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Because signing up for an online game is free most of the time, and the fact that it can be played for as low as P20 an hour in any internet café, the Philippine online gaming industry appears to be resilient in spite of the looming economic slowdown in 2009.

Access and affordability, two factors that are working best for the online gaming industry, as Gil Edeza, chief operating officer of IP E-games Ventures, Inc. put it – “The online gaming industry is going to be resilient. It is one of the most affordable modes of entertainment.”

The leading games publisher in Philippines today, IP E-Games currently has six massive multiple online role-playing games (MMORPG), and these includes the popular RAN Online, Cabal Online, and Granado Espada. Recently, it just launched ZX Online: Journey to Immortality, an MMORPG which is based on a nine-book Chinese fantasy novel Zhu Xian. This new online role-playing game will be available in the first three month of 2009.

Aside from the MMORPG, IP E-Games also has three casual games which include NBA Online. This game is published in partnership with GMA Network New Media, Inc. in which GMANews.tv is one of its subsidiaries.

They are planning to launch two to three more new titles in 2009 in order to keep their hold on their current subscribers and at the same time attract new ones. “We hope to launch more titles that will relate to what they do. RAN is very contemporary, while ZX Online reflects what they see on TV – fantasy, telenovela and romance” Edeza said.

He also added that the Philippine gaming industry has an 18 million population currently, nine million of which are subscribe to IP E-Games. Relatively, the industry is still young and in its infancy stage. Edeza is looking to see cross-selling between gaming and the TV and movie industries in five years time. This vision is not really far fetched because of their partnership with GMA Network New Media, Inc.