Just arrived at Manila via PAL. Flight was okay, around 4 hours. I did not sleep last night since the limousine bus from the COEX hotel leaves at 5:10am. The Incheon international airport is far… like from Manila to Bulacan. So it takes around an hour and a half to get there.

Anyways, was both tired yet happy to get back to the nuances and bustle of Metro Manila. Korea is like a big “Rockwell” or “Glorietta”, you can really how rich their country is. Each cab has a GPS system, wi-fi is everywhere, broadband is faster than anything I ever experienced (how about downloading torrent movies in a couple of hours rather than an entire day?)

Which brings me to how diverse the Korean gaming scene is. There are literally thousands of games competing to grab the attention of the most-connected and game-a-holic population in the world. Name a theme, and no matter how absurd, there’s a game built around it. I saw games evolving around worms, bubbles, robots, planes, etc… basically anything under the sun.

Both big and small industry players compete for attention, hence the massive booths in GStar. GStar was also an avenue for the giants to announce some of their games. While the small players try to emulate some of the successful titles.

Like when Kart Rider became a huge success, everyone and his brother were trying to develop and launch a cute racing game. Also, the trend right now is a return to FPS. Ever since big hits like Counterstrike waned, now is the time to find a game to continue the success. And developers are jockeying for that position.

Also, in massive events like these, most of the demo PCs do not have seats. I think the idea is for a lot of people to try it and get the most out of the traffic. The sexy booth babes are there acting as a magnet to the multitudes of male gamers.

Maybe I could use this idea in the events that we’ll be running in the future.

For all I saw, gaming will remain a huge business and a big part of the Korean culture. Some ASEAN countries, like ours, are starting that journey. It will be a while for us to get over the stigma that gaming is a social evil but with cooperation and communication between service providers and end-users, that goal is not far.

Meanwhile, do check out my NEW POLL at my side-bar (scroll down below) and tell me what you would prefer for next year.

Expect more event photos after I wake up from a much needed rest.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!