VinaGame

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VinaGame Inc.
Type Private company
Founded September 9 2004
Headquarters 459B Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Ho Chi Minh City
Flag of Vietnam Vietnam
Key people Mr. Le Hong Minh, (Chairman)
Mr. Bryan Pelz, (CEO)
Industry Online Games
E-commerce
Online Community Services
Products * Swordsman Online
* Swordsman Online II
* Nine Dragons
* First Myth
* Boom Online
* Ragnarok Online
* Cyber Station Manager
* 123mua! Online Supermarket
* Zing Entertainment Portal
* Yobanbe Social Networking
* ZingMP3 music search engine
* Zing Chat
Employees 850
Website www.vinagame.com.vn

VinaGame is a game publisher and e-commerce company established in Vietnam in 2004. Young as it is, VinaGame succeeded in being the first to launch a licensed online game in Vietnam as well as becoming the leader of the country’s online game market. Thanks to its self-built distribution network, VinaGame has reached most of Vietnam’s Internet cafes, which are mushrooming at an incredible speed. With its martial arts-themed MMORPGs such as Swordsman Online and Nine Dragons as well as the casual game Boom Online, VinaGame has attracted a huge number of fanatic gamers of all classes across the country into the fantasy game world – a phenomenon that knows no precedent.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Milestones

VinaGame's history dates back to September 2004 after its founders’ first business trip bound to Korea and China, two among the best competitors in Asian game markets.

Just two months later, VinaGame signed the exclusive license deal with Kingsoft for Swordsman Online, known as the successful JX Online in China. In June 2005, the Open Beta version of this wuxia MMORPG was launched after the Closed Beta one had gained fruitful results. The September of 2005 witnessed the commercialization of Swordsman Online, or Vo Lam Truyen Ky as addressed in Vietnam. Since then Vo Lam Truyen Ky has been kept playing by purchasing scratch-off prepaid cards, which cost around 20,000 to 60,000 VND/card. The attraction of this game was significantly enhanced with VinaGame’s opening of an online shop, where in-game items, loots, wuxia secrets are traded among gamers. The second edition of this game (Swordsman Online II) was signed for license last year and its Closed Beta version was released in October 2007.

In 2005, the company also closed license agreement with Gravity (company) for Ragnarok Online and with INDY 21 for Nine Dragons. Like Swordsman Online, Nine Dragons was then commercialized.

Boom Online was also a licensed game published by VinaGame. The game’s developer is Nexon, a big gaming corporation based in Korea. The game’s Open Beta version was released April this year. This is the first-hand 2D casual game of VinaGame.

First Myth (known as 'Phong Than' in Vietnam) and Guild Wars are two similar closed deals of VinaGame. The two games obtained some considerable proportion of Vietnamese gamers.

Most notably, VinaGame made big strides last year when it successfully launched Cyber Station Manager, an Internet cafes-friendly management software, the e-commerce website 123mua!, and the online community website Yobanbe.com. The site is aiming at becoming the most popular 'for Vietnamse' online social community in Vietnam.

In August 2007, VinaGame successfully launched the Beta version of its newly-developed online music search engine ZingMP3.

[edit] Titles and awards

VinaGame has been awarded with various prizes and tittles for its unceasing contributions in Vietnam online game market:

  • Most Successful Game Operator in Vietnam – 2006 Vietgames Awards by VINASA
  • First Prize for Online Game Operator in 2006 – Favorite ICT Products Awards by PC World Magazine
  • Best Digital Content Business Enterprise – 2007 Sao Khue Awards by VINASA and the Ministry of Trade
  • Best E-Commerce Solution for Online Supermarket 123mua! – 2007 Sao Khue Awards by VINASA and the Ministry of Trade
  • Most Successful Game Operator in Vietnam – 2007 Awards by PC World Magazine.
  • Vietnam's 50 Best Employer in 2007 – by Navigos Group and AC Nielsen and Thanh Nien Daily

Awards for Swordsman Online (Vo Lam Truyen Ky):

  • Best Cultural and Educational MMORPG– 2006 Vietgames Awards by VINASA
  • Best Graphic Design MMORPG – 2006 Vietgames Awards by VINASA
  • Favorite International MMORPG in Vietnam – 2006 Vietgames Awards by VINASA
  • Favorite Online Game Graphic Design – Reader Poll by eCHIP Magazine
  • Favorite MMORPG – 2006 eCHIP ICT Awards by eCHIP Magazine.
  • Most Successful Game Operator in Vietnam – 2007 Vietgames Awards by VINASA

Awards for First Myth (Phong Than):

  • October 2007: Best Cultural and Educational MMORPG - 2007 Vietgames Awards by VINASA

Award for Nine Dragons - Cuu Long Tranh Ba):

Award for Boom Online

  • October 2007: Favorite New Online Game - 2007 Vietgames Awards by VINASA

[edit] Headquarters and facilities

VinaGame is headquartered on an up-and-coming street in Ho Chi Minh City named Nguyen Dinh Chieu. This is a seven-story building whose front is decorated with glamorous game graphics catching eyes of any pedestrians. The company has also erected offices in some other big cities and regional provinces in Vietnam including Hanoi and Danang.

VinaGame has been operating its games on bandwidth capacity of 16Gbps. It does not seem to be an easy task to handle as VinaGame’s registered user accounts have been multiplying at a speed beyond any expectation. That is why VinaGame made a decision to form partnership at the same time with 4 leading ISPs in Vietnam in order to provide sufficient and qualified connectivity for gamers.

The company also managed itself to build and operate an advanced data center in the first Quarter of 2007, plus two principal 24/7 customer service centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. These facilities are to cater the demands of more than 15,000 peering Internet cafes nationwide which help distribute VinaGame’s prepaid game cards.

[edit] Products

[edit] VinaGame’s main games

[edit] Swordsman Online

Swordsman Online is the biggest success story of VinaGame. This MMORPG is at times considered part of Vietnamese teenager’s pop culture. People of all ages, especially the youth, joined Swordsman to find themselves roam in the Virtual World of ancient China vividly reflected in Chinese wuxia classics.

The game became an instant success in China after release and was a top-10 game in China in 2004. Swordsman Online received numerous awards, among them “BestOnline Game in China in 2004” from the China Game Association and China PC Game Magazine. Swordsman is currently available in China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam.

On February 9th 2007, a film named Vo Lam Truyen Ky was released. The film mirrored huge effects of Swordsman Online on Vietnamese youngsters. It attracted the attention of most gamers possibly because it starred famous Vietnamese singer Dan Truong and some other well-known native entertainers, such as comedian Hoai Linh.

[edit] Swordsman Online II

In April 2006 VinaGame signed the official agreement with Kingsoft to obtain the exclusive publishing license of Swordsman Online II. After the localization stage, the Closed Beta version of the game internationally known as Justice Xwar 2 was finally released in Vietnam on October 10th 2007. It is called Swordsman Online II - Si Mian Mai Fu in Vietnam market.

[edit] Game Synopsis

It was during the Age of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms that warriors across Ancient China waged wars against each other. The country was really plunged into chaos as foreign power Liao conquered 16 Chinese states. Later Zhou’s Emperor Cai Yong, whose real name was Guo Rong, felt great pity for the suffered moaning folks and prayed for grace every night. His heartfelt yearning for the unification and the peace for all people moved the gods; therefore, the Heaven granted him a miracle artifact called the Kingdom Territory Map. Thanks to the map and with the support of Zhao Kuangyin, Cai Yong was able to gather talents around him and afterwards quickly united the northern lands. Unfortunately, he later suffered severe illness. Before passing away, he made up his mind to reveal the secret of the miracle map to Zhao Kuangyin. Against all expectations, Zhao had been cherishing the malicious scheme of usurping the Throne so far. He seized the map for himself, sparked off Jingkang rebellions, assumed the Throne with the Temple name Song Taizu, and established the Song Dynasty. His act, however, had triggered the wrath of the Heaven, which caused the Kingdom Territory Map to be shatter into pieces and vanished in the air right in the middle of his claim to Throne. Feeling great pity for the map, Song Taizu assigned credited generals to guard at all places and urged the folks to seek for the fragments of the vanished map for him. The next ten-year period passed by in peace and the incident seemed to be forgotten. Nevertheless, just after the death of Song Taizu, rumors about the existence of the Kingdom Territory Map swept the country. It was said among the people that who could take possession of the map would obtain unrivaled power to conquer the whole nation and top the wuxia world. The hunt for the map began and the country once again descended into utter chaos.

[edit] Main features

Thanks to the 2.5D background which helps bring about unique sound and visual special effects, Swordsman Online II is said to have overcome the drawbacks of the previous version. Every detail in Swordsman Online II from the characters to the sights was sophisticatedly designed to create the ‘edge’. Characters’ movements were assiduously processed to make the spells and the skills more eye-pleasing and elegant. Players of Swordsman Online II can experience life-like clinking sounds of swords and spears, the pressure of ever increase clashes and ever stronger enemies. The nature displayed on 2.5 background helps create breath-taking scene. A close look at the scene can give the impression of shivering bushes shadowing gently flowing springs, drifting clouds hanging over green meadows, hidden forests spotted mist-shrouded valleys. The clan system in Swordsman Online II is even more comprehensive than its former version with ten clans and twenty branches. Currently, seven clans are available for play (Wudang, Shaolin, Emei, Beggar, Five Poison, Yang Family, Tang Clan) classified into 14 branches (Shaolin Commoners, Shaolin Martial, Shaolin Zen, Emei Sword, Emei Zither, Wudang Sword, Wudang Brush, Beggar Fist, Beggar Staff, Five Poison Parasiter, Five Poison Wickma, Yang Spear Rider, Yang Bow Rider). The clans to be introduced are Emeral Mist, Kun Lun, and Ming Cult. Swordsman Online II is equipped with a lot of quests. They are correlated with specific levels. Upon finishing a quest players shall be well rewarded with experience points, reputation points, money, spills, etc.

[edit] 9Dragons

Nine Dragons (9Dragons) is another MMORPG set in authentic Chinese regions. 9Dragons includes over 400 unique martial arts styles and over 500 different weapons. The game offers a unique MMORPG experience that truly sets it apart from the rest of the crowd.

[edit] Ragnarok Online

Ragnarok Online is Gravity’s creation localized into over 30 languages and played in more than 65 countries. The background of the game is based on the Manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-Jin. This MMORPG uses the legend of North Europe as its story settings. With adorable 2D characters plus a well-modeled 3D landscape, Ragnarok’s players can experience many kinds of adventures set under distinctive cultural features.

[edit] First Myth

In November 2006, VinaGame signed a license agreement with Kingsoft and became the exclusive licensee and operator of First Myth in Vietnam. By now, millions of accounts have been registered to play this game. With its Open Beta version launched in February 2007, First Myth is now the second biggest MMORPG in Vietnam. Based on the very old traditional famous Chinese myth, this game focus on Oriental martial arts and Chinese culture, which are very familiar with Vietnamese people.

[edit] Boom Online

VinaGame released the Open Beta of Boom Online, another name of Nexon Korea’s Crazy Arcade in April 2007. This is a fun casual game featured with animated 2D characters. Boom Online, basically involving planting water bubbles to trap opponents, is quite easy to play. Multiple players can go up against each other or compete as a team, with up to 8 players a room. The game modes and quests are diverse.

[edit] Other services

[edit] Cyber Station Manager

Cyber Station Manager is VinaGame’s professional solution for Internet cafes management. It not only helps manage Internet fees, but also keeps track of all service fees for Internet cafes. Cyber Station Manager was released on the 2nd of February 2006 and commercialized in June 2006.

[edit] 123mua! Online Supermarket

123mua! is an online “supermarket” being well known to Vietnamese Internet users. Customers register their accounts to do convenient shopping for themselves as well as order gifts for their beloved friends and relatives. This e-commerce service creates opportunities for goods to be displayed and sold. The site was opened on July 14th 2006.

[edit] Zing Portal

Zing is a system of Internet-based coordinated services aimed at providing Vietnamese online market with social communications means by which healthy lifestyles are nurtured, social awareness fostered, and digital entertainment offered. Zing provides a number of services such as an entertainment portal, casual online games, an integrated complex of social network, chatting, emailing, music search engine, and countless Internet resolutions.

[edit] Zing Entertainment Portal

Zing Entertainment Portal compacts searching engine with online profile management function of totally new look. The portal offers a great variety of conveniences enjoyed at the click of the mouse. The monolingual interfaces (Vietnamese-only) applied for all the directories, search keys, functionalities, and instructions make Zing Entertainment Portal extremely user-friendly to the national community. Compiling data from various sources including prestigious news portals and exclusive news, Zing Entertainment Portal provides updated information on all life aspects and showcases a great image gallery, enabling customers to catch up on all domestic and international news and happenings. Zing is a partnership of [VeGa] in the scope of information and content management.

[edit] YoBanBe Social Networking

Yobanbe is the first Vietnamese-only social networking ever in Vietnam built by VinaGame’s Zing Project Team in cooperation with Liquidline. The site makes available for Net surfers, especially Vietnamese youth, an online playground to unwind and discover.

Youbanbe is a cyberspace where:

  • ‘Egos’, or personalities, are expressed
  • Friends from all corners of the world are closely linked
  • Relaxed moments are thoroughly enjoyed
  • Viewpoints, experience, and knowledge are freely shared and learned

At Yobanbe, you can create and update your personal profile, compose blogs, upload photos, start a new club or join in existing favorite clubs, listen to music online, organize events... Specially, through Yobanbe, your friends and acquaintances can easily ‘hear about you’ while you can stay connected and keep informed of them all the time. Also, you can to broaden your friend circle by adding new mates.

[edit] ZingMP3 online music search engine

ZingMP3 online music search engine is integrated with a considered cutting-edge searching system in which e-robots crisscross the Internet, collect links to music content, and display them on ZingMP3. In this way, users can enjoy favorite songs collected from plentiful sources. Songs on ZingMP3 are available free-of-charge to listen, download, embed to blogs, and share with friends. The current archive of over 1 million songs is being updated with ‘hot’ songs and musicians match with contemporary music trends and tastes of young stylist listeners. Besides, the playlist function also permits listeners to create their own music albums available online for listening and sharing. Zing MP3 will soon update new conveniences and functionalities such as Playlist commenting, lyrics providing, etc.

[edit] Zing Chat

Zing Chat is a chatting software specially designed for Vietnamese users. Zing Chat included all functions of other conventional chat programs such as: messaging, voice-chat, webcam, etc. Zing Chat also supports sending and receiving huge files with no limitation.

Key features:

  • Group: allowing people to create their own community based on lifestyles or hobbies… No condition, no fee. With a little bit patience, you can develop and run a group of friends.
  • File sending: putting no limit to the size of the files you want to send.
  • Integrated with other chat system: with Zing Chat, you can chat with friends who are using MSN, Yahoo.
  • Fun emoticons: more funny emoticons are offered. Zing Chat also allows you to create your own emoticons and send to your friends.
  • Offline file sending: supporting users to send files to offline friends. They will be received when recipients go online and sign in Zing Chat.

[edit] VinaGame’s prepaid game cards

In order to play some games such as Swordsman Online and Nine Dragons, gamers have to buy scratch-off prepaid cards issued by VinaGame. The value of the cards will be transferred into in-game money, which can be used to access the game and buy items, loots, martial arts secrets, etc. These cards are currently sold at two prices: 20,000 VND or 60,000 VND/card.

[edit] Human Resources

VinaGame is currently staffed with about 850 employees, 50 among which are core members. Beside, many of Vietnam’s leading gamers are working for VinaGame. With a focus on customer service, the company has designated a substantial part of its workforce (about 150 employees) for this aspect. The quality of VinaGame’s fringe benefits are said to be excellent as proved by its honorable title as one of the best 50 employers in Vietnam. The award was awarded in June 2007 by Navigos Group and AC Nielsen, two giant corporations in Vietnam, in cooperation with Thanh Nien Daily, one of the top-listed broadsheet newspapers in Vietnam.

[edit] Partners

[edit] Kingsoft

Kingsoft Co., Ltd is the largest joint venture software corporation in China. Established in 1988, Kingsoft has grown into a software powerhouse with more than 2,000 software engineers.

[edit] VDC

VDC Co., Ltd. is a state-owned ISP that possesses over 50% of Vietnam ISP market and 70% of the broadband market. It is also the dominant supplier of bandwidth to Internet cafes, where over 90% of gamers play.

[edit] Intel

Intel Corp., the world's largest chip maker public company, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Recently, Intel is one of the biggest supporters for Online Gaming Industry in Vietnam.

[edit] IDG Ventures Vietnam

IDG Ventures Vietnam, Inc.(IDGVV) is the first American technology venture capital fund in Vietnam. IDG Ventures Vietnam helps entrepreneurs grow innovative companies on global scale.

[edit] Nexon

Established in South Korea in 1994, Nexon Inc. is the pioneer of interactive entertainment software and the world's leader in MMORPG. It developed South Korea's most played online game Crazyracing Kartrider (taking the market share of over 30% of Korean population). Nexon has many branches in Japan, China, and the US, and partners in international markets including Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

[edit] Indy 21

Established in 2000, Indy 21 Co., Ltd. is an online gaming company based in South Korea. Focusing on 3D Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, Indy 21 longs to enhance people's appreciation of wuxia and Asian distinctive culture as well as improve its own global standing. One typical example of that spirit is Nine Dragons, which has been purchased for licenses by a number of game publishers from many countries.

[edit] Gravity (company)

Gravity Co., Ltd., NASDAQ listed company founded in 2000, is a South Korean gaming company primarily known for the development of the MMORPG Ragnarok Online. Gravity has a subsidiary located in Los Angeles, California named Gravity Interactive, LLC.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links