Monday, August 07, 2006

Playing with online games

It is no secret that online games is the primary revenue driver for most Internet cafes in the country today. With nearly 5.6 million Filipino online gamers and US$14 million in revenues, according to International Data Corporation, this comes as no surprise.

This community is also seen as potential for in-game advertising. One exciting company worth watching out for is e-Games due to its Free2Play model. Despite that, new games like Freestyle, among others are expected to build a growing user base. With Filipinos becoming experts in online gaming, they perhaps be able to follow the footsteps of overseas-based Filipino professional gamers someday.

The Filipino language, Tagalog, is also influencing international games such as The Sims(TM) native language, Simlish, where it is partly based. Another game, similar to our child's play Jack 'en Poy, is also gaining international popularity because of its mix gaming arcade and card collection approach.

The popularity of online games is also creating a new form of virtual income. I've met individuals who are now earning a living by playing a person's game character and by selling them. Joel Yuvienco challenges educators to harness this as a tool for learning.

Definitely more games are expected to come in the country from Korea, Japan, USA, among others.

2 comments:

Mike Abundo said...

e-Games is exciting. Level Up was exciting.

Anonymous said...

Thanks. I like e-Games too.

Steve