Maxis' MaxGames welcomes Miss MaxGames and the MaxGirls All-Star Team
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Singapore, 10 April 2007 - MaxGames' inaugural hunt for the top female gamer was accomplished lately at the Hotlink Games and Anime Festival in Sungai Wang Plaza when 20-year-old Deborah Tan, from Puchong triumphed over 14 other contestants and was crowned Miss MaxGames. She walked away with a Sony Play Station 3.
Deborah was accompanied by the MaxGirls, comprising Teh Jenni, Kammy Aw and Chrysalis Chea. All four of them form the MaxGirls All-Star Team, and they have been awarded a MaxGames ambassador contract worth RM15,000 for the year.
Jointly organized by Nextnation Communication's wholly owned subsidiary Ozura Mobile, and Maxis Communications Berhad, the objective of the search for Miss MaxGames and The MaxGirls was to find the best female gamers in town.
The Miss MaxGames search process involved 15 female contestants who were shortlisted from across the country. They battled it out on stage live via mobile phones. The two games chosen for the live tournament were "Antopia" and "The Duel Online".
"These highly rated games were specially selected for the Miss MaxGames final live tournament as they present exciting and competitive battle opportunities. Games such as The Duel Online require strategic planning and lots of practice while Antopia tests players on individual skill, consistency and timing," said Lion Peh, Ozura's Chief Executive Officer.
Mobile gaming, a multi-billion dollar industry overseas, is fast becoming a staple among Malaysian mobile users. In line with this, Maxis hopes to spur gaming in the country with MaxGames, an interactive subscription-based gaming community portal which offers subscribers a host of benefits and services including tournament games, multiplayer gaming, clubs, and a virtual gift shop.
"The Miss MaxGames event was to promote 3G gaming and to encourage young female gamers to be more active in the mobile gaming community. This event was also to help us find a female gaming icon for the MaxGames Community," said Maxis Head of Games and Entertainment, Kee Saik Meng.
Juniper Research projects that the evolution in mobile games involving subscription and downloads is set to continue in the next five years, with a growth in global revenue from US $3.1 billion in 2006 to almost $17.6 billion by 2011. A revenue stream of nearly $57 billion has been predicted over the next six years.
"Malaysia's mobile gaming industry is still at its infancy stage compared to Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. Nevertheless, it is growing by leaps and bounds, in line with the ongoing transition from 2.5G (generation) to 3G and the growing profile of young and trendy subscribers between the ages of 18 and 30, who are more receptive to innovative products and services," Kee added.
"The MaxGirls All-Star Team, waiting to be challenged by any MaxGames member, will appear at The Duel Online game lobby every Saturday from 9-10pm. A website has particularly dedicated to these best female gamers in town which their supporters can get the latest updates on The MaxGirls All-Star Team including their profiles, blogs and matches results. For more information, visit http://www.maxgames.com.my/missmaxgames/
About Ozura Mobile
Ozura is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nextnation Communication and is a leading international developer and publisher for mobile games and game developer engine to carriers, aggregators, mobile phone manufacturers and service providers. The company creates games for mobile phones based on the J2ME, BREW and Symbian platforms. Ozura's games are available all over the world through its distribution network of partners spanning across 130 countries. It is expected that the growth of mobile phones supporting these platforms will exceed one billion units worldwide in 2008. For more information, visit www.ozura.com.
About Maxis Group
The Maxis Group is the region's emerging mobile telecommunications Group serving nearly 13 million customers as of December 2006. It has operations in Malaysia, India through subsidiary, Aircel Limited, and Indonesia through PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler.
The Group has a 5,000 strong workforce and is the sixth largest public listed company in Malaysia. Its vision is to be a 'Regional Communications Leader of Choice' by delivering service excellence and innovative solutions that bring people together. For more information, please visit www.maxis.com.my
About Nextnation Communication
Nextnation Communication' a mobile application service provider' enables businesses and individuals to access' connect' and transact across today's complex global mobile networks. Its core product MINDCEP Platform is a mobile multimedia communication platform' facilitating and enabling mobile data transmission worldwide using WAP' MMS' SMS and Java technologies. MINDCEP is connected to some of the largest premium messaging networks in the world in order to offer a broad range of services from content distribution to mobile m-commerce and place the company at the forefront of this rapidly growing messaging market. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.nextnationnet.com.