Online gaming is serious business for AsianMedia Development Group

Philippine PC gaming pioneer, Asian Media Development Group (AsianMedia) has its eye firmly set on the booming market for online games within the South East Asian region which is projected to generate estimated annual revenue of $141 million by 2010.

Having recently allied themselves with Korean gaming giant NCsoft Corp. to distribute the Triple-A "Pay-to-Play" (P2P) online game Lineage II in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, AsianMedia is set to capture the lion’s share of the regional market for online games.

"Our partnership with NCsoft was an aggressive coup over other local game providers," recounts AsianMedia president Arturo B. Diago Jr. "We are extremely privileged to now be the exclusive distributor of NCsoft Corp.’s online games and we plan to apply the same formula for success that has allowed AsianMedia to thrive in the highly competitive gaming industry."

The move from local to regional distribution has prompted the eight year-old company to adopt a brand new logo in line with their broader market.

"Now that we are expanding to multinational distribution of a major MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) such as Lineage II, we felt the need to identify ourselves more strongly as an Asian company in order to connect with an Asian market," says AsianMedia executive vice president, Felizardo P. de la Merced.

Networks that work

In fact, AsianMedia is no stranger to providing gamers with fun and excitement. Since its establishment in 1999, it has built up a nationwide sales and distribution network reaching more than 90 percent of internet cafes in the country. The company has also aggressively pursued the retail market by having its products available in more than 200 retail outlets in the country’s major cities.

An old hand at fostering the development of online communities, AsianMedia successfully created the Guilds.ph community in line with its box-sales of the highly successful online game title, Guildwars. With over 13,000 members nationwide, the Guilds.ph community represents a substantial base from which marketing subsequent online game titles can be launched.

AsianMedia is likewise responsible for establishing programs which provide financing, legal assistance, extended payment plan and business consultancy to internet café owners. "An important part of the AsianMedia’s success lies in its willingness to explore new ways of doing business with internet cafés to create mutually beneficial long term partnerships," says de la Merced.

Previously, AsianMedia was also the sole and official Philippine partner of Vivendi Universal Games (VUG), a global leader in multi-platform interactive entertainment. Through this partnership, AsianMedia brought game titles from Blizzard Entertainment and Sierra Entertainment, makers of phenomenal hits Counterstrike and Warcraft 3 to Philippine PC gamers.

These carefully cultivated relationships and networks have allowed AsianMedia to rise to the top of heap.

"Our experience from these carefully built networks has made AsianMedia the logical choice for NCsoft Corp. distribution partner not only within the Philippines but also the South East Asian region," says De la Merced. "Already, we envision the creation and development of a regional sense of community where gamers from the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia can identify with larger gaming communities outside their respective national borders."

In the middle of all the action

The centerpiece of AsianMedia’s distribution of Lineage II within the region lies in Philippine housed game servers that promise to deliver the best possible online gaming experience to Lineage II gamers in Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.

"With the game servers based in the Philippines, regional players will be able to compete on a level playing field with players from across the globe," says chief operating officer Ronald Allan M. Aquino. "The vastly improved game play these servers provide will attract veteran online gamers looking for new virtual worlds to conquer as well as newcomers to online gaming who will be swept away by stunning graphic realism of Lineage II."

"We fully expect Lineage II to be the MMORPG of choice once people experience the game using our locally housed servers," says Aquino.

With Lineage II, AsianMedia enters a new era of rapid growth and development," says de la Merced. "Gamers can soon look forward to AsianMedia expanding even further with more P2P and free-to-play online games in the near future."

"This is where the fun begins and all of AsianMedia’s efforts can now be focused on changing the landscape of online gaming," concludes Diago.