CHINA BEING CHINA AGAIN

From Media Connect Asia:

China imposes strict rules in online games; bans foreign investments
By Eduardo Sioson
Oct 12, 2009

Biz IT ran a story by Xinhua on China imposing protectionism on its online gaming industry by blocking the entry of foreign investors through a joint notice by the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and the National Copyright Administration.

According to the notice by China’s press and copyright authorities, foreign companies are banned to invest in the country’s online game operations whether it is a wholly owned enterprise, partnership and cooperatives. Likewise, foreign investors are not allowed to offer technical support in relation to China’s online gaming business.

The new regulation, which aims to put a stop on illegal operators and prevent the proliferation of unhealthy contents, also restricts local operators from running an online gaming business without securing a permit from the GAPP.

Earlier, authorities had managed to close down 45 foreign online game operators who don’t have an approval from the regulators.

SEAIR brings relief goods to Batanes

Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR) brings relief goods and basic commodities to Batanes in response to the food shortage in the province. Food supplies declined at an alarming rate when Typhoon “Pepeng” stopped cargo planes and ships from delivering provisions to the island.

“SEAIR, in cooperation with the provincial governor of Batanes and the Ateneo Professional Schools , is launching special cargo flights to transport much-needed supplies to our northernmost province,” said Avelino Zapanta, SEAIR president. The added flights are also carrying relief packs containing rice, canned goods, powdered milk, sugar, noodles and biscuits.

The airline also announced that it will continue accepting donations for Typhoon Ondoy flood victims as well as aid for the Batanes food shortage until October 16. Zapanta said contributions in kind or in cash will be accepted and duly acknowledged by SEAIR from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Mondays to Saturdays.

The following venues receiving donations are: SEAIR ticketing office, Room 202 Lao' Center Building, 1000 Arnaiz Avenue (formerly Pasay Road) corner Makati Avenue, Makati City; SEAIR Domestic Airport office, Terminal 1, NAIA, Pasay City; SEAIR Cebu office, Door # 3 YMCA Building Jones Avenue,
Cebu City; SEAIR SM Clark, Unit 166 SM City CSEZ, Clarkfield, Pampanga; and SEAIR Caticlan, Caticlan Airport. For more information on how you can help, please contact SEAIR Call Center at 849-0100.

Some 1,772 families in Batanes were affected by Typhoon Pepeng and the food shortage. This is composed of 311 families from Uyugan, 214 from Itbud, 122 from Imnajbu, 149 from Ivana, 64 from Mahatao, 162 from Basco, 320 from Sabtang and 430 from Itbayat.

SEAIR is also participating in a food distribution program to provide thousands of flood victims in Marikina and Tanay, Rizal with fresh hot meals.

CAPCOM REVEALS SHIP DATE FOR RESIDENT EVIL 5 FOR THE PC

Latest news:

CAPCOM REVEALS SHIP DATE FOR RESIDENT EVIL 5 FOR THE PC
A Whole New Dimension of Horror Comes to PC Fans

Capcom is pleased to announce that Resident Evil 5 for the PC will release on September 15, 2009 in North America and September 18 in Europe. PC gamers will get the ultimate Resident Evil package in the new PC version as new features will include NVIDIA®’s new GeForce® 3D Vision technology (wireless 3D Vision glasses sold separately), new costumes and a new and improved mercenaries mode with three times as many enemies.

Fans that pick up the PC version will be the first to experience stereoscopic 3D out of screen effects as their living rooms are transformed into the world of Kijuju. Infected Majini coming at players from every angle, dust flying in and out of screen and the scariest bosses to date are taken up a notch. Resident Evil 5 PC is a whole new level of fear players will never forget. The game also supports Stereoscopic 3D in all of its cut scenes – an industry first.

These groundbreaking stereoscopic 3D effects were developed in close cooperation with NVIDIA, which is why the game is part of NVIDIA’s “The Way It’s Meant To Be Played” partnership program. Resident Evil fans can check out the 3D action for themselves today as a new stereo 3D tech demo with benchmark is available to download today on NVIDIA’s official site at http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_re5_downloads.html.To find out more info on NVIDIA’s GeForce 3D Vision technology, click on the link here, http://www.nvidia.com/3dvision/.

If you can’t get enough of RE5 for the PC, it will be making its public debut at Comicon 2009 in Booth #5133 in full 3D. It will also be shown to thousands of gamers at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo in the Fall. More details on the game will be hitting in the upcoming months.

About Resident Evil 5
From the ashes of old conflicts, a new terror arises. The Umbrella Corporation and its crop of lethal viruses have been destroyed and contained. But a new, more dangerous threat has emerged. Years after surviving the events in Raccoon City, Chris Redfield has been fighting the scourge of bio-organic weapons all over the world. Now a member of the Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSSA), Chris is sent to Africa to investigate a biological agent that is transforming the populace into aggressive and disturbing creatures. Joined by another local BSSA agent, Sheva Alomar, the two must work together to solve the truth behind the disturbing turn of events. Featuring a revolutionary new co-op mode of gameplay, Resident Evil 5 will let players experience fear together as terror moves out of the
shadows and into the light of day.

Co-producer and series veterans Jun Takeuchi (Lost Planet) and Masachika Kawata (Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles) unleash an unprecedented level of fear for the new generation in Resident Evil 5, the sequel to one of the highest-rated videogames in history according to Metacritic.com and Gamerankings.com. Promising to revolutionize the series by delivering an unbelievable level of detail, realism and control, Resident Evil 5 is certain to bring new fans to the series. Incredible changes to both the gameplay and world of Resident Evil make this a must-have game for gamers across the globe.

The Resident Evil series has sold over 40 million units since the original game was released in 1996 and has spawned a multi-million dollar trilogy of films from Sony Pictures. The latest installment of the game, Resident Evil 5 promises to revolutionize the series just as Resident Evil 4 did.

SONY ERICSSONS NEW GAMING MEDIA PHONES

Sony Ericsson reinforces its position as the Communication Entertainment Brand with new phones fusing the best in hardware and content to deliver unlimited entertainment opportunities for consumers.

Sony Ericsson recently announced its Asia Pacific strategy for Entertainment Unlimited, the next phase of its Communication Entertainment strategy, with new mobile devices that blend the best in imaging, music, videos and gaming. Bringing together rich content and best in class integrated entertainment experiences, Sony Ericsson is removing communication barriers for consumers and elevating the entertainment experience.

“The fusion of Sony Ericsson communication technology and entertainment will deliver the ultimate user experience for consumers in Asia Pacific,” said Mr Hirokazu Ishizuka, Corporate Vice President, Head of Asia Pacific Region at Sony Ericsson. “Offering consumers a broad portfolio of content, from the latest movies, music and games is made possible for the first time in the industry through our strategic partnership with Sony Pictures and Sony Music. Our consumer proposition of Entertainment Unlimited truly delivers unlimited opportunities for consumers to share their experiences through entertainment.”

Available at the showcase in Singapore were Satio, Aino and Yari providing a preview of the new mobile phone technology that will be available to consumers starting in Q4 2009:

Satio - Promises the ultimate multimedia experience with a 12.1-megapixel phone, a 3.5 inch, crystal clear 16:9 widescreen format screen and ninth High Definition (nHD) gaming. As the first Sony Ericsson phones to offer nHD gaming, Satio offers users the best in mobile High Definition TV experience.

Satio also provides access to all your media in one place – just tap directly into your favourite features with the five standby panels and you’re ready to go.

Exclusive for Asia Pacific consumers is the extensive content library where consumers can download games, movies, music videos and the latest tracks. Every purchase of Satio is jam-packed with entertainment that includes:

· the popular Asphalt Road and Prince of Persia games available in nHD format, the first nHD games on a Sony Ericsson phone

· a choice of three movie titles from a selection of many, including Angels & Demons, Made of Honor, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan and Quarantine

· a choice of three music videos from a library of up to 300, including the latest from well known artists like Kelly Clarkson, Kasabian, Kings of Leon, Britney Spears, Wong Leehom, Rainie Young and Alan Kuo

Aino –Consumers can look forward to accessing media content on Aino anywhere, anytime using Remote Play with PLAYSTATION®3. This is made possible via a local network between PLAYSTATION®3 and Aino in their homes or via the internet from anywhere in the world.

Equally exciting is Media Home, an application on Aino that pulls media content from Media Go™ on your PC over Wi-Fi™ to your phone automatically. Users just need to insert their Aino in its charging stand and it automatically synchronizes with all the latest media content on their PC.



Asia Pacific consumers will get exclusive access to an extensive content library for download. Every purchase of Aino includes:

· a choice of three movie titles from a selection of many, including Angels & Demons, Made of Honor, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan and Quarantine

· a choice of three music videos from a library of up to 300, including the latest from well known artists like Kelly Clarkson, Kasabian, Kings of Leon, Britney Spears, Wong Leehom, Rainie Young and Alan Kuo

Yari – The first mobile phone with gesture gaming outside of the Japanese market, Yari promises endless hours of fun whether you are exercising your way to be a fitness buff, or training to be the next tennis star!

It’s the ultimate phone for mobile fun, whether it’s gaming or multimedia action with its five megapixel camera and media player.

Exclusive for Asia Pacific consumers are a choice of three games to download from a database of up to 100, which includes gesture gaming and motion gaming amongst others.

Sony Ericsson’s wide range of content that spans audio, visual, gaming and applications is made possible through its strong partnership with content providers such as Sony Pictures, Sony Music and Gameloft.

“We are delighted to be one of Sony Ericsson’s partners, and believe that their Entertainment Unlimited proposition is a great way to put the power of mobile entertainment in the hands of consumers,” said Rosemary Tan, executive director, digital, Asia , Sony Pictures Television.

"Our partnership with Sony Ericsson continues to bring new music to consumers instantly,” said Kelly Chew, senior vice president, marketing, Asia of Sony Music. "Music is a daily companion to most people and we are constantly exploring new ways of making our music accessible to consumers and in the process increase the entertainment quotient for them.”

EXTEEL IN DA HOUSE

Exteel has been commerecially launched in South East Asian countries Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Joke:

Ano ang tawag sa maduming mechanaught?

Eh di mecholangaught.

XD

ENCHANTED KINGDOM TIES UP WITH SUPER FERRY FOR MAGICAL LEARNING

Apprentice Students to Sail Away on a Fun and Educational Trip to Country’s Premier Theme Park


Ava Engel, SuperFerry’s Executive Vice President & CEO, Andrew Deyto, SuperFerry’s AVP for Sales & Marketing seal the deal by shaking hands with EK’s Eldar the Wizard. Mario O. Mamon, EK’s President and Chairman (extreme left) and Cynthia R. Mamon, Ph.D., EK’s VP for SMILE (Sales, Marketing, Imagineering, Leisure and Entertainment) (extreme right) smile on with approval.

Enchanted Kingdom (EK), the country’s premier theme park with world-class facilities, recently entered into a memorandum of agreement with SuperFerry, the low cost provider of sea travel in the Philippines.

EK will provide a Magical Sail-Away Leisure and Learning Program to HRM and Tourism students from Visayas and Mindanao who are also undergoing their apprenticeship with SuperFerry. In-park workshops on service magic, guest relations management, food services and an overview of park operations will be offered when they visit the Park. The “syllabus” also includes ITEX’s (International Travel Exchange, Inc.) “Pasyal Pinoy”, a tour package which includes an EK Day Pass and a round trip point-to-point shuttle service from Manila North Harbor to EK.

“We are happy to partner with SuperFerry and look forward to teaching their apprentices the first-rate service EK is known for,” said Cynthia R. Mamon, Ph.D., EK’s VP for SMILE (Sales, Marketing, Imagineering, Leisure and Entertainment). “I believe that the knowledge they will acquire from EK will be very useful once they actually start working for the service and tourism industry,” she further added.

“The strategic partnership with EK will expand the students’ horizon in more ways than one. Not only will we provide them the opportunity to learn about ship management, but also the chance to learn first-hand about theme park operations through Enchanted Kingdom,” enthused Ava Engel, SuperFerry’s Executive Vice President and CEO.

Incidentally, EK also renewed its deal with SuperFerry to sponsor the “SuperFerry Biyaheng Bayan Caravan Tour”, now entering its third year. With “Piyestang Pamilya” as its banner theme, the Caravan will visit customers in public markets and plazas in the VisMin area and hold pocket events complete with games and prizes.

Under the partnership, SuperFerry passengers can buy EK tickets bundled with SuperFerry rates providing them a seamless travel from VisMin to EK via ITEX’s “Pasyal Pinoy”. SuperFerry passengers and apprentices on board will no longer worry about their travel and will surely have a magical sail away through EK's travel packages.

Come to Enchanted Kingdom where the magic stays with you! We are open Mondays to Fridays from 2PM to 9PM and Saturdays and Sundays from 11AM to 9PM with Fireworks Display at 8PM until June 7.

For more information you may visit enchantedkingdom.com.ph or call 830-2111 to 16 or 843-6074 to 76. Enchanted Kingdom is located at Santa Rosa, Laguna with sales office at the Biltmore Condominium, 102 Aguirre St. Legaspi Village, Makati City.

For more information, on SuperFerry, you may call their hotline at 528-7000 or visit their website at superferry.com.ph.

MyGame brings TwelveSky 2 to the Philippines

TwelveSky 2 to add to the roster of MyGame’s portfolio

(Manila, Philippines) – Top local online game publisher MyGame is releasing another massive multiplayer online game (MMORPG), TwelveSky 2, to add to its current game roster consisting of the #1 online game Special Force and MMORPG Fiesta Online.

TwelveSky 2 is a martial arts fantasy game developed by Korean game company ALT1, formerly Gigassoft. The game is set in ancient China where three warring Clans fight an age-old battle for their brothers and at the same time deal with the re-emergence of a new faction. The game took after its predecessor, TwelveSky, which was released on Q4 of 2007 in Korea, US, and Europe, where it had a good following.

MyGame is set to release TwelveSky 2 in closed beta phase in the second half of this year. The closed beta and open beta phases will take about one and a half months before the game goes commercial. Aside from the Philippines, TwelveSky 2 has been released globally including US and Europe which are now in open beta phase.

TwelveSky 2 will be targeted to a wider Filipino audience from young adults to adults whose age ranges from 16 onwards.

“We are very bullish on bringing this game to the Philippines since Filipino gamers are very keen on player vs. player (PvP) games, which in TwelveSky 2 can be enjoyed even in the early stages of the game,” said Jon Roque, TwelveSky 2 product manager. The game is very well thought of and boasts of its PvP features.

According to Anton Ojeda, MicroGaming marketing director, compared with other online games available in the market that offer PvP as end-game content, Twelvesky2 provides this function feature to gamers at the start of the game, which can progress from simple fights to higher stages of fighting such as large-scale clan wars. This allows both casual and hardcore gamers to fully experience the game.

Moreover, the game rewards players with experience points and in-game money in PvP rather than the gamer not earning points & money whenever he engages in it. This PVP reward feature is not present in other online games. “Aside from PvP, gamers can also go into player vs. environment (PvE) type of play and still contribute to the clan he belongs to,” added Roque.

Other major improvements from its TwelveSky predecessor are evident in the graphics and the new race added to the game play. Gamers can pick from the three clans: imperial dragon, royal snake, fierce tiger, and later, the ancient sky, once they get to higher levels.

The game will be offered as Free2Play but gamers can avail of the company’s e-Coins system offered as top-up to get credit and buy premium in-game items. During its testing phases, MyGame will be giving away free premium in-game items.

NEW GENIUS SPEAKERS

SRP: P750.

Key features: Two-way stereo speakers Total output power :5 watts Stylish colth texture
The Genius SP-J200 is a 5-watt RMS stereo speaker for PC and MP3 players. It produces high-quality acoustics with its built-in high performance 2-inch unit driver.

J200 has a shiny finish and a glossy interface which gives it an elegant look. Its unique cloth texture is unlike any other speaker. It looks so good, it will add style to your PC system and even to your sleek notebook.

Other features include line-in and headphone jacks, volume function, and tone adjustment.
Genius is exclusively distributed in the Philippines by MSI-ECS. For more product information visit http://www.msi-ecs.com.ph/

MYGAME SENDS SF TEAM TO KOREA

MicroGaming Sends RP Reps to Korean Gaming Championship
RP to go head-to-head with other Asian countries

(Manila, Philippines, April 28 , 2009) – Top online game publisher Mygame.ph is sending SixthSense, a team of five Special Force (SF) online game players, to the Electronic Sports World Cup (ESWC) in Cheonan, South Korea. The team will be competing against players from Thailand, China, South Korea, and Taiwan for the top spot in the Special Force online game tournament.

“Being a relatively young company but having the number one online game in the country, we are pleased to have participants from all over the country, even coming from Cebu and Puerto Princessa,” said Carlene Turiano, Special Force Product Manager.

Team SixthSense was chosen to go to Korea for the competition on May 2-5, 2009 after winning against seven (7) other finalists at the second Gauntlet Tournament held at the SM Megamall last April 18. The seven teams, excluding SixthSense, which was qualified from winning the Special Force World Championships, have won against 112 teams representing SF clans in the qualifying round.

The team is composed of Mark Anthony “Amber*Pacific” Urbano, Harmond “[6th-S]*L0Ve” Bergonia, Dan Joseph “[6th-S]dAnn” Jimeno, Nico “gusto1mo1ah” Pedutem, and MichaelRobert “iiiiiiiiiiii” Caraig. The team beat TmLkz in the final game.

SixthSense will be competing for the US$30,000 cash prize at the tournament, which will feature Korean games. Over 550 pro-gamers are expected to participate in the competition, which will be held alongside the 2009 Cheonan International e-Sports Culture Festival.

This is also not the first time that SixthSense will be representing the country in an Asian tournament as they have already competed in the SF Online World Championships in China last year, where they placed 6th overall.

“The Philippines has a promising local gaming community with a lot of skilled individuals such as the gamers who participated in this tournament. SixthSense has a lot of experience in local and international competitions and they’ve also built solid teamwork and strategy. Coming from this, I think they would perform well in the ESWC,” said Turiano.

Mygame.ph is the leading provider of the number one online game, SF, which has a total of eight million registered users and 400,000 users daily. The company, according to Turiano, is also expected to bring six more games this year to the country
###

About MicroGaming Technology Corporation
Microgaming Technology Corporation or MyGame.ph is the leading online game publisher in the Philippines with already two massive multiplayer online games (MMOG) in the market: Special Force and Fiesta Online. Special Force, a first-person shooter online game developed in Korea, has been ranked as the number one online game in the Philippines, with over eight million registered users online and almost 40,000 Concurrent users.

FAST GEEZER

For a time in my life, I was a motoring journalist. My favorite memory of that time is when an old geezer kicked my ass on the Subic International Raceway when I was testing new tires that BF Goodrich was launching in the Philippines. That man was the legend himself--Pocholo Ramirez.

I just passed the starting line and was on the straight-away when from out of the pit came out hurtling Sir Poch. I said, “Here is my chance! All I have to do is try to keep his line and I could race like a pro!”

I of course, failed miserably at it and by the third turn was eating dust. By the time I reached the second to the last turn Sir Poch was already behind me. I drove into the Pit so that he wouldn’t get the chance to overtake me. The fact that he was in front of me and then was behind me meant that he drove the track in half the time it took me.

That was as exhilarating as it got. My worst memory was also with Sir Poch on the same day. I took the TV crew of then ABC 5 around to take establishing shots. During one turn I managed to skid 720 degrees into the gravel past the fast chicane. Were I not able to control the spin, we would have ended up on the concrete barrier rather than the gravel trap.

Past the start, the same old geezer who just made me eat dust and kicked my ass was waving me into the pit, even though it meant going against traffic. I thought he would bite my head off, and I deserved it if he did. But to my surprise, he simply said, “Are you ok? Good. Look, you were just tired, that’s why you made the mistake. That was good driving, take a break then go again later. Ok?”

And for that I will never forget Sir Poch. It was an honor to have interviewed him, covered with him, drove in a convoy with him, and raced with him. He will be missed. Vaya con Dios Senyor Poch.

SUPERMAN COMIC SELLS FOR US$317K

A copy of Action Comics #1 that came out in June 1938 just sold for US$317,200 in an auction in New York last Friday. I'm sure you've read the full news already somewhere. The funny thing is that the seller said if it wasn't a recession, it would have sold for more.

Think about it, the guy who owned it bought his copy in 1950 when he was 9 years old for 35 cents US. Incidentally my beautiful mother is of the same age group. According to her, by that time the comic was 12 years old and would have cost only 70 Philippine centavos.

To put that in perspective, a jeepney ride during that time was 5 centavos. A bottle of Coca Cola was about 10 centavos, a bowl of special goto was also 10 and a movie was 20 centavos. The return in investment alone in goto would be difficult to comprehend!

Imagine--for 7 bowls of special goto then, you get in return 9,062 bowls! That's a lot of goto!

ROHAN LAUNCHES CBT

Level Up! Games recently began the Closed Beta Test of their newest MMORPG Rohan. Now why am I announcing this? Because I overheard someone in a net cafe I was renting at that "Hey! Rohan is in OBT already?!"

No it is not...CBT pa lang kuya!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

Coffee in Pangu you say?

ORAL TRADITION

I'm sitting with Alma.. Unfortunately I don't have my laptop with me so I'm not working on anything. I guess that is a lesson in itself. I should brace my body to be able to carry my laptop wherever I go so I can work anywhere unlike right now where I'm left with pen and paper. But when you think about it, before the advent of technology, this was it. A pen, and paper. These were the tools of a journalist. Not some battery operated thing that has invisible radio frequencies to work wonders and allow me to connect to the internet. A network of similar machines that provide technology and knowledge. Things might have gotten faster with the arrival of netbooks, wifi and the internet, but the tools of the trade still rely on a pen and a piece of parchment. Just that allows one to jot down history, capture a significant moment in time and eventually deliver it to an audience willing to pay for the knowledge by buying a copy of the article disseminating the knowledge further down the line to other people in the world. It took over from word of mouth, the oral tradition as it was known. Oh how far we have come. But things do come full circle eventually, there would be written as a form of an option, for when bandwidth eventually allows it, people can simply watch videos online to garner the wealth of knowledge from the various cultures of the world. From the wisemen of the various tribes, knowledge that is vital to us, who now are so drowned by the "free" information we get because of advertising, that sometimes, we no longer known which is true and which is false. Maybe someday someone will create a program to help filter the filth and make it all simple.

ACER LAN PARTY ROCKS!

I played Game Master to the LAN Party that was hosted by ACER for the CyberPress (ITJAP) last January 23, 2009. And I joined the Crysis match and won by three measly kills from Ed Geronia of T3 and four from Billy Allardo of PC World. This was a serious win for me and I had to bring my A-Game to the match and then some as these two beat me in a previous match that was hosted by INTEL.

I was quite ecstatic that I was able to pull it off, and I sincerely congratulate Ed and Billy for their respective wins. Tom Noda of Computer World also deserves some kudos as being a black horse in the competition when he took fourth when he said that it was his first time to play the game.

We helped the people of ACER set up the matches and in choosing the games for the LAN party. They were honest enough to admit that they were not hardcore gamers who went to LAN parties. I, being one of a such did so a lot, and was asked by President Jing Garcia of ITJAP to become the point person for the matches.

This I did and I think that I pulled it off quite well, though I could have set up the matches for the Need For Speed: ProStreet a little faster if I did it before. I asked for help in setting up the Crysis dedicated server as I was busy myself in practicing for the match. The NFS: ProStreet was four matches, a qualifying heat, then I separated the players into two tiers, with the winners from both tiers going on the finals. The winners were Melvin Calimag of Manila Bulletin at first, Joel Pinaroc at second place and another dark horse, Luis Oliveros of Computer World at third. Another participant who said "I am not much of a gamer." Funny that the two dark horses in the event were from the same company.

It also helped that the LAN setup was composed of the top of the line gaming computers of ACER and get this, the server we used was the new Predator G7710, the one with the new Intel Core i7. Yes the new processor which again, simply laughed at the load we gave it hosting the NFS match and the Crysis practice match at the same time. Lufet!

All in all, it was a fantastic night of learning for everyone on what a LAN party was and for me on how to seriously host one in a professional manner, used to be it was my friends who did host the LAN parties I went to who did the hosting bit. I guess it also brings me back to the late nineties when we had our first LAN parties at Leech's house where we played Blood, Quake, and Red Alert. Before that we had Modem to Modem parties I guess because that is what we used playing Command & Conquer and Diablo. Ah those were the days indeed.

Tonight it was nostalgia and also some things coming full circle for me when I helped with this little activity. Me winning the Nikon Coolpix L10 was just icing for the cake. It doesn't hurt that the camera will surely help me in my coming coverages for the year for this blog and for Playground Magazine.

Thanks to ACER to Mr. Manuel Wong, Ms. Agnes Espino and the rest of the ACER Team for the very fun night.

TAYA! (TAG! YOU'RE IT!)

Ok. I have to be honest here. I was really just going ape with Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. I mean since I got it hooked on last December 26th, I was just totally focused on it as much as I can, so my plan to put up this blog by end of last year just went pffft!

But here I am finally with what is the first serious installment of Kalaro Mo, the blog. Translated Kalaro Mo means Your Playmate (if you want to be specific, it's Playmate Yours, a lot of things are topsy turvy in the Philippines). It will be a spin-off of my tech column Walastech. Kalaro Mo will deal with gaming ang the Pinoy gaming culture. Something that I have had my eye on for a long time, being a gamer, but a beat that I have had the privilege of covering exclusively all of last year, and continuing this year being the Correspondent of Playground Magazine, the only multi-platform magazine in the country.

My bosses know about this, and they have first dibs on all my stories, especially the exclusives, but whatever doesn’t make it into Playground Magazine ends up here, and eventually, it should end up in the Playground Blog on their fan pages in FFM (Friendster, Facebook, Multiply). Also, I will be posting sort of an online slum book of different gaming personalities here. So watch out for that. Hehehe.

I hope that you, dear reader would support this little endeavor of mine, as this is really non-profit and is a definite labor of love. This is in response to Alex Villafania, the voice of Hackenslash.Net, who said that the more people that cover the local gaming scene, the better it is for everyone, and thus, here is my response.

Here is to hopefully an interesting time trying to figure out what is what with Pinoy Gaming. Mabuhay!

WASTED TIME

It isn't the first time that I wasted so much time. And I am sure that it won't be the last. It is just that every year-end I tend to go into what my friend Bamm dubbed as "hibernation." He said that every now and then a guy needs to go into hibernation. To get away from everyone and everything, and just be alone and get in touch with his self. I said "Oh, you mean vegg in front of the tube watching old movies and eat bad food for a few days away from everyone else." He simply said "If that is hibernation for you, then that is it. For me its working on my martial arts and doing carpentry."

So I thought maybe the best way to know is that if ever you are disturbed from some alone time and your first reaction is to rend the flesh off the face of the offending party, much like a bear in hibernation would do if it were disturbed, then that is your hibernation.

There isn't anything wrong with it, I think everyone should try it every now and then. If you don't you would be definitely a bear with a headache. And nobody wants that in the house or in the office. So the reason why so suddenly after a burst, my blog went silent...I was hibernating...Yawn! Grawl!

SPOILER WARNING

I have an ex-friend who used to look up to me as a "mentor" who texts me everytime that Pambansang Kamao Manny "The Destroyer" Pacquiao has a fight. He sends me an SMS right after he watches the fight and tells me who won. Now this might be okay if he tells me after I too have seen the fight. But unfortunately, he is so much a fanboy that he actually watches the pay per view fights either in the malls or somewhere else.

So what happens, for the past few years is that I get a message of how the fights go, sometimes hours before the fight ends on free TV where I always watch the fights. I am not going to spend any extra amount of money on information that I will eventually learn about since as it happens, the word does leak out from the people who did watch it on pay-per-view. But the thing is. It ruins it for me. And I have told him time and again to not do so, but I guess fanboy that he is, he just can't help his jubilation or grief, whichever it may be. Sad because I thought he would be educated enough to understand the word No and Stop.

But he doesn't and so, it wasn't a surprise when I got up this afternoon, groggily I might add because I am "down with the sickness" these past two days, that there is an SMS about what happened in the recently concluded Pacquiao De la Hoya match. Unsolicited spoilers. Just what I need. Funny enough, I was wondering why there wasn't any clamor outside, lo and behold, my brother-in-law treated my father-in-law to a pay-per-view match at Murphy's--a local Irish themed sports bar. Thus he was not watching the local telecast anymore, where a five minute commercial break is inserted between each round extending what ought to be a "twelve round match" into "The Ten Commandments."

I feel like I shouldn't blame the boy for being enthusiastic, it seems that it is I who is not being enough.

GOODBYE PHILIPPINES

Last New Year's eve, I was surprised to learn that there are a few firecrackers that I never learned about. Aside from the very famous "Pla-Pla" and the "Super Pla-Pla," there is a "Pating" and a "Balyena." And there is actually what is unbelievably called "Goodbye Philippines" a monstrous firecracker larger than the "Atomic" which had almost destroyed my eardrums a few years ago.

One of my kababata, bought most of them, except for the "Goodbye Philippines" and it was not for lack of will, but it was mostly for lack of availability. Anyway, laws and regulations aside, we ignited them and were rewarded with the apropos shockwave that surely would have cleansed any evil spirits from me. Happy New Year.

NINTENDO LAST BEING GREEN

According to the tenth issue of the "Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics" gaming giant Nintendo is still being an environmental Grinch by not taking an active effort in giving a damn about the environment.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia Toxics Campaigner Beau Baconguis and I met up again at the recently concluded Cyberpress Kapihan Forum: Green I.T. at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in A. Venue Mall. I immediately asked her on how Nintendo was doing because since I took notice of Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, they have only made token gestures. And it seems that they are consistent in their apathy.

I myself am admittedly not a "tree-hugger" but when it comes to corporations as large as Nintendo, which makes billions in dollars in their products, they have a responsibility to make sure that they do not destroy the planet in their greed. Major corporations can make an impact that individuals can only dream of, and no matter how much I "Think globally and act locally" My "Every little counts" is swamped by what a major company can do if it only gave even a little "damn." Something that Nintendo should do.

Being a gamer, this is of interest to me, and to those who use Nintendo's products. If they do not begin being more environmentally aware, and their actions continue in the destruction of the environment, us the consumer of their products are part of the problem. I wonder when Nintendo will begin being part of the solution?

Other companies in the list include technological giants such as (alphabetical) Acer, Apple, Dell, Fujitsu Siemens, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, LG, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba. Nokia, though having lost a few points is still in the lead with being the greenest of the lot.

ADAMANTIUM

A few weeks ago, two of my friends got hitched in a church in Laguna, at the foot of Mount Makiling. I'm pretty excited about it since I have known them for a while now, and well, they have been living together since I did meet them. Also they have been together since they were in college.

Theirs is a love that I admittedly envy. It is a love that is already enduring. There are days that I ask if I could endure as long as they have. Because even though they are only getting married today, they have been together longer than me and my wife.

This brings us to the new movie by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette that is based on a short story by F. Scoot Fitzgerald, arguably one of the best American storytellers. The title of the movie is the Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

I won't go into details about the story of anything would constitute a spoiler warning. But suffice it to say, it is about an enduring love. It is easy to fall in love. It is difficult to stay in love. I fall in love all the time. But the rigor is staying in love with the one I am with. Though gadgets are really no threat to a human being, much less my wife, but falling in love is falling in love.

This is what the wedding for me is, a celebration of endurance and a celebration of continuing love. Whoever thinks that weddings are about the vows is sorely mistaken. God may bring us together, but he leaves it up to us to keep together, after all, he is an advocate of free will, including, in my opinion, the solidity of marriage.

I congratulate Raymz. I wish the best for Ducky. I love you both and pray for you to all the gods to bless your union.

BALDUR'S GATE 2: SHADOWS OF AMN

Found copy of BG2: SOA. Can't blog! Must save Imoen! Must kill Irenicus!

I'm sooo weak! Sorry!