Pacific Internet Has Game

One of Asia's largest independent ISPs has tested two Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) in a bid to increase revenues from broadband subscribers.

by Asia.internet.com Staff [June 10, 2002]

According to IDC, improved Internet capabilities, next-generation video game consoles, and non-traditional gaming platforms will lure some 40 million households into online gaming by 2004 worldwide, up from 25 million in 2000.

Online gaming in Asia is also getting increasingly popular not just in Korea, but also in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore where broadband connection is high and on the rise.

In a move to be a part of the growing industry and in line with its broadband strategy, Pacific Internet, one of Asia's leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs), has launched its own paid online gaming services.

According to Tan Tong Hai, Pacific Internet president and CEO, the paid gaming business model is still relatively unproven but could provide a new revenue stream. He hopes that the initiative will help expand the company's services footprint across the Asia-Pacific region, and is most hopeful about business possibilities in Hong Kong and Australia.

El Kardian, a Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), was introduced for beta trial in November 2001 is the first game to be launched commercially by Pacific Internet on its Pan Asia Gaming Network (paGn).

The game is a fantasy medieval adventure game set in the magical world of Aldania and uses 3-D graphics. It is the only online game that allows players to compose their own quests and then invite other players to partake in the created quests.

Since its launch last year, it has attracted a following of about 40,000 trial players consisting of local Singapore gamers and foreign gamers from as far afield as America and Europe.

Following the encouraging results of this trial, Pacific Internet launched CyberCup, a Massive Multiplayer Online Sports Action Game (MMOSAG), in March 2002 for free beta testing. The game has attracted more than 5,000 trialists to date. The future looks bright.

— End