High-profile Architectural Firm will design a Planet for Entropia Universe
Posted by: GameBorder Staff on 2008-03-11 08:14:06
CHIANG MAI, THAILAND--(Marketwire - February 19, 2008) - Creative Kingdom, Inc. (CKI), the world's most celebrated thematic architectural design firm, has begun developing a state-of-the-art film/television studio and IT production complex in Chiang Mai, Thailand. This massive project, dubbed Cyber City -- underwritten by the Thai government and a consortium of entrepreneurs including CKI CEO Eduardo Robles and President Thanu Boonyawatana, as well as Robles LLC -- is being constructed and outfitted on a nine-kilometer stretch of the northern Thai city at a cost of 7 billion Thai baht ($250 million).
The development, which will also house deluxe accommodations and resort facilities for visiting executives, creatives, financiers and other dignitaries, represents a landmark opportunity for international production entities and online companies to establish a cutting-edge base of operations in the burgeoning Asia market. Later phases of the project are slated to include soundstages, top-tier editing facilities, a theme park, a 3D animation education center and much more.
With Cyber City as the jewel in its crown, Thailand will undoubtedly continue its surge in the technology sector. Thanks to CKA, its robust animation division (which has notched such successful series as "Bubble Warriors," "Magic Panda and the Kool Kidz," "Muey Tiger" and "La-La World," among others), and 3D CGI design prowess, Creative Kingdom will prove instrumental in the global expansion of Thai animation, gaming and new-media development.
With offices in Los Angeles, Dubai, Beijing, Chiang Mai and Pasig City, Philippines, CKI has achieved international renown (and coverage by such bellwether media outlets as "60 Minutes" and The Discovery Channel) as the designer of such lavish destinations as The Palm Island, World Island, and the Madinat Jumeirah Resort in Dubai, UAE. Having brought an element of the fantastic to such real-world locales, CKI will for the first time endeavor to bring the specificity and rigor of its architectural practice to a purely fantastic destination.
The maiden project for the new complex will be CKI's collaboration with the Swedish company Mindark, makers of Entropia Universe, an enormously successful Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORG) with a real cash economy that is already positioned to challenge the dominance of market leader World of Warcraft. CKI, the first high-profile architectural firm to be enlisted for such an undertaking, will design an entire planet within Entropia Universe.
Robles LLC, meanwhile, will bring its considerable consulting expertise in the animation and gaming worlds to the table, and its partnership with CKA will undoubtedly yield unprecedented new developments in the online world. Having developed several CKA cartoon properties, the firm -- which is based at the Los Angeles Center Studio Complex -- is preparing to develop a motion picture project based on the new Entropia Universe planet. This ambitious co-production with CKA Starlight Studios Beijing, and Dabok Entertainment Co., Ltd. Korea, is slated for release in 2010.
"The technology introduced by this project will enable other companies within the media, film, music and gaming industries, among other content providers, to efficiently acquire their own planet within Entropia Universe," declared CKI CEO Robles. "In turn, this will provide a diverse, entertaining and interesting virtual universe of vast proportions for participants to explore."
"This is a historic development in the world of online gaming," added company President Boonyawatana. "Our 30 years of experience in creating top iconic resorts around the world was a key factor in our being selected by Mindark to create its next planet, and we relish the opportunity to achieve this unique fusion of physical and virtual worlds."
"This long-term partnership with CKI is the perfect match for Mindark. It further proves the viability of the Entropia Universe platform as the foundation of creating entertaining and exciting online virtual experiences, as well as giving our partners access to a very secure, proven and stable system for handling real cash transactions within a MMORG," Mindark CIO Marco Behrmann informs.
Users of Entropia Universe and other MMORGs spend considerable sums of real money on virtual goods and services. This confluence of hard currency and frictionless production and distribution has created a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs worldwide. Thanks to its sophisticated technology infrastructure, Cyber City will enable Thai workers to generate income from remote locations -- thus revitalizing the economies of rural communities and stemming the crush of migration to urban centers.
The developers of Cyber City Chiang Mai believe it will prove a benchmark in the ongoing evolution of the new global economy.
