Malaysia’s games industry has grown considerably in the past few years, with upcoming titles such as No Straight Roads and Bake ‘n Switch gaining global recognition. To celebrate their achievements and encourage further advancement of the industry, LEVEL UP PLAY-ONE moved its yearly gaming event online; hosting educational webinars, gaming tournaments, and showcasing game demos by local developers. Esports was also a recurring topic throughout the event’s activities, with their first ‘Esports Jobs Career’ webinar focusing on the competitive gaming industry and the employment opportunities within.
The panel was made up of three employees from the esports company Epulze; Pontus Lövgren, co-founder of Epulze, and Alvaro Sanchez and Richard Garcia, both tech managers and broadcasters at Epulze. Lövgren and his brother founded Epulze with the goal of making esports events a norm in both their community and the industry as a whole. The organization dedicates themselves to everything esports-related, from tournaments, broadcasts, events, and even acting as a talent agency for esports athletes and personalities.
“Esports is growing immensely, in kind of every direction.” Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, where a lot of other sectors are slowly beginning to die out. “Esports is, in a lot of ways, the future.” Epulze’s biggest service is its online platform, where gamers can join daily tournaments and leagues for a chance to win money. The company currently owns offices in Sweden, Brazil, Ukraine, and Malaysia, with the Kuala Lumpur office currently undergoing renovations for its own broadcasting studio.
Becoming a part of the industry is a lot simpler than most people think, with a majority of people starting out as gamers who then transition into an actual career. You don’t have to be an amazing gamer to find work in the industry either, with other positions in administrations, sales, marketing, and management still looking for people to fill in the gaps. The trio agree that people should follow their passions – finding their strengths and seeing how they can contribute to the industry.
The infrastructure available in Malaysia has made its transition into esports effortless, with its countless internet cafes and LAN gaming centres providing both PC and mobile gamers the opportunity to play anytime, anywhere. Malaysians themselves show a lot more willingness to participate in esports, both as content creators and spectators, compared to people in the U.S. where the line between casual gamers and professional gamers is well-defined. In Europe, gaming events are treated as a subclass – held only in specific places such as game hubs which are then only accessible to specific audiences, In Malaysia, gaming events are often held in public places like shopping malls and convention centres, with the government also taking great strides to support the growth of the industry (through programmes, grants, funds, tournaments, events, etc). “Europe has a long way to go to catch up to Malaysia’s perspective.”
The misconception that you’d need otherworldly gaming abilities to be a part of the gaming industry is, thankfully, pure hokum. If you have the passion for it, then you may be exactly what Malaysia needs to bring itself to the next level. Our country may soon be the central hub for all things gaming after all, so take a chance on yourself, and make that dream a reality.
The blood 👊, sweat 💦, and tears 😭 you’ve poured into Captiv8 have not gone unnoticed, Kendrick! We’re only halfway through 2020 and the challenges we’ve faced as a company are unlike any other. ⚔️ But in true Kendylife fashion, you took on every challenge with a smile. 😁
CAPTIV8 wouldn’t be what it is today if we didn’t have an Elementalist like you at the helm. 🧙♂️
Happy birthday, boss! 🎂🎉
Want to hear some exciting news?
We are very proud to announce that our humble agency, Social Grooves, managed to grab the international giant, Lenovo Legion! What’s more, we’re not only in charge of the Malaysian social media, but we also create the content and analyse the data for all the countries involved with Legion within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region! 🎉
To clarify, we do everything for Legion Malaysia, and other involved APAC countries will follow our example. Aside from content creation, we generate reports, work on creative development and many more. It’s true, Marketing-Interactive themselves said so here!
Have we mentioned how privileged we feel to represent such a big client, and for the whole APAC region to boot? Because we really are! With so many countries that have their own little cultural differences and nuances, being able to cater to their different needs will make all the difference.
We’re definitely up for the challenge and hope to continue providing exemplary service to both our present and future clients. Go team Social Grooves! 🙌🎉We at SocialGrooves.com are pleased to serve. To learn more about who we are or for any inquiries, don’t hesitate to contact us!
With COVID-19 canceling major events, including gaming conferences like E3, developers and publishers are taking matters into their own hands by utilising online platforms to get their products out. On June 11th, Sony went live to more than 3 million viewers flocking to their YouTube and Twitch channels to be a part of one of the biggest events in gaming history; The PS5 reveal.
Hundreds of thousands of viewers were already in the livestream chat more than half an hour before the actual premiere began. Finally, after months of speculation, the questions bouncing around in everyone’s minds would be answered; what are the specs on the new console? What games will be available? How will it look?
As expected from any new console release, photos of the new Playstation flooded social media mere seconds after it was revealed. The PS5’s sleek two-tone design is reminiscent of a gaming console sent from the future – its controller and accessories (which include a charging station, 3D wireless headset, HD camera, and media remote) following the same white and black colour scheme. Like its predecessor, the PS5 can be placed both horizontally and vertically with vents for heat dissipation on its top and USB-A and USB-C ports on its front.
The console will also come in two different versions; the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition. The only difference between the two is the lack of a disc drive on the Digital Edition, which is noticeably slimmer in appearance as a result. For the tech-savvy readers out there, take a look at the PS5’s full specs below:
- CPU: AMD Zen 2-based CPU with 8 cores at 3.5GHz (variable frequency)
- GPU: 10.28 TFLOPs, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz (variable frequency)
- GPU architecture: Custom RDNA 2
- Memory interface: 16GB GDDR6 / 256-bit
- Memory bandwidth: 448GB/s
- Internal storage: Custom 825GB SSD
- IO throughput: 5.5GB/s (raw), typical 8-9GB/s (compressed)
- Expandable storage: NVMe SSD slot
- External storage: USB HDD support (PS4 games only)
- Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray drive
In terms of the games that will be available, Grand Theft Auto 5 was the first game on the very long list of reveals Sony had lined up for the livestream. Other notable titles include Marvel’s Spider-Man Miles Morales, Demon’s Souls, Resident Evil 8: Village, and Horizon: Forbidden West. Sony has also announced that an “overwhelming majority of the 4,000+ PS4 titles will be playable on PS5”, so those of you still hesitating to abandon your PS4’s, probably won’t be any longer.
As of today, the Playstation 5 does not have an official launch date, though Sony assures that it will be released globally in time for the 2020 holidays. The price of the PS5 also remains a mystery, with many predicting that it will fall between $400 and $499 (which makes the PS5 cost about RM1700 – RM2200 in Malaysia), though this is still an ongoing debate.
Whether you’re a competitive gamer or a casual one, the Playstation 5 may be the next console you see in every household. No harm in saving up so you can be ready for pre-orders.
Film buffs would agree that the cinema is the best thing that has ever happened to humanity! The cinema is known as one of the most complete art forms there is, where different art forms like music, painting, story, etc come together to make one masterpiece.
As all good things must come to an end, Golden Screen Cinemas Sdn Bhd (GSC), Malaysia’s largest cinema chain, has decided to close one of its outlets located at a popular mall in Kuala Lumpur’s golden triangle that has been operating for over 12 years.
The homegrown cinema chain announced via Twitter early this month that GSC Pavilion KL will be pulling down the shutters on 17 February 2020 as its 12-year lease with Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) comes to an end. The outlet is known for its exclusive halls such as the THX, Gold Class and D-Box, which are not available at all outlets.
As a gesture of appreciation to all film lovers, GSC Pavilion gave out one complimentary small popcorn set for every ticket purchased until 16 February 2020.
“We would like to take this opportunity to convey our sincerest thanks and gratitude to all movie-goers who have supported GSC Pavilion KL since its opening,” GSC said in the Twitter post.
To celebrate 12 years of good memories, we thought ‘why not go out with a bang’, right? So, we invited some friends from Lapar Esports to join us for a movie! We got our complimentary popcorns and drinks ready then head in the theatre one last time for an Oscar-rerun of the movie Parasite! Truth be told, we enjoyed ourselves, it was a bittersweet farewell for one of our favourite cinemas.
If you frequent Pavilion KL for movies, don’t worry, a brand new cinema – Dadi Cinema will replace our beloved GSC Pavilion KL, the popular shopping mall confirmed that the new cinema is scheduled to open in late 2020 on their official Facebook page.
Thank you GSC Pavilion, you will be missed!
Esports’ popularity and momentum over the past 30 years have grown immensely, with titles ranging from first-person shooters to real-time strategy. Recognizing the powerful social connections formed by esports globally, Domino’s Pizza Malaysia announced June last year that they will be treating winning esports team at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games a decade’s worth of mouthwatering pizzas! And on 14th February 2020, Domino’s Pizza has kept their promise to Malaysia’s podium finishers.
An exclusive prize-giving ceremony was hosted by Domino’s and held at Battle Arena Malaysia to honour the national esports heroes who participated in the 2019 SEA Games, which took place from November to December in the Philippines last year.
Domino’s have awarded Malaysia’s first-ever esports Hearthstone Gold medalist Dr Yew Weng Kean ten year’s worth of pizzas to indulge in. As for the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team, who scored the Bronze medal, walk away with two years supply of pizza. Other esports athletes and representatives of Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Tekken 7 and Arena Of Valor were also present at Domino’s prize-giving ceremony.
“We are extremely proud to honour our national esports champions as they have achieved an outstanding performance and we are more than happy to reward them for their excellent show of sportsmanship.
“We hope that our hot, tasty and delicious pizzas will keep the esports superstars going as they train for the upcoming tournaments. We would like to wish those competing all the best, we are always rooting for you,” remarked Shamsul Amree, Deputy President of Operations, Domino’s Pizza Malaysia & Singapore.
A panel discussion moderated by none other than Christopher Tock, The Architect @ Captiv8.Asia was held to explore the future of Malaysia in esports and how to expand globally, featuring renowned speakers – Tanesh Ganesan (Manager of APU Esports Malaysia Academy), Lim Keat Kuang (Founder of Geek Fam), Linda Hassan (Senior Vice President, marketing, Domino’s Pizza Malaysia & Singapore), Andrew Cheong/Sir Cloud (Streamer & content creator) and Muhammad Farouq bin Abdul Patah/Flava (Director Comms of Esports Malaysia).
Domino’s Pizza Malaysia has been involved in the esports scene since November 2018, aiming to motivate and support national esports athletes to perform their best by offering tangible incentives, “Pizzas are gamers’ best friend. We are taking the opportunity to provide support to a market segment that is connected to our brand”, Linda Hassan said in an interview with Marketing Interactive.
Captiv8.Asia is honoured to experience this memorable ceremony, all the esports teams truly deserve to be celebrated for putting in their hard work and dedication to bring Malaysia to newer heights! Along with Domino’s, we look forward to esports’ return to the next SEA Games in 2021, set to take place in Hanoi.
Performance is what comes to mind when we hear esports gaming. As gamers, we all look for the best machine that runs like a beast with state-of-the-art hardware that enhances the user experience by the second for the best gaming experience.
While the most preferred device among PC gamers is the desktop, there are some circumstances where it becomes necessary to have something more portable for hardcore gaming to everyday multitasking.
We got our hands on the Asus ROG Strix SCAR III and we’ve put it to the test with gaming to hardcore multitasking, and boy oh boy, this machine took it all and delivered the best results!
1. Monster hardware
Powered by cutting-edge NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2070 and Intel® Core™ i9 processor, this beast slices through intensive work and play with ease! Multitask like a pro with up to a 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD and 1TB FireCuda™ SSHD, this means our entire game library is mobile! Just imagine whipping out your laptop and gaming at your favourite coffee joint, how cool is that?
We’ve tested games like Halo: Reach, Left4Dead 2, Shadow of The Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy 15, Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition and Civilization, among many others!
2. Intelligent cooling
Your machine is bound to heat up as you run games with a high graphic for a long period of time, ample airflow is the fundamental aspect of effective cooling, with ROG’s Intelligent Cooling, you need not worry anymore. The Strix SCAR III sports a well-ventilated exterior with a self-cleaning system and adapts to operating modes accordingly.
The perforated ridges across the rear help give extra flow to reduce heat buildup. The Strix SCAR III’s signature, asymmetrical appearance also comes into play as the patented, trapezoidal cut carves ensures that nothing is obstructing the venting below the screen. Which brings us to our next point.
3. Mind-blowing display
Often times we have to manually switch our gaming graphics down to low to ensure a smooth experience, but guess what? You don’t have to do that with the ROG Strix SCAR III! With the world’s first 240Hz display, even with just a 15-inch screen, this beast can take on any high-FPS games, you can play like a pro! Not to mention the super-narrow bezels frame which allows the machine to fit a larger screen (screen-to-body ratio 81.5%) into a more compact laptop! We never experience any lag while gaming on the machine, we’re also in love with the matte finishing *chef’s kiss*.
4. Killer design
Did you know that the sleek, gunmetal grey Strix SCAR III’s design is inspired by Asus’ collaboration with BMW Designworks Group? That’s right, they meticulously raise the ridges to add a sculpted surface that naturally draws your eyes to the extra venting above the rear exhaust.
The machine is accented with diffused RGB LEDs by Aura Sync wrap around the rim of the chassis, illuminating the front and sides, keyboard and ROG logo. Another mind-blowing fact is that the LEDs are all customizable, that’s right, you can personalize the illumination across your entire machine to fit your personal taste! Talk about gaming with style!
5. Powerful signal
Many gamers would vouch for this fact, poor Wi-Fi signal equals to a poor outcome which may potentially lead you to lose the game. This is one of the major reasons why gamers are sceptical on gaming with laptops. But with ROG’s RangeBoost technology, you can rest assure that you will get the most stable Wi-Fi signal possible.
The unique algorithm in the RangeBoost picks up signal strength of four internal antennas and increases wireless range by up to 30%, giving you the peak of wireless bandwidth of up to 1.7Gbps! You gotta admit, this is not your average laptop!
6. Aesthetic keyboard
Ahh, the keyboard, the second most stared at for any computer user, so naturally you’d want something that is not only pleasing on the eyes but also pleasing to the touch! We found that the Strix SCAR III is rather comfortable on the fingers, with its spaced function for each key for easy identification and curved keycaps, so you don’t accidentally press on the wrong key. Also, great job in extending and reshaping the Space bar for comfort and fewer misses, those are some pretty neat touches! It comes built-in with hotkeys isolated above the keyboard for fast access to vital commands such as – volume down, volume up, mute, HyperFan and Armoury Crate.
Did we mention you can customize per-key RGB lighting? That’s right, we did! And you can do so much customization, you’re spoiled for choices! The keyboard on the Strix SCAR III is built to withstand over 20 million keypresses, it’s super reliable for a long lifespan of serious gaming, even enough to withstand your cat roaming on your keyboard, just kidding! Haha!
7. Crisp audio
Oh, don’t get us started on the audio on this bad boy! Clear, crisp sound is what every gamer wants, it gives an added advantage for games like ie: Players Unknown Battle Ground (PUBG) where you need to focus on the sound footsteps to determine where you enemy is coming from and let us tell you, Strix SCAR III’s got it all!
We’ve blasted music and play games with the volume pumped up to the highest and we are not disappointed, The speakers are positioned on each side of the laptop giving you a higher dynamic range with more bass and less noise distortion, thanks to it’s Smart Amp technology.
Conclusion?
We loved what we see, hear and feel!
We would like to point out that this unit was loaned to us to put not only the Strix SCAR III to the test but also our gaming abilities! We’re so thankful to Asus for this opportunity to help us bond closer as a team through something we’re all passionate about – games. We’re pretty sure, some of us will be putting the ROG Strix SCAR III at the top of our wishlist now. We look forward to more collaborations in the future!
How about you? Got a gaming laptop in mind that can compete with this beast? Let us know!
Partnership Shoutout
We are proud to announce our partnership with Tier One Entertainment, Philippines’ leading eSports focused talent agency to provide opportunities for all brands to experience eSports focused digital marketing solutions to increase their awareness and sales to an exponentially growing market of gamers!
eSports is the next big thing and we want to help brands understand that the eSports market is not niche, it is where our target consumer is. We want to connect brands to fully integrate marketing strategy across events, social media, promotions, advertising, public relations and mainstream media.
As more people become aware of eSports, popularity is set to grow. eSports is already an established part of life for the younger generation, it’s a great opportunity for brands to hop into digital marketing with eSports.
Under the partnership, we will represent Tier One Entertainment’s group of shoutcasters, streamers, pro-gamers, cosplayers and YouTubers in Southeast Asia and apply proven strategies that Tier One has achieved in the Philippines here in Malaysia.
“This partnership is an eye-opener, I can see a totally new dimension of effective digital marketing solutions for brands who are probably tired of the old methods and I’m eager to apply this to the market.” – Christopher Tock, Creative Strategy Advisor of Captiv8.
“It’s an honour to have Tier One on board with us. I believe this partnership will flourish as we all have the same objective in mind, to widen marketing strategies in Malaysia and Southeast Asia through eSports,” Kendrick Ng, Creative Advisor of Captiv8.
