IAHGAMES PARTNERS SOFTWORLD INTERNATIONAL TO LAUNCH 2nd CHINESE WUXIA MYTHOLOGY BLOCKBUSTER NEW GULONG ONLINE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Singapore, 5 February, 2013 – IAHGames, the Singapore-based online games operator and distributor is set to launch its second Chinese Wuxia online game – New Gulong Online （新古 龍 Online ） – in Malaysia and Singapore – barely a month after its first mega epic blockbuster PAL Online (Xin Xian Jian (新仙剑 Online).

Softworld International has granted its long time partner IAHGames exclusive rights to publish Softworld’s key product titles – including New Gulong Online – in Southeast Asia. IAHGames intends to release more high quality Chinese titles from renowned developers to cater to the discerning tastes of gamers in the region.

As a premier publisher in the region, IAHGames chooses high quality games from well-known developers to meet the ever-demanding tastes of Malaysia and Singapore gamers. Besides launching the two blockbuster Chinese Online games - the New Gulong Online and New PAL Online – IAHGames intends to release more high quality Chinese games from other renowned developers.

Zealot Digital International Corp, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Softworld Intenational, has invested TWD 500 million (S$ 21 million) in developing New Gulong Online.

The closed beta testing will be at the end of the first quarter of this year. Gamers can participate in the closed beta test by simply signing up for an IAHGames Passport account and downloading the game at www.Gulong.my when the testing period starts.

Expansion in Southeast Asia
IAHGames Group CEO, Mr Roland Ong said, “Southeast Asia has a gaming community of more than 50 million gamers. Just in Singapore and Malaysia alone, we have about 7 million gamers for us to market our New Gulong Online to.

“Also, the response to the launch of our very first Chinese Wuxia online game – PAL Online – is very encouraging. In the one week of its close beta period, it attracted more than 30,000 registered gamers – 85 percent of whom came from Singapore and Malaysia. So, we intend to introduce more Asia-oriented online games into the region in the near future.”

New Gulong Online is the latest online role playing game distributed by IAHGames based on popular Chinese Wuxia novelist Gulong. He also wrote other popular novels – “Passionate Swordmaster & Heartless Sword”(多情劍客無情劍 ), “Xiao Li Swift Darts” (小李飛刀), “Ultimate Pair” ( 絕 代 雙 驕 ) and “Adventures of Lu Xiao Feng” ( 陸 小 鳳 傳 奇 ). Its rich popular fiction content is what sets it apart from other Chinese games.

Gamers will meet and interact with more than 200 established characters and heroes from the classic Gulong novels, including Chu Liu Xiang, Xiao Yu Er and Yihua Gongzhu.

IAHGames and Zealot Digital International aims to expand in the Southeast Asia gaming industry. New Gulong Online will be translated into Bahasa Indonesia and Thai for the respective countries. The translated version of the online game will be released later this year.

Chin-Po Wang (王俊博), Chairman of Softworld said, “Southeast Asia, which is expecting to have 117 million gamers and estimated games revenue of $1 billion, is a lucrative market for Softworld to expand into. With such a large gaming community, we are keen to capture more gaming revenue beyond our traditional North Asian markets.

“This is why we are translating the game into two other languages for the gamers in the other Southeast Asian countries. IAHGames has an excellent track record of distributing online game chartbusters. And with their 45 payment gateways and localisation capabilities, we are confident that New Gulong Online will be a hit in Southeast Asia.”

New Gulong Online’s Special Features
Zealot Digital International has incorporated new technology into the game – allowing players to connect with fellow players from different countries and hold weekly tournaments. Also, its self-developed game engine promises gamers smoother game play and higher quality graphics depicting minute details throughout the game.

The game is set in a fantasy mythical world divided by powerful Factions. Players can go on adventures with the different Factions or participate in the weekly Legendary Tournaments. Also, New Gulong Online features exciting new weapons from the Legendary Arms Chest that could be the deciding factor in winning or losing. These special unlocked weapons will enable players to win with a single strike.

New Gulong Online’s story plot has six main character types – the Swordmaster, the Iron Fist, the Sword Dancer, the Lancer, the Qin Musician and the Gunslinger. It features more than 6,000 story quests and over 200 monsters and story scenes to keep players entertained with the game.

New Gulong Online will also include special martial arts technique – Qing Gong – that promises to amaze gamers. Characters in the game can glide through air and water giving players to manoeuvre out of tricky situations with ease and allowing better gameplay control with the characters.

Future Mobile Platforms
As part of its strategic expansion plans, Softworld is developing games for smart mobile devices in its product portfolio which currently comprises console and online PC games.

Mr Wang said, “We are seeing smart mobile devices as the driving force on how we develop our games now. People are now starting to use smart mobile devices and tablet computers more for gaming because of their easy availability, affordability and convenience. This is one market where we are interested in growing. We are expecting this particular segment to grow at a faster pace than online PC or console games. Gamers can expect Softworld to introduce more mobile games in the coming years.”

For more updates on New Gulong Online, please stay tuned to IAHGames website: www.Gulong.my, and facebook: www.facebook.com/gulongmy.