Amid an ongoing economic recession, industry executives said the local online gaming industry remains to be small because there are still untapped locations where there could be gamers.

“Broadband Internet penetration is still small. Majority of players are in the Internet cafes. We’re hoping that it becomes affordable for people to play at home when prices of Internet usage go down,” AMDG Vice Chairman Arturo Diago, Jr., said in a recent briefing.

Gaming is seen to be one of the cheapest forms of entertainment, according to iAM Interactive President and CEO Fadzly Yusof.

The company is seeing more growth in the overall local gaming industry as competition intensifies.

In fact, iAM is even looking to launch at least two new games within the year, including a new massively multiplayer online game similar to two of its previously distributed titles, Guild Wars and Lineage II.

The company recently launched its first casual racing game GoGo Racer and an anime-styled shooter game called Exteel.

Both games are on a free-to-play platform, with an in-game item mall, which charges players for certain items purchased.

Yusof said online game publishers are also expanding to other markets. iAM is targeting three countries: the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia. “This allows us to expand our revenue sources.”

SEOUL/BEIJING–Flush with cash from IPOs and a lucrative online game operating business, Chinese companies are trying to expand into game development, breaking free from their dependence on foreign titles and boosting incomes.

After long relying on foreign hit games such as U.S.-based Activision Blizzard’s “World of Warcraft” (WOW) and “Kartrider” from South Korea’s Nexon, China now wants to develop its own blockbusters and eventually lead the fast-growing market.

It may be a while before China overtakes South Korea, which dominates Asia’s online gaming market, but there are growing signs that Chinese firms such as Netease.com and Tencent are now in a strong position to compete globally and are catching up with rivals quickly.

Successful online games can generate earnings for years from monthly service fees, character customization and other micro-transactions and carry higher margins than classic console games. Developing games in-house also reduces uncertainties over license contracts and renewals.

“We consider in-house development a sound business model, which brings relatively high margins,” said Phyllis Sai, spokeswoman for Nasdaq-listed Chinese game firm The9.

The Chinese online game market may have had a late start, but it is growing faster than anywhere else. And China has huge potential with over 55 million online gamers — overtaking the United States last year as the world’s biggest Web user.

Analysts say the global online game market, estimated at about a fifth of the total video game market, is growing by about 20 percent annually. The Chinese online game industry is forecast to more then treble to $10 billion in 2012, from $3 billion in 2008, according to Beijing-based iResearch.

Despite the robust growth, Chinese companies have been hurt by a lack of homegrown hit titles and their shares have swung whenever licenses for hit games such as WOW exchange hands.

But now Chinese firms have the financial muscle to compete globally, said Lan Hoang, CEO of Aeria Games & Entertainment, which offers Asian games in the US and European markets.

“Although the current offerings are still lacking in quality…with time, we believe they will be strong competitors against current game development companies.”

Among dozens of Chinese firms, Netease.com, Tencent and Perfect World are seen as forerunners.

NetEase saw its self-developed “Westward Journey Online” and “Fantasy Westward Journey” enjoy explosive growth since 2002. NetEase shares have risen almost 60 percent this year to a record high in May.

Tencent has grown its game portal service while making money from servicing popular South Korean titles, and Perfect World has been successful with overseas expansion after it adopted South Korea-style development methods in graphics and game controls.

CULTURAL ADVANTAGE

As the success of an online game depends on content that appeal to players’ cultural backgrounds, Chinese developers enjoy a natural advantage at home and in neighboring Asian countries that China has historically influenced.

“Chinese-developed games gain market share from Korean developers. One of the main reasons is an understanding of local culture,” said Dick Wei, a J.P. Morgan analyst in Hong Kong.

However, online gaming is a risky business model with increasing costs. Development costs have risen to more than $10 million per title for popular multiplayer role-playing games, which allow tens of thousands to play simultaneously.

At one point last year, a record 1.8 million users played Netease’s “Westward Journey Online”, according to San Francisco-based Pearl Research.

Gamers increasingly require sophisticated graphics and game structure. In WOW as well as popular online game “Aion”, users may invest months in developing a character, to build up skills and take on adversaries in a series of missions.

The industry is vulnerable to cannibalization as only a few blockbuster titles dominate the market.

“We would expect a trend of consolidation amongst developers, as the resources required for game development increase and the risk of failure is heightened with more competition,” said Hoang at Aeria Games & Entertainment.

KOREAN RIVALS

The emergence of Chinese players could make life difficult for established Korean developers such as NCSoft and Neowiz Games, which are looking to escape a crowded home market and eye China as their next target.

NCSoft shares have more than trebled so far this year as its new game “Aion” has been well received in China, where the title is offered by Shanda Interactive.

Due to regulatory issues, most foreign developers offer games in China through tie-ups with local publishers and the former are paid royalties of about 30 percent.

Still, Chinese developers have a long way to go before they overtake their South Korean rivals.

“Chinese companies will catch up quickly in the area of casual games as those are easy to imitate. But for multiplayer role playing games, there is still a few years’ gap,” said Shim Jun-bo, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities in Seoul.

“China’s market is growing so fast that Korean and other foreign developers can still expect to enjoy comfortable earnings for years to come,” Shim added.

This puts to seven the total number of titles that Mobius Games has in the Philippines.

WolfTeam plays similar to most first-person shooter games but adds some elements of fantasy and science fiction; instead of ordinary humans soldiers with weapons, players can transform into werewolves that are more resilient against weapons but themselves are unable to carry any while in this state.

Characters that transform into werewolves are able to move faster, jump higher and can climb walls. They use their claws instead to attack enemies.

Mobius Games said in a statement that the game will be launched on May 7 across Internet cafes in the Philippines.

“We are very excited to work together again with mobiusgames and we have no doubt Wolf Team will be successful. Players in the Philippines will love this game,” said WolfTeam Executive Producer Kang Jihun.

The story is set in the year 2013 when scientists develop a vaccine called “Epocine” to treat a human genetic disorder caused by a wayward wolf DNA. However, the vaccine developer creates a “Anti-Epocine” that enhances wolf features in humans.

The French Army is supplied with the Anti-Epocine and creates a group of mercenaries called WolfTeam. Unfortunately, the WolfTeam disengages from the French Army to become a mercenary group.

WolfTeam is developed by Korean firm Softnyx, which was behind the casual game GunBound also published by Mobius Games.

Twelve Sky 2, developed by Korean firm ALT1, will follow two previous games that MyGame has launched: the first-person shooter Special Force and the casual game Fiesta Online.

In an interview, MyGame Product Manager Jon Roque said the introduction of Twelve Sky 2 would put MyGame toe-to-toe with other online game publishers that have already existing MMORPGs.

The game is also currently in beta testing in other countries.

He claims that the game’s unique player-versus-player (PvP) would entice players to move to Twelve Sky 2. “It’s the experience of intense battle between players is the selling aspect of the game.”

Roque said that players would be rewarded with experience points for the character and the clan they have joined and in-game money when they frequently play in PvP.

Roque said the company would start the close beta test sometime in July, to be followed by an open beta test in August and finally, the commercial launch in September.

Roque added that the game would be free-to-play and would have an online item shop.

Twelve Sky is a martial arts fantasy game set in ancient China. There are four rival factions called the Guanyin, Fujin, and Jinong, each with unique fighting styles, armor and weapons.

A fourth faction would be available when players reach the higher levels of the game.

This was the message of AKYBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel during the commencement exercises of the University of the Philippines Cebu College, a copy of which was sent to media.

Hontiveros-Baraquel said that online games should be treated as an addictive game and should be played in moderation.

“You may protest and extol the virtues of being Mogul the Axe for five hours, but unless you are in the brink of developing gaming software and needs the game to test your theories, then play DOTA or any RPG in moderation,” she said.

Hontiveros-Baraquel spoke against online games during a part where she told graduates about the skills necessary to find jobs, as well as the means to survive the current economic situation.

Instead, she stressed the need for the graduates to take up a sport to remain physically fit.

Nevertheless, Hontiveros-Baraquel praised the availability of online search engine Google.com for being an “oracle” that allows people to search for specific topics.

She added that Google is also more efficient than the Philippine government’s own Department of Labor when looking for jobs.

“What’s true with Google is somehow true with life. There are certain keywords that we must learn to live by. The more we hone our keywords, the better the search result is,” she said.

This year, more than 17,000 game industry professionals took part in world’s largest industry-only event.

As a Filipino gaming outsource company, MoAnima represented the Philippines in a series of meetings with leading game developers, publishers and other luminaries in the field.

Apart from meeting with key executives from leading game developers and publishers, MoAnima
also attended several lectures, panels, tutorials and roundtable discussions in San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center.

During the course of the meetings with the industry professionals, MoAnima has received positive feedback from gaming companies outsourcing to the Philippines.

In addition to excellent English language skills, Filipinos are fast learners when it comes to mastering complex software. Over the past years, the Philippines has gained a reputation for its dedication and high level of quality when working on 3D graphics and animation.

Also well-represented in the conference was the Asian game development industry. One thousand delegates came from Asia to participate in the conference. The delegates from Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, India, and China came to represent the key gaming markets in the region.

MoAnima is one of the handful of representatives from the Philippines.

“We believe that the Philippines is ideally suited to this industry. We have the creative talent, good English communication skills, and affinity for US culture,” said MoAnima Director, Manny Ayala.

Although the economic recession has weighed down heavily on other sectors, the gaming industry has proven to be quite resilient thanks to more people investing in home-based forms of entertainment.

Apart from the action-horror aspect of this game series the story continuity is also what makes this series successful. Every game is good enough to be played on a stand-alone basis but the back stories make them even better.

The stories of the main characters are integrated in each medium where they are present, which includes about seven games, two novels and a CGI film entitled Resident Evil Degeneration.

Of course, the three RE movies where Milla Jovovich starred are of a different universe and are not canon to the main RE story.

The latest iteration, Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360, PS3) takes off directly from Resident Evil 4. The game stars Chris Redfield, an original member of the STARS Alpha Team in Resident Evil 1.

He is accompanied by a new character Sheva Alomar. Chris and Sheva are now members of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA), sent to investigate a bioterrorism threat from the defunct Umbrella Corporation in an African desert.

Chris is also on the hunt for his old nemesis, Albert Wesker whom he also thinks is responsible for the apparent death of his partner Jill Valentine. They also face members of the pharmaceutical giant Tricell, a new bioweapons manufacturer that followed the same path as Umbrella.

There are over a dozen types of enemies in the game, some of which are based from the zombie-like enemies from RE4. The enemies in RE5 are mostly infected humans rather than undead zombies.

The infection is a new type of “Las Plagas” from RE4, and is called “Uroboros.” The difference is that those infected by Uroboros retain their human speed and agility. Most of the time, they are faster, stronger and more resilient to attacks.

The AI is not particularly intelligent since enemies tend to rush attack in groups. Some enemies tend to stand up again when they are put down with weaker weapons. There are also a few instances where snake-like appendages appear from what should have been the head of the infected. These creatures are harder to put down and have longer reach.

More powerful creatures are revealed as the game progresses and a few of them are also from the first Resident Evil game. As with previous Resident Evil games RE5 features huge boss stage battles. Limitations to available ammunition also adds to the challenge in the game.

With tougher enemies, players would need more powerful weapons and that is exactly what RE5 offers. Instead of only one model for each weapon type there are two models available for both Chris and Sheva.

There are shotguns, pistols, magnums, semi-automatic weapons, sniper rifles, grenades and even nifty proximity bombs. Some of these weapons can be upgraded by selling certain items found in the game like gems, eggs (the rotten egg is the most expensive). Upgrades can be for more power, faster reload time, more magazine capacity or chances for critical hit. Be careful in choosing what weapon to use though since upgrades can be expensive.

RE5 uses the same gameplay as RE4, the third-person, over-the-shoulder camera. Players can choose either Chris or Sheva on single player but the game also features a two-player online and offline cooperative play–a first in the RE series.

To avoid the same stretched split-screen view from other two-player cooperative games, RE5 allows the player to view their game in boxed 16:9 widescreen format with black spaces on either side of each player’s screen. This is best when playing on a 32″ or higher TV monitor. Of course, a player can view the entire game in full screen.

The cooperative gameplay is the best new feature of RE5. While a player can order either Chris or Sheva to do certain actions in single-player, the two-player cooperative play has more tactical advantage especially when faced with several enemies.

Players can agree to hold particular types of weapons (one would be the long-range shooter while the other will be the close-quarter combat expert). They can also share bullets and other items.

What makes the cooperative play more compelling is that “Help” mini-game; one player can make a special attack on an infected who has grabbed the other player. Likewise, the other player can “resuscitate” a weakened player, which is a feature copied from another Xbox 360 game Gears of War. There are also mini-games in the cut scenes that require both players to press different buttons simultaneously, which adds to the coordination strategy.

A few notable deficiencies in the game is the lack of horror that made the first three Resident Evil games profoundly different from other in the same genre. There are fewer edge-of-your-seat surprises in RE5 and it is obvious the developers focused entirely on the action aspect of the game. Another problem is the lack difficulty in the puzzles. Some can be finished with common sense instead of guesswork or even trial-and-error. The maps are also linear so it’s not easy to get lost.

Luckily, these issues are minor inconveniences compared to the overall enjoyment of the game. The cooperative gameplay is the best part and allows a player to enjoy the game twice over with another player in tow. The four-year gap between RE4 and RE5 is worth the wait. Hopefully, the next iteration of Resident Evil would again exceed expectations.

In fact, most online game publishers in the country will continue operating during the entire week, including Good Friday and Black Saturday, days when most business operations are closed.

Level Up! Philippines and E-Games said they would still run their operations during the Holy week, an annual religious event.

Both companies said they have never slowed down their operations since they started.

E-Games Vice President for Game Operations Gary Escobar said they only see lesser gamers logging in during Good Friday. It then picks up on Black Saturday and Easter Sunday.

Level Up! Marketing Director Jake San Diego said many players continue to log on even on Good Friday to escape boredom.

Other game publishing companies such as iAM Interactive, Amped Games, and Mobius Games have not yet announced any operational changes for the next few days.

SAN FRANCISCO–Sony is cutting the price of its older generation PlayStation 2 (PS2) videogame consoles to 100 dollars (US) in a move prompted by tough economic times and a desire to lure fans to the platform.

Sony Computer Entertainment America said the price of a PS2 console will drop 30 dollars beginning April 1 but that it is not trimming the price of its latest-generation PlayStation 3 consoles.

PS2 consoles have remained strong sellers despite the launch in late 2006 of a more powerful PS3 version with built-in Blu-ray high definition disk player.

PS3 consoles came with high price tags, a version with an 80-gigabyte hard drive costs 400 dollars.

Sales of PS3 consoles have lagged behind those of market-ruling Nintendo Wii hardware and Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which hit the market in 2005.

Launch of high-end PS3 consoles revived the popularity of PS2 models that became comparative bargains in the marketplace.

Sony reports selling more than 136 million PS2 consoles since they were launched in 2000.

“Demand for PlayStation 2 remains strong throughout the world,” said SCEA president Jack Tretton.

“The new 99-dollar price point will bring in new consumers who will discover how PlayStation platforms are an outstanding choice for their gaming and home entertainment needs.”

Sony hopes that beefing up the ranks of PS2 users will eventually translate into loyal fans that upgrade to PS3 models.

Analysts have gone on record saying they believe it will take a PS3 price cut to breathe new life into sales of the consoles.

Microsoft saw Xbox 360 console sales rise last year after the US technology giant trimmed about 50 dollars from price tags.

Wii consoles are priced at 250 dollars each and have dominated the market since their launch in late 2006.

The open beta test for Rohan Online started last March 24 , three weeks since the company introduced the game on closed beta testing.

Level Up! partnered with online bidding company Auction.ph and Internet café operator Netopia to distribute the Rohan installation discs.

One of the main features of the game is a Revenge System, which is an improved player-versus-player mode where players seeking revenge against an another player could teleport near the target. The same player can bring some clan members to exact revenge on the target.

Another feature is the Mkill, which rewards a player with a boost on experience points for every 20 kills. Mkill reduces the need for players to complete in-game quests to level up faster.

Rohan Online is one of several multiplayer online role-playing game introduced by Level Up! after Ragnarok Online, Silkroad Online, Perfect World, RF Online, and FreeStyle. (Editor’s Note: We included the other games that was missed out in the earlier post. Apologies).

This is also the second game the company introduced this year after Crazy Kart, a casual online racing game.

The game was developed by Korean firm YNK Interactive.