Is the local Online Gaming industry in trouble?

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Wow, a long discussion here, too sad I wasn’t able to read it when people are still on fire. I used to love level up games, even applied there for work (luckily i wasn’t able to land the job, i might have been part of the retrenchment). Well first things first.

Have you guys been on computer shops during the start of the Facebook craze? Everytime I go to computer shops, people are just playing either online games (Ragnarok, etc.) or lan games (dota, counterstrike). But when facebook reached Philippine shores. It’s now mostly Lan games (dota, counterstrike) and facebook. The old players of online games are playing farm ville! My G*D! hahaha I can’t imagine the turn around of events. Well for me I think playing online games are a social status that you brag with your friends that you have a high level character with good build and excellent items. But when facebook sinks in, there’s another outlet for people to brag. Hey look at my farm in farmville, I’m rich. Hahaha. Well i guess it’s more on the bragging and socializing part why facebook ate a lot of the regular clients of online games.

Private servers are also a grave threat. Actually I’ve been playing Ragnarok Online since I was grade 6. Now I’m working and still playing it. I stopped playing the local server when I was in highschool. I’ve computed my cost for that game and told myself that i could have saved and bought a PS2 if I haven’t played. Since I’m a hard core gamer, my crave for gaming switched to different games, there are already F2P games back then but I guess nothing matched my passion in playing ragnarok, so rather than going back to pRO i just played private servers. I can’t go back playing in that server cause I’m left behind. There will be too many stronger players than me. So private server is the best option that allows people to equal the playing field even if you’re not a game addict. It only boils down on who has the best strategy.

Free to play can work and it works. It’s more on the relationship of game administrator and the players. The private server I’m playing is running for more than 4 years now. There should just be a balance on what people can buy in game and what should remain attainable just by playing. Like local publishers, several private servers are also suffering from a loss when poorly managed. I do think it’s necessary for the decision maker to play the game itself to decide what should be done to improve their network.

Free is free. But being free it shouldn’t compensate on the slow connection speed and several down time for servers. There are a lot of ways to keep the cash flow in while even if its free. We are in the local market. I know there are a lot of companies willing to advertise their brand through games. It’s addictive and people check it our everyday. They could have been creative and aggressive in capturing advertisers to keep their company growing. If I own a softdrink brand or a company that sells chips, I’d advertise in this media. I want people to eat my chips and drink my drink while they play. Even telecom companies might consider investing in these types of businesses. Hope is still there. Go for it LU and eGames. :D

I prefer the business model of Guild Wars. Pay once and your free forever. Yun nga lang, learning curve and its not about the level. Its how you play the game will distinguish you than the rest. Gusto lang dito satin eh grind… grind… grind… XD

Buti na lang may Civilization V. w00t!

I’m once addicted to online gaming. But now I became sick of seeing players hacking the game. In the real world, if you commit a crime you will be punish. The gaming company made some program to punish some players hacking or doing unpleasant moves just to cheat the game. But because the number of cheaters had became massive, these companies allowed them to do what this players want even if it is cheating the game. In the long run, it back fired to them. Maybe I was wrong but this is how I perceived it as an ex-online gamer.

@HoNPhilippines
OT
Well said na sana about local gaming industry pero ganun din sa HoN Garena.

Rampant sir mga PSR farmers. Like, hindi na nila llocked players before playing the game, will Auto-Balance pero bilis swap lang players then game. Sometimes naman, may spy kang teammate na kasama pala ng opponents mo sa HoN. So its just different game pero unfairness parin sa game mararanasan.

Nag post nga ko sa forums about this issue.

To be honest mas maganda pa community ng private servers ng HoN kaysa sa Garena HoN.

I still wanna play Ragnarok, kaso lahat bots eh. Parang naglaro ka na rin ng stand alone na Ragnarok.

@Jay
Wanna go hardcore w/ PvP? Try EVE Online, I’m beginning to like it so far.

Like the vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGplrpWvz0I

\m/

@Digest – “They are available now po for you to play. No need for local publishers to get them. Thats why some of our gamers are in different games right now. Yun po maganda, wala ng 3rd party company to cater the game. Kahit nga Atlantica Online Ndoors lang, kaya ng mag load through load central then yun na. No need for these egames & LU anymore. Mas lag pa nga kuminsan sa mga local servers”

They are available for play. But the thing is, they don’t have the kind of local customization and touch that local publishers have. They hold in-game events that caters to the local audience, offline events and tournaments to keep them interested. They also have localized content such as Filipiana-inspired outfits, places, etc. And playing games released by local publishers allow everyone including those without a credit card, to play these triple A titles.

“As for what you are saying that people are still relying in internet cafes to play. 50/50 po tayo dito. I’m operating an internet cafe and sa 3 years po, eh 6 of 10 adik players now has their own pc’s. So malaking kawalan sila sa sales ko. Yan po yung opening till closing naglalaro”

– On our front, every year, we get more internet cafe players. sure, some of them do get their own PCs but as I said, in a country like ours where PC penetration hasn’t reached critical mass, internet cafes are still the first and preferred way to play online games. that’s based on extensive surveys and research we’ve done for several years. which I can only release upon “pain of death.”

oops my comment pala was aimed at @nerbie.

I stopped playing MMORPG’s because of the grind. Period. If I wanted to zoom past everyone else, I’d have top pay for it; which I couldn’t afford at the time.

Right now, I can easily afford to pay for whatever extras they can offer, but I don’t really care anymore– not because of the quality of the game per se, but the fact that IF i get to the top the same recurring question will always remain: what now?

It’s fun to see progress, but when that progress plateaus, it’s not really fun anymore.

More often than not I’d like to play a game that has a very fun PvP experience to boot, not one wherein I get to have that shiny new item if I hack away at 10000 monsters.

@bigego…something
What I’m implying is that, Consoles dominate the market on a global industry sense. The second sentence explains my doubt, because only a few people (local) have current gen consoles, with lack of support from its publishers.

@bigegoplayer

They are available now po for you to play. No need for local publishers to get them. Thats why some of our gamers are in different games right now. Yun po maganda, wala ng 3rd party company to cater the game. Kahit nga Atlantica Online Ndoors lang, kaya ng mag load through load central then yun na. No need for these egames & LU anymore. Mas lag pa nga kuminsan sa mga local servers.

As for what you are saying that people are still relying in internet cafes to play. 50/50 po tayo dito. I’m operating an internet cafe and sa 3 years po, eh 6 of 10 adik players now has their own pc’s. So malaking kawalan sila sa sales ko. Yan po yung opening till closing naglalaro.

Sumakit ang Ulo ko sa Ibang Post/Comment, not because of their argument but because I cannot understand what they are trying to express.. :)

@bigegoplayer
What about the games that I suggested like Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeon & Dragons Online, Everquest II, Need for Speed World, and just now Pirates of the Burning Sea. Just read this noon at Massively.com.

Players here need the information just like you said, they need to start somewhere, but by just limiting their options, like local online publishers cater then its still the same circling in one band wagon.

They need to try other services because some players when they’d given up playing Online Games. They do really see ALL online games just as one. A one sided money milking scheme by a company. Not a two way beneficiary for both parties.

@Joshua M

Actually I work for a gaming company. :) I have a pretty good idea on how fast we deal with bugs. normally takes a day to a few days to fix it, but the repercussions last weeks, even months for really bad bugs. fortunately, we haven’t had a bug that we couldn’t fix on the fly and hasn’t hurt us that bad.

Our guys are pretty well paid.

As for TV advertising, I won’t even go there. the market isn’t there.

Dude, there will be bad seeds that will try to hack a game, but the thing is, it hasn’t happened on the scale that you’re talking about. if it did, then you’d hear about it in online gaming circles, or in the newspapers. but the thing is, publishers, together with developers, work on addressing hacks immediately. those who perpetuate the hack, get banned immediately or are taken to court.

As for stats, I don’t have that. But I’ve attended a number of them and have actually bid on these items (kaya ko lang hanggang P10,000). The people who outbid me are so passionate to get those in-game items.

Ah, the naysayers, the doom sayers and the purveyors of “death will become them.” Seriously, to the people telling everyone that F2P is dead on the water, I completely disagree. Almost all of the local MMOs have adapted it. While publishers can’t afford the triple A titles like WOW or AION, they do try to bring titles that are almost as good as above mentioned games (take for instance Runes of Magic, RF Online, etc).

@Lezuric

“In addition to that, they just produce boring and lame games so I don’t think players will get hook into it since the world has a lot of very great and fun games to offer.”

First, they don’t produce games, they publish it. They don’t develop, they get the rights to operate it in the country.

@Dante – “I knew it! LU’s market drop because they followed the strategy e-games has. Along with youngster gamers + no cost gaming (F2P) makes those 2 company drop.”

Because e-Games adopted the F2P model and made it their own, they took a big chunk of the market share from Level Up in less than a year. It’s a viable business model in a country that loves anything free and buys stuff in sachets. Sure they had better years but put into the equation that there was a world economic crisis two years back that hurt businesses, including local publishers.

@Digest,
Not everyone can afford the games that you mentioned, much less have a credit or debit card to purchase these paid game services

which is why the F2P titles work here because it’s free. Yes, it isn’t as good as the titles you just mentioned but in letting them play these games, you’re bringing their “gaming awareness” up a notch. They will eventually mature and check out these triple A titles. But you have to start somewhere.

@Oscar,

If you’ve played Local MMOs, you know that with 20 pesos, you can get a really decent in-game item to help you level up faster? Their 20pesos cards and these items are the biggest sellers.

@Mr A – “Consoles dominate the multiplayer market, so that’s gone. Online distribution seem plausible but impossible given the mindset in this country.”

The console market in the Philippine is pretty small compared to the millions playing online using their PCs. If the console market is big here then Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo should have set up gaming officers here. But they haven’t.

@Jhay – “In all my years of online gaming, I rarely purchased in-game items because the benefits they gave can always be gained by leveling up, trading with other players for items and yes, private transactions.”

Then you’ve missed the really good stuff about local gaming here. the in-game items do add more flavor, more MMO goodness than just not mindless grinding. I believe that online games that are F2P are built that you really can’t level up or gain special items without in-game items.

@Elly – Let’s admit it, if not all, most LU and e-Games’ MMOs are half-baked.

Actually, they aren’t. They’ve spent a considerable fortune (probably more than you get in a dozen lifetimes) to bring out games that they have. the features these game may not be as good as triple A titles but they do offer something unique to the market as well.

Bugs,cheats and hacks do happen but it’s prevalent in most games, that includes WOW and AION. the local publishers do their best and these cases haven’t inundated them at all. if these did happen on a major scale, then you would have a full scale riot – city wide. but it hasn’t happened.

@Ian – dude, I don’t even know what you’re talking about so I won’t get into your discussion.

@Nerbie – there are a lot of players on Garena and DOTA but the thing is they’re just playing with a bunch of others. there’s no real interaction like planning a raid, or boss hunt with a bunch of players in Davao and Cebu, building up a guild and going against other guilds for server or map dominance. there’s a whole bunch of things that MMO give that LAN games can never dole out. you haven’t played local MMOs like the way these “low paying” players have.

@Jox – “agree coz most of their online games can only hook up a player for a couple of weeks then there’s nothing more to do on the game.”

Dude, if this is true, then Ragnarok Online, RAN Online, CABAL Online,, wouldn’t have the kind of gaming community that they have. they’ve operated for years and they still have an incredible number of players. Just visit their annual gaming conventions, and it is just staggering to see all these gamers, from 50 year olds to 6 year old playing together.

@Galit sa tamad – these guys actually work their butts off 24 hours a day. but you’re just trying to be funny

@Joshua M – “Heres a simple thing to do. Make all games paid games! BUT! make the availability of buying an account easy! make it worth every peso! just make advertising good and people definitely will buy an account. advertise on TV. eventually subscribers will grow and they will love the game more.”

Dude, you’re alienating almost half of the people playing games if they shifted to paid games. F2P actually works but what these companies need to do is make their games better by providing monthly content, great service, etc. advertising on TV doesn’t really work that well since most of these gamers are online most of the time.

@Jed Yang – “Questionable in game items whick can be bought through Real Money Trading plus cheats and hacks ruin the game, almost all games in PH has this problem and Providers does not care to solve…”

There is RMT happening but not on the scale you’re thinking of. it does ruin the game but the publishers do they notice and they act on these issues immediately. those that don’t, eventually close shop.

@Joshua M – “Free top play here in the Philippines won’t bloom. People aren’t that passionate about games.”

That’s where you are wrong. There are millions of passionate Filipino players. Some are so passionate, they attend gaming events, regular and big ones, load their accounts so they can play all week, spend a lot in online gaming company-authorized online auctions, paying hundreds of thousands of pesos to get exclusive in-game items. You need to get out and play more online games.

“RO, RF, WOW are good and popular because they are paid and some of the pay goes to the developers. Free to play doesn’t have that. ”

Actually, publishers pay the developers as well to operate these games. they pay it through royalties, licensing fees, etc.

I hope I’ve helped in demystifying and shattering misconceptions about online gaming here in the Philippines.

Pay to play is definitely excellent. You get quality support. The availability here is just the problem.

@Lex Go Free top play here in the Philippines won’t bloom. People aren’t that passionate about games.

RO, RF, WOW are good and popular because they are paid and some of the pay goes to the developers.

Free to play doesn’t have that.

I kinda disagree.

People wanted to play and play more then buy more items relies on items sold in an in-game cash shop to make profits. Use of the cash shop is optional, but some items found there can improve the player’s gameplay.

Man, its like put your money into a ditch.

If the game is popular more than four years, its a good sign like RO, RF, WOW, etc (and some games I haven’t tried).

Its almost a same factor in Facebook… but its a good catch for all working or old people around 30+. Oh yes, one thing is you need… “money”

But in online gaming, its the same. It never stops as long as the money’s flowing. Casino, Facebook, Online gaming, Betting, including the country’s culture like Pachinko (japanese)

What can I say? Consumers or players wanted to play more, enjoy more, and pay more.

facebook is not of a factor IMHO.. people who spend time in online games are those who are looking for intensive game plays and animations.. very different from the almost no-brainer games of FB.

I disagree that online gaming will be coming to an end soon.. with my almost 6 years of playing RAN online (e-games), it’s true that the numbers of players drastically decreases year after year.. but the virtual items consumptions are strong as always..

I remember one time that there is this player who made a record by spending php 100,000 on RAN just in a year. sounds silly, but a loyal player will spend approximately 10k to reach a powerful high level character.. and there’s a lot of them..

I think what turn-off people is the slowness of the companies in releasing updates and new features..always late compared to their foreign counterparts.

@ Joshua M

It’s game distributors’ responsibility to update their game servers and clients with program patches that can be purchased from game developers / programmers. Game distributors are only after for maximum profit even at the expense of gamers’ account security hence updates that keep exploiters at bay don’t come that quick because updates are not free.

It doesn’t matter if their game is distributed via F2P model or subscription based one. They get paid either way.

Addition:

In Game purchases:

This is a bad move when you have a free-to-play scheme. Why? People will think its a waste afterwards. It won’t benefit them for long! it’s like ok, I spend hundreds of pesos for this thing that won’t give me crap for too long why would I even bother. Subscription Fee is definitely a good strategy.

oh well, i’d like to hear what level up has to say. i guess they have a sucky PR firm or PR staff to let this go by easily.

must be that the upper management of level up aren’t really gamers at all. they do not understand the current market situation. it’s expected out of a PLDT run company.

kasi namn why did they franchise Hello Kitty Online failure from the start

agree coz most of their online games can only hook up a player for a couple of weeks then there’s nothing more to do on the game.

As any company that is affiliated with Manny Pangilinan’s group, it turns arrogant, inefficient and lacklustre. The only difference is, PLDT and Smart makes money, while Level Up burns money.

+1 to what Mr. A said, all anime conventions are the same. The people that participate in them, the cosplayers, doesn’t even have the capacity for load to play any title from LU or E-Games. It’s all focused in their tacky costumes that they think makes them look like the best thing since sliced bread. Apart from the Alodia, no one can really pull it off.

From the previous comment: “They should target the market that actually pays and makes money.”

Let’s admit it, if not all, most LU and e-Games’ MMOs are half-baked.

That’s why bug abuses, hacks and cheats are very rampant to the point that these publishers can’t handle them anymore, and of course the majority of the players would only be sick of complaining to them.

Also, what Mr. A said.

Glad I’ve stopped playing local MMOs because their only objective is to earn regardless of the quality of their service. I’m patiently waiting for Guild Wars 2. :)

I suppose Facebook is a factor. In all my years of online gaming, I rarely purchased in-game items because the benefits they gave can always be gained by leveling up, trading with other players for items and yes, private transactions.

It’s like those Anime convention, they’re all the same!

They can’t get quality games because publishers can distribute it themselves; Private Servers are killing them, and Garena is eating the Multiplayer market. Plus, facebook is also killing them.

They should change their model. You can’t just copy and paste other company’s strategy. Their, expand fast, profit later seems to had come from the dot com era, and well all know what happened to them.

It’s hard to think a solution for these companies. Great games need good deal of bandwidth and most of them are being hosted by their own publishers. Consoles dominate the multiplayer market, so that’s gone. Online distribution seem plausible but impossible given the mindset in this country.

I’m out of ideas for these guys.

@oscar
the new game is allods online.

levelup ph has a more boring lineup compared to egames.

This also means that typical gamers are becoming more mature and tired of games that are run of the mill level.

I for one, stop playing local MMO’s then shifted to Guild Wars and it change to me what MMO is really all about. Gamers now have more options than ever because the list of Free to Play MMO’s are endless. Coming from anywhere with quality thats far off from local publishers distributing here.

If you want quality then I suggest playing Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Need for Speed World, Atlantica Online or Perworld Entertainment games that wants to have Asian theme MMO. Nexon also offers best MMO’s but they only cater to NA & Canada regions only.

I’m looking forward to Black Prophecy. \m/

BTW, The e-Games image on the post is from PAGCOR. Can you change the image? Thanks.

im planning to invest in egames, having second thoughts now

i know a startup here in singapore and free to play in PH is just eating up his resources coz nobody pays in game. i think our mindset about the internet has to change. ask people around and most of them are still afraid of using the net to pay for services.