AMDG inks $5.5 M deal with Korean gaming giant NCsoft

Whether you’re in the virtual world of online gaming or the very real world of business, strategic partnerships are crucial to deciding who eventually comes out ahead of the pack.

In a landmark partnership that is set to change the face of online gaming, ASIAN Media Development Group (AMDG), the country’s largest PC games distributor, signed a $5.5 million deal with Korean gaming giant NCsoft Corp. to exclusively market and distribute "Lineage II" in Southeast Asia.

The unprecedented partnership marks the first time a Philippine company has been tapped to market a "Triple A" MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) like "Lineage II" in the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.

It is also the first licensing contract ever awarded for "Lineage II." Previously, NCsoft maintained a policy of servicing the immensely popular online game only through local subsidiaries.

The "Lineage" franchise is NCsoft’s flagship product line, with a customer reach of more than 55 million people worldwide. Outside Korea, NCsoft is currently servicing "Lineage II" in Taiwan, Japan, China, Thailand, North America and Europe. The game has a worldwide subscriber base of 14 million and commands a dominant 45 percent share of the MMORPG market in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We have been looking for an effective way to penetrate new markets, and we believe that AMDG has the expertise in providing proper game services that we at NCsoft require for our flagship product line," the management of NCsoft said in an official statement.

AMDG chief operations officer Ronald Allan Aquino meanwhile cited AMDG’s success in developing a nationwide sales and distribution network for its PC gaming business that reaches more than 90 percent of Internet cafes in the Philippines. "Our business model has proven to be extremely effective in expanding a user base."

He adds that "Using the same marketing expertise, we will open up emerging markets within the Southeast Asian region and extend AMDG’s success beyond PC games distribution to online gaming."

AMDG has made substantial investments to house top-of-the-line gaming infrastructure for Lineage II in the Philippines, which will serve as the hub for the hundreds of thousands of gamers expected within the Southeast Asian region.

NCsoft and AMDG plan to start open beta service and subsequently launch commercial service for Lineage II before yearend.

Established in November 1999, AMDG is the largest PC games distributor in the Philippines. It is the official Philippine partner of NCsoft. For more information, visit www.amdg.net.ph.

Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, NCsoft Corp. is the world’s leading developer and publisher of online games. Founded in 1997, NCsoft is home to Lineage, the world’s most successful online role playing game and also to Lineage II, City of Heroes and City of Villains, Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions, Guild Wars Nightfall and Auto Assault. In coming months, NCsoft is poised to launch other massively multiplayer titles including Tabula Rasa and Aion in addition to various casual games via its game portal, PlayNC. NCsoft has offices in North America, the United Kingdom, Japan, Taiwan, China and Thailand. In fiscal year 2006, NCsoft posted revenues of KRW 338.7 billion. For more information about NCsoft visit http://www.ncsoft.com or http://www.PlayNC.com.