e-Games Evolution: Freeplay and beyond
IP e-Game Ventures Inc. (IP e-Games), one of the first movers of the free-to-play mode and item-based billing space, recently held the e-Games Evolution Roadshow to celebrate its new directions and launch its new corporate logo. It also introduced a new game-access model that will set new grounds for other local and regional game publishers to follow.
e-Games Evolution represents the change that IP e-Games is going through. While it revolutionized the gaming industry with its push of free-to-play, it is now going beyond it and is offering groundbreaking online gaming entertainment.
As part of its “evolution,” IP e-Games is replacing its old logo with a new one. The new logo represents the solid, well-rounded great offerings of the company while still maintaining the core values and innovation that set it apart from the rest.
Steve Tsao, president and chief operating officer of IP e-Games, said e-Games Evolution is a new stage for the company. “With it, we will bring in new games, new services and the new logo will bring about a friendlier image as well.”
As part of its evolution, IP e-Games announced the addition of Granado Espada (GE) to its roster of massively multiplayer online game titles.
GE is a full 3D MMORPG set in a fantasy 17th century world rich with European history and culture. It combines magic, wizardry and otherworldly wonders with post-Renaissance technology and
It represents an evolutionary step in online gaming as it integrates multi-character control (a first in an MMORPG), recruitable non-player characters (RNPCs) and Party Elections, which have political and economic repercussions in the GE’s virtual world.
GE was commercially launched last Sept. 15 at the
David Ng, deputy chief executive officer of Infocomm Holdings Asia, was present during the commercial launch and said that GE started as a vision as a world steeped in 17th century culture where new continents were being explored and new wonders were being discovered.
“Now, thanks to e-Games and you, the enthusiastic Granado Espada community, the vision has been realized here in the
He added that in such a short time, GE has already amassed more than 300,000 players, 30 percent of whom are Filipino gamers, its highest population from a single country.
“As we continue ahead, we expect to build our already strong community while adding exciting content,” Ng said.
Granado Espada will use a hybrid pay-to-play model, which is more economical and gamer-friendly. Players can purchase Gpoints and use these either for game time or in-game money to buy in-game items, or both.
Ng said gamers can expect the company to keep on pushing the frontier of online gaming and look forward to improved services among its existing games and many more new games to come.
“We’ll have another announcement later this year to (introduce) another new game,” Tsao said.
The company is also pushing for better servers and experience. Tsao said that although its gamers are quite happy with its services and quality of experience, IP e-Games is still pushing to be even better.
“We believe they deserve more and it’s our job to deliver world-class services than we ever had before. We expect to set new standards in the industry,” he said.
Tsao also said they will also further improve relationships with their i-Café partners and come up with new initiatives to reward them and let their gamers know which establishments support the games they play.
He also revealed that their e-Gamer Loyalty Card program will be going through another phase, broadening its list of partner establishments and introducing new features and services for loyal IP e-Games players.
And they are spreading their new message nationwide. To celebrate this landmark event, IP e-Games held the e-Games Evolution Roadshow last Sept. 16 at the Block at SM North Edsa.
Live contests, cosplay events, and live band performances were held for Audition Dance Battle and RAN Online, including in-game tournaments for O2Jam, Supreme Destiny and Granado Espada.
Live auctions of RAN Online in-game items that fetched tens of thousands of pesos were also held. More than a thousand players flocked to the e-Games Evolution kickoff event.
The roadshow is expected to run until early 2008, going through
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