Computer games are big business. From their humble beginnings in the 1970s, with the ubiquitous Pong and growth through the first home game console Atari 64, they have emerged today as an industrial behemoth, thanks to arcade blockbusters such as Space Invaders and Pacman. A rough estimate would put the industry's worth around US$50 billion a year. Though Pong - the table-tennis simulation that comprised only a small square block bouncing between two movable paddles - may now seem prehistoric, the addictive nature of the simple game is a feature still sought after by the best gaming companies.

Giants like Capcom, Square Enix (result of Squaresoft-Enix Corporation merger) from Japan and Electronic Arts from the US spend millions of dollars each year to create new games, vying both for casual and dedicated game players across the world. And it is in this fast-paced, competitive world that a Hong Kong company has made its mark.

"Our company has been meeting its expectations," says Firedog Computer Entertainment Ltd Managing Director Gabriel Pang. His modest statement belies the significance of the company's success in the local gaming industry. Firedog is Hong Kong's leading computer game creator and one of the few to get a title on the world renowned Playstation 2 and Xbox game platforms.

Started by Pang and partner Jack Wong in 1999, Firedog, based on the nickname of one of its directors, has created a niche in simulation games that appeal equally to players in the SAR and the region. With only a relatively modest start-up capital and the desire to find another outlet for their successful comics, its directors have expanded the firm into a 20-member team, which last year reported a turnover of about HK$3 million.

Firedog has created 11 games, including the hugely successful Cupid Bistro! that won the "Most Popular Game in Asia, 2002" award.

And while local rivals are busy with Chinese-theme fighting games and moving to online gaming, Firedog is finding success by blazing a different path. The key, Pang says, has been to keep within the company's areas of expertise and capitalize on its strengths. "One of our biggest strengths is the skill of our animators," says Pang. No local firm has been "able to create the look we can. We started out as comic book artists, and have been in the industry for quite a long time... The games we have developed are from our (comic book) stories."

A quick look at some of Cupid Bistro!'s advertising materials and screenshots shows a setting and characters that are similar in style to many Japanese games, which in turn are more Western than Asian. Firedog's attractive heroes and heroines in a fantasy world are different from Chinese characters or themes. And that largely has been the key to their success, for "they are popular with players across Asia, not just in Hong Kong or the mainland," says Pang. This universal appeal attracted Japanese companies to Cupid Bistro!, and led to its debut on Xbox for sale in Japan, and more recently Playstation 2.

Firedog's runaway success can also be attributed to its ability to create non-violent games, a feature not seen in many other products. Its games reflect the values that have made virtual characters like Japan's Pokemon and the US Sims huge money spinners.

In Cupid Bistro!'s simulation gameplay, based in a fictitious kingdom, players are thrown the challenge of building and operating a restaurant and simultaneously helping the characters find love. In Neverossa, players assume the role of a powerful mentor and train a character to become a goddess with super powers. The combination of feel-good themes such as romance and success, the chance to bond with the characters and the stylish graphics have created a fan base for its games. And not surprisingly, teenaged girls are its target customers. "Our fan base is teenaged girls around 15 years of age," says Pang. "None of our buyers is over 20."

Another key factor for its success is price: about HK$98 a game, whereas others sell in the HK$250-HK$400 range. "People who buy our games cannot afford the more expensive ones." But Firedog is aiming to up the ante with its new releases costing "around HK$130". Yet, Pang believes, it will still be within the reach of price-sensitive gamers.

Being an important industry player, and a top member of the Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Association, Pang is also in a good position to comment on the recent government efforts to give a boost to the industry. Though CEPA has allowed Hong Kong companies to own up to 49 per cent stake in a mainland company and apply for a licence to release online titles, Pang still believes that is not enough.

"The industry needs government grants and sponsorships. But it won't do so because it has adopted a non-interventionist stance," Pang says. The small low-interest loans offered as start-ups are not enough to stop fledgling companies from borrowing from financial institutions. "Companies need help setting up their business. They need low rent and low management fees, and assistance getting into projects such as Cyberport."

But the artist-turned-computer game warrior is pleased with the rewards Firedog has reaped from visits to overseas expos, during which the Playstation 2 and XBox honour came. And he is positive about the future. "Online gaming will change the whole industry. Any new platform has to be related to online". Already, popular games allow people to play in teams, hold multi-player competitions and chat on the Net. The chat function is very important and the main reason why some people play online and mobile games, the games guru says.

That's also a prime reason why companies have already included the mainland as part of their overall strategy. "The mainland limits the number of foreign games entering the market to 10 a year." But now "local firms have been granted licence to release online games there," he says. Rather than real world games, the market can be better accessed by joining a new "cultural" programme, which allows 100 external titles to be released on the Internet. The new deal has brought in competitors from Taiwan, releasing games in quick order. But that can be good for the market, for companies are now under pressure to create new games faster.

The new challenges don't seem to worry Pang at all. "We are letting the other players fight it out," he says, and "have set our" sights on creating games that can be downloaded on mobile phones. "In the coming years, we see our business heading towards mobile gaming." And such forays would apply on the mainland as well.

The company has been discussing with local and mainland companies the possibility of a partnership, in which Firedog would provide the contents (based on its famous titles) that can be downloaded on mobile phones. The returns from the huge market for mobile games will set its cash registers rolling even with a very low monthly user fee.

(HK Edition 03/18/2005 page4)