GAME publisher iAM Interactive unveiled its second casual game for this year, a racing game called GoGoRacer [spelled as is], developed by China-based firm Radiance Digital Entertainment.

GoGoRacer would be the third online racing game in the Philippines, after Crazy Kart from Level Up! Philippines and IP e-Games’ Top Speed.

The game is similar to the Nintendo Mario Kart series where players try to outrun competitors while using various weapons to overtake them.

iAM Product Manager John Paul Pelayo said in an interview that the game would be distributed in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, allowing players from these countries to compete against each other.

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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.

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WITH only less than 15 months left before the 2010 presidential elections, some political candidates are now making headway with subtle campaigns on television and other mediums, including the Internet.

Filipino online gamers, however, can be assured that their virtual worlds will not have political advertisements even as online game publishers are ramping up their in-game advertising business.

“We’re not going to allow political ads because it might be construed negatively by our players who may or may not be interested in politics,” said IPVG CEO Enrique Gonzalez during a gaming forum.

He said IPVG has a policy against political advertisements in online games, which the company publishes through online gaming subsidiary IP e-Games.

“We don’t deny that there is money to be made in political ads but it might draw some players to think that we’re supporting candidates,” Gonzalez said.

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THE online racing game is heating up as game publisher IP E-Games announced its own online casual racing game, Top Speed.

Top Speed uses similar concepts as the hugely popular Mario Kart racing series, where players can do both offensive and defensive driving techniques. There are also items and weapons in the game’s tracks that have both offensive and defensive purposes.

Other features include customization for players’ avatars and their karts, upgrade options for the karts, solo and team-based races, as well as a variety of difficulties for the tracks.

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INTERACTIVE entertainment company, Asian Media has unveiled a new a subsidiary that would serve as the company’s online gaming brand.
IAM Interactive Inc. intends to focus on the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia, which are the original markets for Asian Media’s online gaming business.

Asian Media also intends to expand to other businesses, which according to IAM Interactive President and CEO Fadzly Yusof, will be announced later.

Yusof said the company aims to build the IAM Interactive brand through investments in promotions and advertising as well as community building for its players.

“If there are any more investments for infrastructure, it will be upgrades of our game servers to provide the best experience to our players,” Yusof said.

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