This is a quotation by Cesar Robles a.k.a. CCC… national champion for Starcraft 2002 in both LG’s tournament and Samsung World Cyber Games.

     Every year Samsung Electronics is the main sponsor of the most known E-games international tournament, the World Cyber Games (WCG). Panama has been participating for 2 years now in different games such as Starcraft, Fifa, Counterstrike, etc. The games in which the players are going to compete nationally are choosen upon market research that shows which games are the most popular.

     As an active gamer I feel that the e-games in Panamanian communities have a great potential that is not being fully developed. As stated in previous articles E-games communities are the engines moving the creation of new computer technologies. However is quite hard to find “hot” games in the local markets, most gamers need to buy their games online and pay a bit extra for the shipment. While in Korea and the U.S games and technologies are easy to find and technology developing enterprises such as Samsung and LG sponsor their private E-game teams and these players get paid to play just like in sports such as soccer, football, baseball, etc…

     Quoting Raul Phyllips -logistics organizer- for the WCG Panama, “Samsung electronics recognizes Panama as one of the most technologically advanced nations in the region”.

     On the other hand things are starting to improve for the gaming communities in Latin America as companies like LG electronics and Samsung bring their E-games tournaments. The direct result of these tournaments is that the e-games and players start to get attention from the general public as well as private enterprises seeking fresh marketing methods. These tournaments have place the Panamanian gamers on the marketing map soon we might be seen more e-games oriented business offering products and services to the gaming communities and maybe national teams sponsored by multinational companies to represent Panama internationally.

     These tournaments are not to be taken slightly because awards valued in several thousand dollars are given to gamers -money which will most likely be invested in more sophisticated gaming equipment and games-. Multinational technology companies will most likely invest in countries with high e-game communities and I don’t need to stress out how much our nation could benefit from these investments.

     Interview Section

     I like to ask questions, therefore I conducted some interviews and here is the information I got:

     Interview with: Raul Phyllips: Logistict Organizor for the Samsung WCG

     1) When did the WCG started and from what time have Panama been participating?
     The WCG started in 2001 and Panama has been participating from the beginning.

     2) What was the most difficult part for the organization of the Tournament?
     Marketing, searching for a way to reach the gaming community -which is a subculture-, its was hard in the beginning (2001) however now it have become a tradition- people expect the WCG every year.

     3) Do you think that the WCG have change the E-gamers stereotype of computer geeks?
     Yes, people have come to understand that a gamer is an untapped economic resource and in some cases worthy of the same recognition a physical athlete.

     4) What do you expect from the WCG in the coming years?
     Growth: We expect a higher amount of participants and higher gaming quality.
     Champions: this is an evolving arena and we expect a constant change regarding the different game champions.
     Games: The type and amount of games offered are expected to expand offering opportunities to communities in different gaming arenas.

     Regarding violence in games the organizers stated that they had not yet received a complaint about violence in games however they are already taking measures regarding these matters and games like “Need for speed” and “FIFA” are included in the menu of games to offer nonviolent options to gamers.

     Interview with Cesar Robles:

     CCC a.k.a. Cesar Robles is the Panamanian Starcraft Champion for the WCG 2002 and LG’s tournament, he is 21 years old graduated from commerce in IPA; he is taking a bachelor in finances in Latina Univeristy and he is also working– this is one busy gamer.

     Before you read I need to clarify that in my opinion E-games are a fast moving industry where few games acquire the levels of popularity of Starcraft, most of the time new games quickly replace old ones however Starcraft is one of the exceptions to this trend.

     1) When did you start playing real time strategy games such a Starcraft?
     I started with Red Alert –one of the best real time strategy games and one of the older too- then moving from game to game until I found Starcraft.

     2) Starcraft is an old game however it holds on of the biggest gaming communities in Panama. Why do you think this happens?
     I believe this is mainly due to the level of perfection that Starcraft holds among games of this type, the evolution of new tactics and counter to this tactics is constant people never get bored of it. And another reason might be that Starcraft can be run by almost any PC.

     3) What is your opinion of the E-games tournaments conducted in Panama?
     These tournaments have proven helpful to the gaming communities; gamers have come from “below rocks” the quiet and underground communities have become more active because of these tournaments.

     4) You are a busy person being a student and an employee at the same time how many hours do you practice Starcraft daily and what advise you give to other gamers?
     I train for 1½ to 2 hours daily and my advise to gamers is that you must organize yourself and plan your time according to your priorities.


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