“We are thrilled to witness the dawn of this new era in gaming, driven by visionary pioneers like you.” — DICT Undersecretary Jocelle Batapa-Sigue
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- EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech and Digital News
(SDN) — On June 27, some of gaming’s international titans “invaded” the Philippines, with Filipino gaming aficionados, in particular, and the Philippines, in general, hailed the Creta Multiverse’s launch in the Philippines.
Touted as the “product of their collaborative genius”, Creta is a multiverse gaming entertainment platform, which they were hoping to catch the country by a storm. And might be so, at least gaming enthusiasts, Web3 developers, and blockchain advocates, among others, of the same inclination.
And the Philippine government, of course.
In fact, the Department of Information, Communications and Technology (DICT) has welcomed Creta’s journey in the Philippines, hailing its choice of the country to push it further afield in the digital world.
“I am delighted to be here today to extend a warm welcome to all of you,” an enthusiastic DICT Undersecretary Jocelle Batapa-Sigue says during the event, addressing the “collaborative geniuses” that brought Creta Multiverse to the country.
The gaming “geniuses” she was referring to are Ray Eiichiro Nakazato, Chief Creative Officer (COO) and Head of Creta Japan; Thomas Vu, Producer of League of Legends, Producer and Partner of Creta; Sang Youn Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Creta; and Kay Yoon, Creta Chief Producer/Developer.
Batapa-Sigue described the launch of the Creta multiverse as a “historic moment as Creta ventures into the Web 3.0 market,” thereby, giving the Philippines an enviable position as Creta’s launchpad for Southeast Asia (SEA).
“We are honored that Creta has chosen the Philippines as the launchpad for this groundbreaking initiative. This decision underscores the Philippines’ growing prominence as a hub for technology and innovation in the region.”
Dr. Donald Lim, president of the Blockchain Council of the Philippines (BCP), was equally welcoming and enthusiastic of the entry of the gaming and entertainment platform.
“We are very happy that you chose the Philippines for your launch. So, today, Creta is the Philippines, the Philippines is Creta,” notes Lim, who founded the BCP along with other blockchain advocates.
He said whether it is “a platform for games or token…it is all about inclusion and empowerment” as it empowers the country with its over 100 million population,” who are among the top downloaders of crypto wallet. “We are very happy, and we wish you success.”
As she congratulated the leaders of Creta, Batapa-Sigue acknowledges their “ambitious project — a next-generation gaming entertainment multiverse,” as the gaming experts push the boundaries of gaming that holds immense promise for transforming the industry.
“We are thrilled to witness the dawn of this new era in gaming, driven by visionary pioneers like you,” she adds.
Batapa-Sigue, DICT undersecretary for ICT Industry Development, told the Creta executives and the hundreds of attendees during the launch at Grand Hyatt Manila, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Metro Manila, the Philippines boasts of a number of key advantages in the technology sphere.
Among those she she cited include the (1.) Philippines as one of the world’s largest MetaMask user base, third only after the United States and India in 2024; (2.) the Philippines is striving to create and provide a business-friendly environment for digital enterprises, wherein Web 3.0’s growth is anchored; and (3.) the Philippines has a large pool of highly skilled gamers who are renowned for their passion and expertise in gaming and excelling on the global stage.
(MetaMask is defined as a crypto wallet, a user’ gateway to Web 3.0 and blockchain applications.)
SDN — SciTech & Digital News had a brief exclusive interview with Nakazato, who started creating games as a teen-ager four decades ago.
“When I started making games, it was in 1983 when I was still a teen-ager. My mother bought me a computer, an old, old computer,” he recalls.
DICT doing its best to provide Filipinos a strong access to strong digital infrastructure
The head of Creta Japan said he learnt by himself as there was no one teaching about making games. He said his games then were very simple, Arcade type. He accumulated “well over 100 games” because he created two to three games at the same time.
Focusing on developing one game, Nakazato pointed out, takes one to two years.
His advice to Filipino game developers is to equip themselves with “vision and passion”, saying they are very important things in this sphere.
On the other hand, Nakazato warned that creating games “is not a democratic thing”, otherwise, outputs or products would be “mediocre games”.
“Make (your team) smaller. You need a visionary, the smaller the team, the better. The old way of making games take 300 people. But now with Generative AI, less than 100 (can do it). It (team) can get smaller in five years’ time. Maybe less than 20 people can make games,” he says.
Since there was no one teaching about creating games, the Creta executive said he learnt to code by himself. “I always wanted to learn,” he recalls.
Meanwhile, Batapa-Sigue attributed the “significant adoption” by the United States, India, and the Philippines of the MetaMask wallet to their active engagement in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, NFT transactions, and other Web 3.0 activities.
She added that the triumvirate’s high adoption depended on various factors, among them, strong crypto communities, favorable regulatory environments, and increasing interest in digital assets and blockchain technologies.
While the U.S. and India are the top two, the Philippines, the DICT official noted, is witnessing a spike in users, one of the reasons being its active engagement in digital finance and crypto-friendly policies.
“With one of the highest numbers of MetaMask account users in Asia, the Philippines demonstrates a robust interest and adoption of blockchain technologies which are essential for the Web 3.0 ecosystem,” Batapa-Sigue points out.
She assured the DICT is doing its best to ensure the population’s access to strong digital infrastructure, such as high-speed internet and cloud computing resources vital to Web 3.0 applications.
“Together, we can pave the way for a new era in gaming and technology, benefiting not just our industries but our society as a whole,” she assures.
Creta Multiverse’s entry into the Philippines was appropriately inside the National ICT Month of June. (/)