Free to play model alters online gaming industry

Young Filipinos were once referred to as the “the Ragnarok generation," a reference to the immense popularity of the Korean online game that captivated local gamers.

But that was five years ago, when Ragnarok was still the rage and online gaming was just beginning to enter the public consciousness.

In the meantime, the advent of free-to-play model has since altered the online gaming terrain dramatically.

Now, game titles such as RAN Online is lording over the scene primarily due to this free-to-play setup. Ragnarok, once the industry’s top dog, has also been forced to adopt the same model.

Free-to-play, sometimes abbreviated as F2P, allows players to try out a game without paying.

If a player wants to “level up" or go to a higher stage, he or she must then pay for a subscription fee or buy in-game items.

“The free-to-play model has really been a game-changer," said Gil Edeza, president and chief operating officer of IP E-Game Ventures Inc., during the recent launch of another free-to-play online game called Runes of Magic.

E-Games is the gaming division of local technology conglomerate IPVG.

According to Edeza, the huge success of its online games has allowed E-Games to contribute 40 percent of the overall revenue of IPVG.

The company also disclosed impressive statistics regarding its online gaming community.

Eduardo Pasion, vice president for marketing at E-Games, said the game has 10 million registered users, 2.5 million of which are active players.

“At any point in time, there are about 80,000 users playing our games online," said Pasion.

The audience turnout, as well as the profits, has been enormous that E-Games has followed up the launch of its newest free-to-play MMORPG (multiplayer online role-playing game), Runes of Magic, with another free-to-play FPS (first person shooter) online game dubbed OP7.

The OP7, however, is a game title under being offered under X-Play, the

joint venture company between E-Games and GMA New Media, the digital arm of broadcast firm GMA Network.

For Runes of Magic, the IPVG subsidiary teamed up with Tahadi Games for the rights to promote and operate the game in the country.

Developed by Taiwan-based Runewaker Entertainment for more than three years, Runes of Magic is a new fantasy MMORPG that conveys an absorbing story through more than 1,600 quests in a fantasy world.

“Players can choose between six main classes and combined with a secondary class, choose to create a character from 30 character class combinations," it said.

OP7, meanwhile, is an online FPS game that targets a different genre –male audience, particularly Counterstrike players. The game was created by Korean game development company Mgame.

Edeza, who also serves as COO of X-Play, said OP7 is several notches up in the FPS ladder.

“It is undeniably the next step in the evolution of the FPS world. The game is geared towards the creative thinkers who know the artistry required in gun modification."

In OP7, guns can be modified in a wide selection of parts such as Dot Sights, Scopes, Kobs, Silencers, Gun Body, Barrels, and more to create a gun unique to each player.

In addition to gun customization, OP7 also allows players to customize the appearance of their avatar as the game progresses. It also uses maps based on real locations which offer an interesting insight into how combat unfolds.

Israel reiterates offer to lend infra expertise

The State of Israel has reiterated its offer to share its expertise in infrastructure development in the Philippines, in partnership with various local government units (LGUs) in the country.

Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Zvi Aviner Vapni emphasized the need for the Philippines to augment its water infrastructure technology, and he believes that Israel could largely help in this area.

Already, Israel has already done partnership with the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), in some water projects in Cebu and Baguio City.

“We would like to [further] share our expertise and intensive information on the field [water technology],” said Vapni adding that aside from partnering with the LGUs, some private companies in Israel which are into providing water technology are also interested to partner with Philippine-based water solution companies.

In Israel, where water is scarce, it has developed a good technology that would preserve water efficiency, how to use every drop of water—not waste it, the Ambassador said.

In Cebu particularly, wherein water shortage is foreseen, LGUs as well as private water technology firms will have to act now, in developing good technology that will augment the water supply available for the province.

Now, that Israel has recently opened its Cebu Consular office headed by Emily Benedicto-Chioson, Vapni hopes that stronger partnership in terms of trade and technology transfer will be started.

The looming water shortage in Cebu in the next few years is now one of the concerns expressed by existing and potential investors in Cebu, especially in the tourism industry.

Pursuing a career in IT requires passion for the job

This was revealed by technology career expert Ms. Gina S. Duminy.

"IT is an ever changing field and we should try to erase this misconception that it is exclusively for those who understand its jargon. That is not always the case," Ms. Duminy told students at the 7th Philippine Youth Congress in Information Technology (Y4iT) in UP Diliman last week.

Ms. Duminy, president and CEO of itprosasia.com, an online career resource for technology professionals, said that the field is a "multifaceted discipline" focused on providing business solutions.

"IT is a challenge in organizing people, solving issues and problems through better process and organization. Its emphasis is on business problem solving," she said.

Ms. Duminy, a European languages graduate, outlined career options for future IT professionals, which include business operations, database development and administration, security and compliance, networking design and administration, technical support, and Web development and administration, among others.

Aside from career growth, a good compensation package is also in store for these professionals.

Research firm ZDNet Asia in 2008 through its "IT Salary Benchmark Philippines" showed that the country’s top five IT skills received salaries ranging from P495,000 to P600,000 a year on average.

The following fields are: application development, desktops/software, Web development, database management, and systems administration.

The continued growth in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector is also an indication that the demand for IT professionals is increasing, said Ms. Duminy.

An official from the Business Processing Association of the Philippines said in a separate interview that the local outsourcing sector planned to corner at least 10% of the global BPO-IT market by 2010.

For that matter, Ms. Duminy told students to improve on their craft, master at least three competency skills in IT and avoid being a "jack of all trades, master of none."

"IT is exciting. The technology profession presents limitless opportunities for those who want to excel. This profession entails continuous acquisition of new skills and learning... you have to work hard at it," she added.

Ms. Duminy said that it is sometimes hard to screen fresh graduates due to their similar backgrounds, but what makes one stand out are the training and skills acquired in college.

Still, she said that a passion for the job is key.

"Pursue what you are good at and that should be accompanied with discipline, an openness to learn and good communication skills," she said.

Amadeus, schools ink IT accord

AMADEUS has forged partnerships with some educational institutions in training their students on the use of the latest information-technology platforms for the travel and tourism industry.

Amadeus Philippines general manager Albert Villadolid said through this venture, travel agencies in the country will have competent talent readily available from school.

Amadeus Philippines, he said, entered into long-term agreements with De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde, Far Eastern University, Lyceum of the Philippines University, San Sebastian College, University of the Philippines and University of San Jose Recoletos.

Under the agreements, Amadeus Philippines will provide all the partner-schools with its wide range of e-learning courses that will be used in the training of college students on the intricacies of the travel and tourism industry.

“We expect our partnerships with some of the country’s leading schools to create a steady pool of globally certified travel professionals, trained in using the most widely deployed global distribution system in the world,” Villadolid said.

He said this will also keep the major schools in the country on track with the breakthroughs that Amadeus is achieving in its research and development, to make available to all stakeholders in the tourism industry the most efficient technology.

The Amadeus platform, he said, is the popular choice among travel agencies, airlines, hotels, cruise liners, car rental companies and insurance firms.

Enderun Colleges, the Philippine affiliate of Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland and the Alain Ducasse Formation in France, also entered into a partnership with Amadeus Philippines for the training of its students on the use of the Amadeus Property Management System (PMS).

The Amadeus PMS is directly linked to the Amadeus Global Distribution System and includes its inter-hotel chain communication capability and e-mail confirmation facility.

Amadeus started Philippine operations in 1997 and its patented technology is now being used by more than 2,000 travel agencies, leading domestic airlines and hotels.

AOC introduces new LCD monitors

Taiwan-based Admiral Overseas Corp., maker of the top selling AOC widescreen LCD monitors, updated its product portfolio in the country with the introduction of the AOC 36 series.

All the 36 Series models — 936Sw 19-inch widescreen, 2236Vw 22-inch widescreen and 2436Vw 24-inch widescreen — feature a high dynamic contrast ratio of 60000:1 to show images’ finest details and depth and soft-touch control keys that are part of the exterior’s streamlined shell texture design.

The new 36 Series complements AOC’s existing line of LCD monitors that were launched in the market a year ago.

Although 16-inch LCD monitors still have the lion share of the local market, AOC executives believe consumers are also becoming more discerning in finding the best value display technology that they also look beyond aesthetics and price, said Richard Ching, chief operating officer of Glee Electronics Inc., the official Philippine distributor of AOC monitors.

The fact also that there has been a shortage of 16-inch LCD monitor in Asia during the last three months opens an opportunity for Glee to make a stronger push for the 19-inch and bigger models.

Ula Ladrillo of Glee said AOC aims to get a quarter of the local market share and end its race with Samsung for the No. 1 brand.

The new 36 Series has won the EPEAT Gold Award for setting the highest standards in “green” monitors. EPEAT is a system that evaluates electronic products through its environmental attributes so that purchasers may be able to assess their respective product choices.

AOC monitors require low energy consumption. When switched to Power Saving mode, they only use 50 percent of the power, thus saving up to 104,000W per year. Using a 936Sw model, for example, can save up to 75 percent in electricity compared to CRT monitors.

Meanwhile, AOC’s market leading i-Bright technology reduces backlight CCFL for lower power consumption and less mercury substance.

All three new models feature a USB connector and D-sub and DVI-D inputs. The 22-inch model is also wall-mountable, while the 24-inch model has a movable glass that adds a layer of protection to the screen.

The 936Sw costs P7,499; the 2236Vw, P8,999; and the 2436Vw, P10,399. All AOC monitors are available from nearly 800 Glee dealers nationwide.

Google gives insights to RP online search trends

Ever wondered what Filipinos are looking for online every week?

According to Google Insights for Search, the top two rising search terms among Internet users in the Philippines for the past seven days were the sinking of the SuperFerry 9 in Zamboanga on September 6 and Malacañang's declaration of a nonworking holiday on September 7.

Weather also seemed to be a top-of-mind topic for Filipinos lately as it was the third most searched term for the week while weather bureau PAGASA was the fifth most searched term recently. The Fil-Am dance sensation Jabbawockeez also garnered a lot of online attention recently as it placed fourth on the list while the US Open placed sixth.

Even the popular Facebook application Restaurant City continues to get lots of Google searches lately, particularly for ways on how to cheat the game. Other rising searches in the top 10 list are GMA News, ABS-CBN News and Noynoy Aquino.

Jay Trinidad, regional product marketing manager for Google Asia-Pacific, said Google Insights for Search allows users to compare search volume patterns across specific provinces and time frames. He said the tool allows marketers to adjust their ad campaigns and business strategies as market interest shifts.

"This is a free online tool that uses the intelligence of crowds. It aggregates searches and normalizes the data to show rising search trends," Trinidad told reporters in a Makati forum.

He said marketers who use Google Insights for Search can actually gauge the overall sentiment of the Internet-using public at any given time. For example, he said the onset of the global financial crisis actually led to an increase in searches for "discounts" and "coupons." He also noted that Goldman Sachs actually priced their Coach bag products lower after noting a decrease in online searches for the brand.

In the Philippines, online searches for beaches start in early March and peak in April according to Google's yearly search query patterns. With that information, resort owners, hotels and even airlines can anticipate demand and make the necessary adjustments to advertising budgets, staffing and even inventory.

One thing that Google Insights does not show is the actual number of searches done for a particular topic or term. Trinidad said Google "normalizes" the data and filters out the searches that have experienced significant growth in a given time period.

This could be quite tricky for local ad campaigns as Google does not state how many searches are needed for a particular term before it starts making a dent on Google stats. Even more important, some areas barely register a blip on Google graphs because "there is not enough search volume to show graphs."

To illustrate, I tried to compare search trends for the word "yogurt" in Manila, Davao and Batangas to see if online searches actually coincided with the launch of several frozen yogurt stores in Metro Manila recently. Google Insights failed to show graphs for the last 7, 30 and 90 days because there was insufficient volume of searches done for that particular search term in all three subregions.

For the past 12 months, however, Google Insights showed that online searches for "yogurt" had been increasing in Manila, particularly in Makati, since March of this year while it made nary a blip in Davao and Batangas. This means that there is some interest for yogurt in Manila and Makati but not in Davao and Batangas, at least according to Google.

Offline events affect online behavior

Trinidad said search trends are often affected by offline events such as Manny Pacquiao's boxing matches or the death of former president Corazon Aquino. He noted that in the US, online searches for candidates John McCain and Barack Obama increased dramatically in the last few months before the 2008 election.

He said online interest for a particular political candidate can be gauged through the number of searches tracked by Google Insights.

"I would say that it offers them something valuable. It allow them to know what some people are interested in. What we hope to show is the relative number of searches over a number of time and compared to the other search terms. In much the same way that you go to Nielsen to get the numbers, it's one of the places you visit before you mount a campaign," he said.

A comparison on search trends for Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar, Joseph Estrada, Mar Roxas and Noli de Castro for the past 90 days showed Villar clearly leading online searches compared to the other four candidates until August. Online interest for Noynoy Aquino, however, has been rising since his mother's death on August 1 and peaked recently after his announcement that he would run for president next year.

Online searches for Mar Roxas skyrocketed on September 1 after he announced that he would withdraw his presidential bid and support Aquino.

Motorola unveils Android-powered smartphone, the Cliq

Motorola on Thursday unveiled a new smartphone, the Cliq, powered by Google's Android software which the US handset maker hopes will help turn around its flagging fortunes.

Motorola co-chief executive Sanjay Jha previewed the touch-screen phone, which is to be available through US carrier T-Mobile, at the GigaOm Mobilize09 event in San Francisco.

"Android gives us a platform to innovate and enhance user experiences," he said.

Described as "the first phone with social skills," the Cliq is heavily geared toward social networking with easy access and features built around sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

For example, Jha said, caller ID on the phone will display the name of the incoming caller, their latest profile picture and latest status update.

The Cliq also features a camera and video camera and a full complement of Google mobile services such as Google calendar, Google maps and built-in GPS.

Jha said the Cliq was one of two smartphones Motorola expected to release by the end of the year running Google's open-source Android operating system.

The other device would be unveiled "in the coming weeks," he said, and both would hit store shelves in time for the holiday season.

"We expect (the Cliq) to be one of our hottest-selling devices in the fourth quarter," said T-Mobile chief technology officer Cole Brodman, who appeared on stage with Jha.

Google and T-Mobile released the first so-called "Google Phone," the T-Mobile G1, which is manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corp., in October of last year.

US wireless carrier Sprint Nextel and HTC announced plans last week to release a touch-screen mobile phone in October, the HTC Hero, powered by Android.

Motorola enjoyed success with its popular Razr phone launched in 2005 but has been losing ground since to Apple's popular iPhone and Research in Motion's Blackberry as well as other major cell phone makers such as Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.