Gamehopper studies RP retail business
Written by: Alexander Villafania
Publication: INQUIRER.net
Date published: May 11, 2009 at 16:25:00
MANILA, Philippines--Entertainment software rental provider Gamehopper (www.gamehopper.com.ph) is going beyond the rental service with the introduction of its GH Store, a retail service that would provide “lifestyle” equipment for gamers.
Gamehopper co-founder John Paul Ramos said the company hopes to entice the largely untapped gaming market in the Philippines, which has been left out in the overall gaming business due to the absence of support from equipment manufacturers and service providers.
GH Store intends to bring in equipment that is not commonly sold in ordinary video game stores.
“We want to give gamers a 360 degree experience when playing their favorite video games but without the hassles of having to find them,” Ramos said.
He said that even with the presence of many online gamers in the country, there is still a huge community of console and PC gamers whose demand are not easily accommodated by gaming shops.
Ramos said Gamehopper’s gaming rental business has provided them insight into selling items and not just on rentals.
“We’ve proven that there is business to be made on the console gaming business, especially when console gamers play online which requires the use of original games. This time we want to bring them closer to a great gaming experience,” he added.
There are currently no figures on the size of the console gaming business in the Philippines largely due to parallel imports of consoles and the game titles.
Also, due to the absence of official distributors, many console equipment and peripherals are sold by gray market shops.
The two-year old firm has already started “soft selling” the service in its website, offering video game titles for the Microsoft Xbox 360 console.
But the company also intends to start selling various gaming and gaming-related equipment, such as gaming consoles and peripherals and Xbox Live credits.
The company will also introduce none-gaming equipment, such as notebook computers, and widescreen LCD TVs.
Gamehopper started out renting original titles online. Members of the service only need to pay P599 per month and rent as many titles as they want, provided that only one title is rented at a time.
The company also recently signed up to become a merchant under Mozcom’s PayEasy service, where Gamehopper members can pay for their monthly rental fee through the payment system.
Console gamers currently share news and information about their devices through forums such as Pinoyxbox.com and PinoyPS.com, respectively for Xbox and PlayStation owners.
Gamehopper co-founder John Paul Ramos said the company hopes to entice the largely untapped gaming market in the Philippines, which has been left out in the overall gaming business due to the absence of support from equipment manufacturers and service providers.
GH Store intends to bring in equipment that is not commonly sold in ordinary video game stores.
“We want to give gamers a 360 degree experience when playing their favorite video games but without the hassles of having to find them,” Ramos said.
He said that even with the presence of many online gamers in the country, there is still a huge community of console and PC gamers whose demand are not easily accommodated by gaming shops.
Ramos said Gamehopper’s gaming rental business has provided them insight into selling items and not just on rentals.
“We’ve proven that there is business to be made on the console gaming business, especially when console gamers play online which requires the use of original games. This time we want to bring them closer to a great gaming experience,” he added.
There are currently no figures on the size of the console gaming business in the Philippines largely due to parallel imports of consoles and the game titles.
Also, due to the absence of official distributors, many console equipment and peripherals are sold by gray market shops.
The two-year old firm has already started “soft selling” the service in its website, offering video game titles for the Microsoft Xbox 360 console.
But the company also intends to start selling various gaming and gaming-related equipment, such as gaming consoles and peripherals and Xbox Live credits.
The company will also introduce none-gaming equipment, such as notebook computers, and widescreen LCD TVs.
Gamehopper started out renting original titles online. Members of the service only need to pay P599 per month and rent as many titles as they want, provided that only one title is rented at a time.
The company also recently signed up to become a merchant under Mozcom’s PayEasy service, where Gamehopper members can pay for their monthly rental fee through the payment system.
Console gamers currently share news and information about their devices through forums such as Pinoyxbox.com and PinoyPS.com, respectively for Xbox and PlayStation owners.