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IPVG Corp. expects to expand its game portfolio as its subsidiary IP
E-Game Ventures Inc. has struck a licensing deal with a leading
online game developer in China.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock
Exchange, the firm said IP E-Game has signed a licensing agreement
with Nasdaq-listed Perfect World Co. Ltd. for the distribution of
the latter’s “Zhu Xian” game in the Philippines.
According to IPVG, the Perfect World is a
leading online game provider and operator in China that develops
three-dimensional (3D) games based on the proprietary Angelica 3D
engine and game development platform. The Chinese firm’s portfolio
of self-developed online games include massively multiplayer
role-playing games (MMORPG) such as “Perfect World”, “Legend
of Martial Arts,” “Perfect World I,” “Zhu Xian,” “Chi
Bi” and a 3D casual game “Hot Dance Party.”
In March, IPVG signed a game publishing and
distribution deal with EST Soft, a Korean video game developer, for
the launch of its multiplayer online game named CABAL Online. The
firm said it expects the game to be one of the “biggest titles”
brought to the Filipino online gaming community. The game was
successfully launched in Asia, Europe, and North America with about
20 million registered players worldwide. In Vietnam, CABAL Online
recorded a maximum of 75,000 concurrent users at any given time,
IPVG said.
IPE-Game also recently tied up with GMA Network
Inc. to form a 50 by 50 joint venture online gaming business called
I-Play Inc. The joint venture has an authorized capital of P800
million, P200 million of which was paid up by the two firms. I-Play
would derive its income from advertising revenues that would be
fueled by the anticipated growth in traffic from online gamers.
Earlier, IPVG said it expects to generate higher
revenues to reach P3.3 billion in the second half this year from
P923 million last year on the back of higher consumer expenditure
and contributions from its business process outsourcing ventures.
The firm posted a 430-percent year on year
increase in revenues to P828 million in the first quarter of the
year from P156 million in the same period last year as it executed a
global BPO expansion during the period involving IP-Contact Center
Outsourcing and Influent. IPVG has key points of BPO presence in
seven countries apart from the Philippines—Singapore, Hong Kong,
Vietnam, India, Panama, United Kingdom and the United States. Around
50 percent of IPVG’s revenues come from its BPO business.
IPVG’s business model is focused on IP-based
service industries such as communications, games and BPO. In March,
IPVG acquired a 70-percent stake in Influent, a US-based call center
operator with offshore sites in Panama and the Philippines. This
follows the acquisition of another US operator called Global Stride
in 2005. IPVG’s BPO business has a combined capacity of 2,000
seats.
-- Likha C. Cuevas-Miel
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