World Cyber Games: Goodwill gaming

Electronic gamers are set to put their experience and expertise to test this coming October as the World Cyber Games (WCG) 2004 kicks off in San Francisco, USA.

Here, young people of various cultures, all picked from among thousands of aspirants in grueling local preliminaries, will compete not just for the title of the best gamer in the world, but also for national pride.

Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. will again sponsor the search for the top Filipino gamers who will compose the Philippine team in the 3rd Samsung Cyber Games. Many are expected to troop to more than 120 WCG-partner LAN shops to participate in extremely competitive qualifying and elimination matches.

The WCG first caught the attention of the global gaming community in 2001, when it was launched in Seoul, South Korea.

International awareness subsequently skyrocketed such that in 2002, the number of participating countries jumped from 17 to 55. The Philippines, through Samsung’s efforts, sent its ever delegation that year.

"We believe that the Cyber Games is a powerful way of bringing together the global online community," says Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. president and CEO Sang Youl Eom. "The power of technology and sports combined to develop our youth is best seen in the World Cyber Games."

Considered the Olympics of e-sports, the WCG attracted young people precisely because it gave them a chance to bring their sport to the next level. Games such as Counterstrike, WarCraft and StarCraft, although extremely popular among most computer aficionados, remained largely unrecognized.

Through these games, players learned to explore, strategize, and even construct worlds in scales that would otherwise be impossible to create beyond the computer screen. Through the WCG, players manifested creativity and intensity that can rival even the highest pressure points of field sports.

Yet more than a gaming challenge, the WCG is also a cultural festival that aims to overcome cultural and distance barriers among participating countries.

The WCG slogan, "Beyond the Game," epitomizes this very goal, as it strives to foster harmony and enjoyment in a high-intensity environment.

The WCG claims to have "no language or cultural barriers and adheres to respect for universal ethical principles without national boundaries." In the WCG, participants not only share their love for computer gaming but also their unique cultures.

The WCG promotes a truly international exchange by creating a venue which provides professional and non-professional gamers, spectators, volunteers, businessmen and even tourists from all over the world a chance to experience the passion and intensity the gaming industry has generated over the years.

During the past couple of years, the Philippine delegation participated in a flurry of activities that highlighted the festival’s cultural slant. Costume parades, dances and ethnic performances punctuated the WCG’s gaming sessions and served to relieve some of the pressure that naturally accompanied an intense and healthy competition.

Over the next few months, Samsung Philippines will scour the country for young people who possess not just exceptional electronic gaming skills, but a strong sense of what it’s like to be Filipino as well.

Registration for the WCG 2004 Philippine Preliminary: 3rd Samsung Cyber Games is ongoing online at www.samsungelectronics.ph and off-line at selected Internet cafés and Data Blitz branches.

All network café partners have passed stringent requirements to ensure that their systems meet World Cyber Games rules.

The top players in the preliminaries will battle it out in the national finals on July 4 to Aug. 1 in Glorietta. Those who emerge national champions will earn the right to represent the country at WCG 2004 in San Francisco, USA.