Time flies so fast. It’s the end of another great year for Level Up. I guess all the hard work and the stress was all worth it. There have been great projects this year for us, yeah… we’re the first, and still biggest, online gaming company in the Philippines after all.

Thanks to all the game/brand teams and all the support departments in the company. Without all the hard work, all the success would not have been accomplished. Everything is (and always) a team effort.

I’m proud to report to you the YEAR in REVIEW for 2007. Join me as we stroll back through 12 months of highlights and milestones for the Philippine Online Gaming scene.

More after one more click, of course.

This year saw the 5^th anniversary of Level Up! and this marks the 5^th year that Level Up! has given continued quality service to the Philippine MMO gaming nation at large. In its’ continued dedication to bringing nothing but the very best in gaming and quality service to the Filipino MMO gamer, Level Up! has spearheaded various projects that aim to upgrade game accessibility and service.

For 2007, here are the highlights and milestones for each game (or brand).

RAGNAROK

• Philippine Ragnarok Online, the country’s first and biggest MMORPG, continues its lead the market. Joining us as Brand Manager, the Waukster and his gang went to work on the first major content or episode launched for this year: HUGEL (or episode 14). Hugel was launched last March 14, 2007 hot off the heels of Noghaltz. Hugel featured 2 new job classes, the Ninja and the Gunslinger.
• Then in July, Level Up sent the official pRO team, Armada, to the 2nd Ragnarok World Championships. Held in Seoul, Korea from July 21 to 22, Team Philippines placed 3rd. Congrats! Special thanks also to the Philippine Cyberpress for covering the event.
• Last September 5, 2007 saw the release of Rachel, Episode 15 for Ragnarok. Rachel featured new items, maps, monsters and the highly anticipated slot enchant system
• A major change to the game was the launch of its FREE-TO-PLAY SERVICE via the opening of Valkyrie, the new F2P server for pRO. Valkyrie was launched October 10, 2007 and was warmly welcomed by old and new players of Ragnarok.
• As a follow-up to Valkyrie, we decided to convert the old server Thor into Valhalla, the second Free-to-Play server. Valhalla joined Valkyrie and went online last November 30, 2007.

PERFECT WORLD

• Level Up’s newest title, Perfect World, was THE most anticipated local title for 2007. Statistics have proven that it ranks high among the most played games in the cafes today. Thanks to the efforts of the Perfect World marketing team for a job well done!
• Perfect World, which featured a full 3D customizable engine went open beta last August 28. The numbers continue to grow and amaze us to this day.
• My post: Perfect World Open Beta Client Download ranks as the most visited content in www.gmtristan.com with close to 20,000 hits (and still growing)

RF ONLINE PHILIPPINES

• Thanks to the efforts of Brand Manager Keith Morales and his team, the FIRST and BIGGEST sci-fi MMORPG: RF ONLINE in the country is living proof that good community management and innovative events are vital to growing the user-base.
• From a premium subscription model, RF Online converted to a FREE-TO-PLAY system with the launch of Episode 2, its biggest content update to date. The F2P system became fully operational last August 28, 2007.
  
• The numbers have been growing ever since and we are now busy planning a new server for RF Online at the start of the new year (2008).

FLY FOR FUN (FLYFF) PHILIPPINES

• On March 28, Version 7 for FlyFF dubbed Cloud Cruisin’ was launched to the public. Version 7 featured the Evilis Temple Quests, New Armor Sets and even more updates to the item mall.
• Of course, FlyFF Philippines raised the bar for Philippine advergaming with the historical tie-up with Nestle/Nescafe. JC Medina Head of Level Up New Media explains further in an online video interview.
• FlyFF Version 8: Heroes’ Rising was officially launched on July 25, 2007. Heroes’ Rising featured more PVP content and high level updates including guild war boosts.
• FlyFF scores this year’s grand-slam with its third content update for 2007. GM Atma and crew combined both versions 9 and 10 to come up with Version 10: Volcane Legends. Volcane Legends went online on November 28, 2007. V10 featured more high-level content including weapon upgrades, new maps, a new powerful boss monster and a Master Hero system which is basically similar to a new “transcendent type” career.

FREESTYLE ONLINE

• The first good news was that the old disconnect and connectivity problems for Freestyle were finally fixed with the patching of Freestyle Fullpress at the start of the year.
• The focus of the FS team was to go to the various provinces to conduct the Freestlye All Stars 2007 (Big Show Liga) which would lead to the championships at LIVE 2007
• Then in August 8, the newest patch for Freestyle – Arena, which featured a new “Showdown mode” wherein players can duel other players and teams for actual in-game points arrived.

KHAN & PANGYA

• Pangya still continues from Season 2 which was patched Dec 18, 2006
• Meanwhile, Khan had new content entitled Hordes of War which went online to the public last April 19, 2007

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

• 2007 was not without troubles and issues. We had our ups but we also had our “downs”. It was painful to say farewell to Philippine ROSE Online. Level Up’s second MMORPG finally went online for the last time on August 6, 2007. Thanks for the memories. We will miss that game.
• LU Mobile is another oriented service that Level Up! has implemented and is another first in the online gaming industry. Tying up with SMART Telecom, a new gamer menu system may be activated on any SMART Buddy Prepaid phone that grants users account management systems that include control over top ups, password changes and many others. Of course, this system also enables the user to download the hottest ring tones, wallpapers, news and many other offerings from Level Up!
• And to continue our yearly tradition of hosting the biggest annual MMORPG event and tournament, we held Level Up Live last November 3 to 4 at the World Trade Center. With more games and more “gimmicks”, the biggest online gaming event just got better. We broke attendance records too. Check out gmtristan.com’s live coverage of the event.
  
• Level Up Cliq – something of a “friendster for MMO gamers” type of service was also offered as a beta for the public.
• And yeah, the Level Up website won the Webbys this year! Sweet! Thanks to all our players who voted and made it possible. Hats off to Codamon for masterminding the plot.
• Finally, we made strides in promoting Advergaming to traditional brick and mortar companies. Our involvement in this year’s Ad Congress was a great opportunity for us to inform marketers about this new and “untapped” medium to reach potential customers. So far, we are making good progress.

2007 was a year of firsts and was all about breaking new ground, sharing the gaming experience with new players and fostering stronger ties with our community. Our merger with Netgames and our partnership with PLDT cemented this strength (and our lead in the industry) even further. The management and staff of Level Up would like to thank all our loyal customers for their support. We shall strive to soar to even greater heights in 2008.

All for you, our dear gamers!

Happy New Year!!!

PS. I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize the efforts of all the members of my team. The Brand Managers and the Community Managers have truly done a remarkable job. To them is due the full credit. Kudos!