Beetlerock chief enjoys adventures in Fairyland
Written by: Joey Alarilla
Publication: Hackenslash
Date published: Circa 2005
WHILE the Cebu-based company Beetlerock might not yet ring a bell, a number of Filipino gamers are very much aware of their localized massively multiplayer online game, Fairyland Philippines. Hackenslash interviews Beetlerock head honcho Derek Arculli to find out the company’s plans for the Philippine MMOG market.
When was Beetlerock formed and could you briefly recount how you acquired the rights to distribute Fairyland in the Philippines? Why did you decide to enter the MMOG market?
Beetlerock is an affiliate of Alta Multimedia and was formed as a Philippine company in the second half of 2004 to launch Fairyland in the Philippines. We acquired the rights to Fairyland for the Philippines from [Taiwan-based developer] Lager largely due to our success with Fairyland in Hong Kong and have built up momentum for Fairyland Philippines (www.fairyland.com.ph). The original business in Hong Kong had its roots in distributing offline games (and educational software), so involvement in online games was a natural move.
How would you differentiate Fairyland Philippines from other localized MMOGs? In the face of stiff competition in the crowded Philippine MMOG market, why do you think Fairyland will be one of the top online games?
Combat is different from many of the MMOG’s currently in the market -- not dissimilar to the Final Fantasy model. The pet system is unique, working skills are abundant and there are almost as many different worlds within Fairyland as there are islands in the Philippines to explore. It’s a truly "jump right in" experience for newbies.
We hope Fairyland Philippines will be one of the popular online games in the Philippines because Fairylanders love it! For which we appreciate their support!
How much have you invested in Fairyland? Who provides your network infrastructure and who are your strategic partners in the Philippines?
We’re a small outfit, but we have invested a lot of time talking to players, getting to know members of our community, getting their feedback, making Fairyland Philippines what the people want.
Our partners are everyone who helps make Fairyland a success -- from distributors to vendors to Internet café owners to our community.
How do you feel about being voted MMOG of the Year in the 2004 Philippine Gamers Choice Awards? Do you feel that your strength is in reaching out to the grassroots, and what major marketing activities will you be launching in 2005 to encourage more gamers to support Fairyland? How many concurrent users do you have?
We are flattered to have won the 2004 Philippine Gamers Choice Award. We are not a major corporation in the Philippines but our heart is in it -- we are interested in building a community of Fairylanders and getting out to meet our players, talk to them, respond to concerns or requests, and do what we can to give Fairylanders what they want even if this means building one player at a time. Fairyland Philippines is here for the gamers of the Philippines who appreciate our world of Fairyland. This is what makes the game fun and the community super friendly because people love the game.
All we can say is that we already have a really great community.
When will you enter your pay-to-play phase? What are your revenue targets for 2005?
Fairyland Philippines is still free-to-play in the Philippines. We will be offering the usual array of payment methods when pay-to-play commences.
Revenue targets? One of the harder aspects of the business… forecasting, LOL. Actually the forecasting part is easy… getting it right is the harder part,
Are you planning to launch more MMOGs in the Philippines?
Our number one objective now is to ensure a successful pay-to-play Fairyland operation.
When was Beetlerock formed and could you briefly recount how you acquired the rights to distribute Fairyland in the Philippines? Why did you decide to enter the MMOG market?
Beetlerock is an affiliate of Alta Multimedia and was formed as a Philippine company in the second half of 2004 to launch Fairyland in the Philippines. We acquired the rights to Fairyland for the Philippines from [Taiwan-based developer] Lager largely due to our success with Fairyland in Hong Kong and have built up momentum for Fairyland Philippines (www.fairyland.com.ph). The original business in Hong Kong had its roots in distributing offline games (and educational software), so involvement in online games was a natural move.
How would you differentiate Fairyland Philippines from other localized MMOGs? In the face of stiff competition in the crowded Philippine MMOG market, why do you think Fairyland will be one of the top online games?
Combat is different from many of the MMOG’s currently in the market -- not dissimilar to the Final Fantasy model. The pet system is unique, working skills are abundant and there are almost as many different worlds within Fairyland as there are islands in the Philippines to explore. It’s a truly "jump right in" experience for newbies.
We hope Fairyland Philippines will be one of the popular online games in the Philippines because Fairylanders love it! For which we appreciate their support!
How much have you invested in Fairyland? Who provides your network infrastructure and who are your strategic partners in the Philippines?
We’re a small outfit, but we have invested a lot of time talking to players, getting to know members of our community, getting their feedback, making Fairyland Philippines what the people want.
Our partners are everyone who helps make Fairyland a success -- from distributors to vendors to Internet café owners to our community.
How do you feel about being voted MMOG of the Year in the 2004 Philippine Gamers Choice Awards? Do you feel that your strength is in reaching out to the grassroots, and what major marketing activities will you be launching in 2005 to encourage more gamers to support Fairyland? How many concurrent users do you have?
We are flattered to have won the 2004 Philippine Gamers Choice Award. We are not a major corporation in the Philippines but our heart is in it -- we are interested in building a community of Fairylanders and getting out to meet our players, talk to them, respond to concerns or requests, and do what we can to give Fairylanders what they want even if this means building one player at a time. Fairyland Philippines is here for the gamers of the Philippines who appreciate our world of Fairyland. This is what makes the game fun and the community super friendly because people love the game.
All we can say is that we already have a really great community.
When will you enter your pay-to-play phase? What are your revenue targets for 2005?
Fairyland Philippines is still free-to-play in the Philippines. We will be offering the usual array of payment methods when pay-to-play commences.
Revenue targets? One of the harder aspects of the business… forecasting, LOL. Actually the forecasting part is easy… getting it right is the harder part,
Are you planning to launch more MMOGs in the Philippines?
Our number one objective now is to ensure a successful pay-to-play Fairyland operation.