following in the footsteps of the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President George W. Bush, anyone can take a virtual swipe at the US leader on the Internet thanks to a new game.
The aim of "Sock and Awe," launched by Britain's Alex Tew, is to knock Bush out with a shoe, a feat already attained by 1.4 million players, according to the website Tuesday.
Aptly named after the US "Shock and Awe" military campaign to knock out Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the game gives players 30 seconds to aim at a figure of Bush ducking behind a rostrum.
It was in protest against the Bush administration's Iraqi policy that journalist Durgham Zaidi threw both his shoes at the outgoing president Sunday during his swansong visit to the battleground. The action won Zaidi widespread plaudits in the Arab world where Bush's policies have drawn broad hostility.
Tew, 24, drew world attention with his "milliondollarhomepage.com," a website he conceived when 21 to help raise money for his university education by selling off pixels at a dollar a piece.
Zaidi, who was taken into custody after the Baghdad incident, has a broken arm and ribs after being struck by security agents, his brother told AFP.
"There's only one good reason to get in [video game development] and that's because you can't imagine yourself doing anything else."
This was what game development guru Chris Natsuume told hackenslash the first time he was asked what would be the primary reason for anyone to get into game development.
Natsuume, co-founder of casual game development firm Boomzap (www.boomzap.com), was in the Philippines to speak to game developers about the game development industry.
During his talk, Natsuume touched on some misconceptions about game development.
"A lot of people have this image that they're going to be famous because they get to play their games everyday."
But sooner or later, as Natsuume stressed, game developers would get too tired playing what they created.
Natsuume admitted that he got over playing FarCry, one of the games that he was part of developing while working with Crytek.
"I've played it a billion times and it sort of got boring," he said.
He also warned that the gaming business, no matter how illustrious and fun it sounds, might not be something that others expect it to be.
"It may not even like you as much as you like it," he said.
He stressed a college education is necessary to ensure that a game programmer, designer, and producer would still have jobs outside the gaming industry if things do not turn out as planned.
Nevertheless, Natsuume said there are good reasons for joining the game development industry and it's not always about the pay.
He said it's about the need to continuously build something.
He said many of the better game developers and programmers have a passion for building and innovating without having to think of financial gains.
He cited a game developer from Myanmar who had nothing to start with but was able to build simple yet compelling games.
"He wasn't getting paid to build games but he was doing it simply because he wanted to do it. People like that have to be hired," he said.
Still, Natsuume said that no one should be too caught up with labels, especially when it comes to nationalities.
He said that any developer is branded according to the level of work they have done on a specific game and not from where they come from.
"It's all becoming a global industry so you can't be identified for being from the Philippines or any other country. People from anywhere who are really dedicated to what they're doing can do it," he said.
In Crytek, which is a German company, Natsuume said it had developers from 17 different countries. They all worked to achieve one goal and that is to finish a game. None of them compared each other for being one nationality or another. "I brought that ideal also with Boomzap because I've hired people from different countries because I think they're capable people. I even pay them the same level of salaries," he said.
Natsuume said game development is just like any other industry, where successful people are often driven by passion. Nationalities don’t matter.
"A lot of people have this image that they're going to be famous because they get to play their games everyday."
But sooner or later, as Natsuume stressed, game developers would get too tired playing what they created.
Natsuume admitted that he got over playing FarCry, one of the games that he was part of developing while working with Crytek.
"I've played it a billion times and it sort of got boring," he said.
He also warned that the gaming business, no matter how illustrious and fun it sounds, might not be something that others expect it to be.
"It may not even like you as much as you like it," he said.
He stressed a college education is necessary to ensure that a game programmer, designer, and producer would still have jobs outside the gaming industry if things do not turn out as planned.
Nevertheless, Natsuume said there are good reasons for joining the game development industry and it's not always about the pay.
He said it's about the need to continuously build something.
He said many of the better game developers and programmers have a passion for building and innovating without having to think of financial gains.
He cited a game developer from Myanmar who had nothing to start with but was able to build simple yet compelling games.
"He wasn't getting paid to build games but he was doing it simply because he wanted to do it. People like that have to be hired," he said.
Still, Natsuume said that no one should be too caught up with labels, especially when it comes to nationalities.
He said that any developer is branded according to the level of work they have done on a specific game and not from where they come from.
"It's all becoming a global industry so you can't be identified for being from the Philippines or any other country. People from anywhere who are really dedicated to what they're doing can do it," he said.
In Crytek, which is a German company, Natsuume said it had developers from 17 different countries. They all worked to achieve one goal and that is to finish a game. None of them compared each other for being one nationality or another. "I brought that ideal also with Boomzap because I've hired people from different countries because I think they're capable people. I even pay them the same level of salaries," he said.
Natsuume said game development is just like any other industry, where successful people are often driven by passion. Nationalities don’t matter.
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.
In the past few years, Java-enabled color-screen handsets would cost around P15,000 to P20,000. However, some Java phones now cost less than P10,000, creating a bigger market for Java applications.
"Some people use their phones now not just for making calls or SMS but also to entertain themselves. If they are not listening to music, they might be playing some games," Conde said.
Conde said Game Station has about 5,000 titles in its library, the majority of which are casual games built only for mobile phones.
However, there are titles that are based on popular PC or console game licenses, such as the sports games created by Electronic Arts or Marvel. Some of these are being offered by Game Station.
Among these titles are Ironman, Incredible Hulk, NBA Live, Hellboy, Need for Speed, Deal Or No Deal, among others.
One of the more popular PC and console games today, Guitar Hero III, also has a mobile phone version.
By INQUIRER.net
MAKATI CITY, Philippines – Online game publisher IP E-Game Ventures Inc (e-Games), mobile application developer Megamobile and 3D animation studio BeeHive digital launched new mobile Java games for the Philippine market.
IP E-Game Ventures is an online gaming subsidiary of publicly listed IPVG Corp., while Megamobile is a mobile application developer affiliated with IPVG Corp.
In a statement, E-Games said it is releasing three mobile games for its 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) RAN Online and another three mobile games for Granado Espada, another MMORPG from famed legendary game producer Hakkyu Kim.
E-Games said these new mobile games were created exclusively for the Philippine market.
Manny Fernando, Megamobile president, said in a statement that e-Games will be one of the first online gaming publishers to bring their gaming titles on a mobile phone.
Fernando said the popularity of e-Games titles are “perfect for the players who can't get enough of RAN Online and Granado Espada.”
Compared to the online game versions, the mobile games were designed to be more of a “casual and fun single player game,” e-Games said.
The mobile games can run on Java-enabled phones. They can be downloaded via WAP or SMS.
To date, games that are going to be available are Karuso’s Escape, RAN Girls’ Jealousy, Swordsman, Little Red Riding Elementalist, Musketeer's Wrath and GE Girls' Fight.
“These exclusively developed mobile games will keep our current players entertained and wanting for more. But more importantly it’ll reach to new players who have yet to experience the incredible virtual worlds of RAN Online and Granado Espada. Our mobile games will provide them a glimpse on how utterly fun our titles are,” Ed Pasion, e-Games vice president for marketing, said in a statement.
MAKATI CITY, Philippines – Online game publisher IP E-Game Ventures Inc (e-Games), mobile application developer Megamobile and 3D animation studio BeeHive digital launched new mobile Java games for the Philippine market.
IP E-Game Ventures is an online gaming subsidiary of publicly listed IPVG Corp., while Megamobile is a mobile application developer affiliated with IPVG Corp.
In a statement, E-Games said it is releasing three mobile games for its 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) RAN Online and another three mobile games for Granado Espada, another MMORPG from famed legendary game producer Hakkyu Kim.
E-Games said these new mobile games were created exclusively for the Philippine market.
Manny Fernando, Megamobile president, said in a statement that e-Games will be one of the first online gaming publishers to bring their gaming titles on a mobile phone.
Fernando said the popularity of e-Games titles are “perfect for the players who can't get enough of RAN Online and Granado Espada.”
Compared to the online game versions, the mobile games were designed to be more of a “casual and fun single player game,” e-Games said.
The mobile games can run on Java-enabled phones. They can be downloaded via WAP or SMS.
To date, games that are going to be available are Karuso’s Escape, RAN Girls’ Jealousy, Swordsman, Little Red Riding Elementalist, Musketeer's Wrath and GE Girls' Fight.
“These exclusively developed mobile games will keep our current players entertained and wanting for more. But more importantly it’ll reach to new players who have yet to experience the incredible virtual worlds of RAN Online and Granado Espada. Our mobile games will provide them a glimpse on how utterly fun our titles are,” Ed Pasion, e-Games vice president for marketing, said in a statement.
By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
After a month of hype, entertainment software publisher EagleGame has commercially launched the rhythm game Highstreet 5 on August 15.
EagleGame has made available the game's top up cards that come in P20, P50 and P100 denominations. Each of the denominations have corresponding in-game amount values ranging from 80 cash points to 420 cash points. These can be used to buy items from the in-game item shop, which was also activated during the commercial launch.
In an interview, EagleGame Marketing and Communications Manager Rio Encarnado said the company will be activating the social networking section of Highstreet 5 "very soon."
"We're still converting the social networking interface from Chinese to English. It'll surely be launched within this quarter," Encarnado said.
The social networking aspect of Highstreet 5 is one of its two major selling points. Players can upload photos, edit personal profiles and add blogs to their virtual avatars. There is also a video chat component to allow users to see friends and other users online.
Meanwhile, the rhythm and dance part of Highstreet 5 also has its own unique features. There are four types (hip hop, locking, popping and reggae) of street dance styles that are taken from real-world dance steps. These were done using motion-capture and then translated into virtual dance steps.
Encarnado also said there are dozens of songs available in the game, with new ones to be added gradually.
By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines -- Singapore-based video game distributor New Era Digital Interactive Media Inc. is refreshing its business in the Philippines in measured steps, as it prepares to introduce two online games in the coming weeks.
The company is also preparing to launch two "huge titles" that will target gamers in Internet cafes, the company said.
Allan Carbonell, newly appointed New Era Digital Interactive Media country manager, told hackenslash that the company will introduce the virtual social networking game Habbo, owned by Finnish firm Sulake Corporation, soon.
The game, which plays like the first Philippine online game OZWorld, uses configurable avatars to represent account owners. Players can open their own pages called Habbo Homes and customize these with widgets, stickers and backgrounds. They can also form group pages where members can lounge.
Just like any other social networking sites, Habbo has “virtual hotel rooms” where players can communicate with other avatars.
Habbo is touted as one of the most popular social networking sites. It has over 100,000,000 registered users worldwide with 9.5 million unique visits per month. Most users are between 13 and 18 years of age.
Carbonell said New Era will distribute and promote the game in the Philippines but the game will be hosted in Singapore.
"By September we're introducing prepaid cards for players of Habbo. These will be in denominations of P50 and P100. These will allow them to buy items and virtual furniture but the game itself will be free-to-play," he said.
Apart from Habbo, the company will also distribute boxed online game, called "Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures," which is similar to online game "Guild Wars" already distributed in the country.
Carbonell said that the company is in the process of opening up an office in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.
By September, the company will be announcing two "big titles" that will be available through Internet cafes, though these games will be available by the end of the year.
"New era is coming in measured steps. We don't expect our initial games to make a huge impact but before the end of the year, we're introducing these big games," Carbonell said.
Watch reporter Izah Morales' interview with Level Up! Philippines chief executive officer Jane Walker who introduces new online game Crazy Kart.
Level Up! has partnered with Shanda Interactive China to bring this latest online game in the country.
In the same interview, Level Up! Marketing Head Ramon Macutay also describes the different features of the game in this video interview.
By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – Two pairs of brothers who hail from Cebu will be the first Filipinos to enter the international competition of online casual game GetAmped in Singapore on August 1 to 3.
The Cebuano brothers beat over 4,000 players during the concluded GetAmped National Tournament.
Mervin Medallo, 22, brother Masael Medallo, 18, and Jose Antonio Diosanta, 18, won the GetAmped's team tournament category and took home P75,000.
Diosanta's younger brother, Jose Miguel Diosanta, won the individual competition that netted him P25,000.
GetAmped Community Development Head Arnel Duran told hackenslash that the brothers have started training for the upcoming GetAmped World Festival in Singapore.
"They already have a Japanese GetAmped player training them. This is the first time we're joining so we better come prepared," said Duran who declined to reveal the identity of the group's Japanese trainer.
Duran said they will be facing dozens of players from nine countries for the title of the best GetAmped players in the world. Among the countries participating are Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan and Korea.
