Gee, why am I not surprised? Seriously now. I’m really not surprised that massively multiplayer online role-playing games is still the preferred genre of online games fanatics despite the fact that popularity of online fighting or battle games and music and dance games is picking up.
Here’s the lowdown from China-based online games portal 17173:
According to The Eighth China Online Game Market Survey, most Chinese players rated MMORPG as their favorite game genre, no matter their ages. For players whose age fall between 19 and 25, the percentage is lower, at about 78.3 percent. They are more for online battle games.
As …read more

Whew! What a year! Indeed, it’s been one hell of a ride for me and, hopefully, for MMOtaku’s loyal followers. What started out as a mote of light in fellow b5media Technology Channel blogger Jayvee Fernandez’s brilliant mind is now a good—not yet great (that has yet to come)—source of news for massively multiplayer online games in Asia and those made in Asia.
First off, I’d like to thank MMOtaku’s avid readers, those who visit the blog every day, those who come and go for a dose of MMORPG news, reviews and what-have-yous, and those who have dropped in just to …read more

I got a really hilarious comment yesterday from a very angry player of Cabal Online Philippines. Yes, the comment is hilarious, but relevant to the problems plaguing IP E-Games‘ latest baby.
Here’s an excerpt from the comment of player pintados26 (note: I took the liberty of translating it from my mother tongue into English):
Why do my characters always get blocked when I’ve already paid for the bot I’m using in Cabal Online? To think that I also topped up for premium service. If bots are illegal, then why do you sell them?
Hahaha! What did I tell you? Hilarious, right? Sorry, pintados26, …read more

Now here’s something I missed (probably because I’m not playing Cabal Online Philippines anymore). Nation Wars, the game’s version of guild agit sieges and clan territorial battles, is now up and running on six servers, including the latest, Neptune.
Here’s the lengthy official announcement from local publisher IP E-Games:

Yeah, time flies, and so does one’s interest in an MMORPG. In the past month, I’ve witnessed the departure of some online friends from my MMORPG of choice, Perfect World, to try their hand at another MMORPG being published by another online games operator here in the Philippines. Yes, they have chosen to enter the world of Cabal Online, and they are not alone.
If the figures of IP E-Games, local publisher of Cabal Online, are to be believed, the number of concurrent users of the game has already breached the 40,000 mark. Not bad for a new MMORPG. But can …read more

I spent my last night in Manila (that is, before shuttling back to Leyte) playing MMORPGs like there was no tomorrow. At first, my MMORPG of choice, Perfect World, wouldn’t run. I thought there was something wrong with the PC so I asked the attendant at Phoenix, a 24-hour Internet and gaming cafe in Makati, the financial district of Metropolitan Manila, to transfer me to another station. Lo and behold, the game still didn’t work. Turned out that the café’s connection to Level Up! Games, local publisher of Perfect World, was shocked. Duh!
So I played the “next best thing,” which …read more

It seems IP e-Games huge investment in generating hype for its newest baby, Cabal Online, is paying off.
Everywhere I went on my second day in Metro Manila, I saw Cabal Online plastered, especially on dozens upon dozens of computer monitors in different Internet gaming cafes across the metropolis. The only person not playing (in the real sense of the word) Cabal Online was yours truly, or so it seemed.
I see this zest for Cabal Online as a passing fancy. Oh, sure, IP e-Games may lure hundreds, perhaps even thousands of players into its fold from its strongest competitor, Level Up! …read more

This just in from the publisher of Cabal Online in the Philippines:
IP e-Game Ventures Inc., a subsidiary of IPVG Corp., announces that its newest action-adventure massive multiplayer online role-playing game title, Cabal Online, is set to go on commercial stage on June 12.
The game promises players more advanced features in this phase, among which include the availability of the Cabal Cash Shop. The service allows players to purchase in-game items to accessorize their characters and to make them more formidable in combat.
Some of the items to be included in the feature are blessing beads, which allow players to level their …read more

Hell, yeah, you got me there, e-Games and ESTsoft! I totally dig the combo system of Cabal Online. Truly, it adds a whole new dimension to MMORPG combat, which has become dry of late because of its point-click-press F or number key for skill nature.
Here’s the lowdown on the Cabal Online combo system:
The system, or combo mode, is unlocked when your character reaches Level 10, after a brief promotion quest. From that moment on, your character will be able to charge your SP, or Spirit Point, bar, which forms half the equation in executing combos. The SP bar is charged …read more

Cabal Online is finally in open beta in the Philippines, thanks to the efforts of IP e-Games (although I’ll be the first one to point out that other games of the local online games publisher are starting to suffer).
I failed to make it to the first day of the open beta because I was still downloading the client at the time. If you’ve been following my rants on MMOtaku, then you already know about the shabby service I’ve been getting from a local Internet service provider (I shouldn’t have upgraded my account from 384 kbps to 768 kbps. My previous …read more