BaToo
Go-based online strategy that's big in Korea, China and Japan and looking to go global.
- Cho HoonHyun 9th dan "BaToo is a game with the deep strategies of Go and elements that people will be excited"
- 'BaToo Invitational', where the top 10 professional Go players of Korea and China participate, will be opened for 8 weeks, starting from December 2008.
- 'World BaToo League' which every BaToo users can participate, is going to be held in April 2009.
A strategic game BaToo, opened in the end of 2008, is an issue nowadays. BaToo is a game produced based on OnMedia's e-sports success know-how, which was accumulated through 'Ongamenet' and 'StarLeague'. Starting from its East-Asia region base, Korea, China and Japan, BaToo is planning on to become a Global e-sport. The reason BaToo choose Go for its game structure is because of the strategic aspects. Even Starcraft, one of the top strategic games, cannot reach the infinitude strategies of Go. BaToo succeeds the deep strategies of 4000-year old Go, and added many elements that modern people will be interested. Therefore, it may look similar to Go, but will provide a whole different enjoyment to users.
In BaToo, there are certain coordinates that have bonus/minus score and pieces with different points, which provides different and more complicated amusements when compared with Go. Also, BaToo increased the tension of the openings by having 'Base Build', where users put 3 pieces while not knowing the opponent's move, and 'Turn Betting', which determines the head start. Especially, 'Hidden', a piece that the opponent can't see until the 'Scan' is done, can always reverse the situation, so matches stay in tension until the end. Cho Hoon Hyun 9th dan, the living legend of Go, evaluated BaToo as "a new strategic game that one must make logical judgments and apply intuitions to read the opponent's mind. BaToo is a game with the deep strategies of Go and elements that people will be excited."
BaToo ( www.batoo.com) is rated for Everyone/Over 18, and currently on Open-beta (free) service. Recommended Requirements are CPU Pentium 3800Mhz, RAM 512MB or higher.