Happy New Year everyone! Today’s the first Monday of the year and well… everyone is probably back to work or to school. I’d like to kick off 2009 by taking a look at the major events and activities that happened in 2008 which I covered through this blog. This is something that I got from GM Tristan who also did a recap of 2008 in his blog. However, I don’t think I have the patience and the willpower to write the entire thing yet since I did a lot of posts for 2008, haha! I’ll divide this into 3-4 posts.

For today, I’ll be talking about the major highlights of the first quarter - January, February, and March of 2008. Read about Ragnarok, Ragnarok Online 2, Cosplay, and Gadgets after the jump!

January 2008
2008 started off with a bang as Philippine Ragnarok Online released a lot of promos and events to liven up the community. We initially released the Episode 11.2: Veins Promotional Video. Other than Veins, I was also really impressed with the Freya server community. They came up with their own PVP Tournament.

I also explained why we delayed the release of Ragnarok Online 2 in the Philippines. There was still a lot of development needed on the side of Gravity but we’re very excited to see the game finally launch when it is finally completed. FYI - I initially wrote that it will be out in 2008 but that’s obviously not happening since it’s already 2009. Lol. Just stay tuned for further announcements.

For gadgets, we took a look into the Samsung U700, which basically looks kick-ass but eventually breaks down after a couple of months.

In the Cosplay and Anime part of the world, we saw the POGS: Re-Roll Cosplay event. Who can also forget the infamous “Sexy No Jutsu Kakashi” Cosplayer?

February 2008
I bought a bunch of stuff in February! I can still remember opening the boxes of my Macbook and my iPod Nano (Third Generation). The Macbook has been a very good investment since I primarily use it for presentations for my sideline as a New Media consultant. I also can’t live without my iPod Nano because it literally saves my sanity when I drive everyday from Quezon City to Makati to report for work. Level Up Founder Ben Colayco also shares with us his favorite gadgets in an interview with a print publication.

There was also a lot of good news for the online gaming industry as a whole. A study was released showing that Gaming is already outgrowing Music and is on the way to challenge Hollywood in terms of revenues and market share.

I also reviewed one of the best Samurai animes I’ve ever watched - Samurai Champloo. I strongly recommend this title to all of you. It is worth the download time or the DVD cost, whatever way you fancy of getting it.

February was also the month where the Adboard ruled against a print ad being used by another gaming company with their claim of being the number one online gaming publisher in the country.

March 2008
March was also a very memorable year for me personally. I bought my first laptop in February, and I bought my own car with my own money in March. After a long debate on the Honda City or the Toyota Vios, I eventually decided on getting the Honda City 2008. I’ve had no regrets ever since. The car has been the best investment I’ve gotten so far since I’ve really used it a lot and it has increased my personal productivity hundredfold (for my sidelines).

I also wrote a short article about business strategies for internet cafes. I used to own one way back in 2004 but we ended up selling it to the landlord due to conflicts with my partners. If there’s one advice I can give you guys is that you shouldn’t go into business with friends unless your prepared on them becoming your enemies, hahaha. The business was really good - but the friendships really turned sour.

In February, I recommended the best Samurai anime title I’ve ever watched. For March, I recommended the best mech-robot anime title I’ve ever seen - Gundam 00. Note that this anime is now on it’s second season and OMGWTFBBQ it still kicks major ass.

For Ragnarok Online, we uploaded the War of Emperium: Second Edition on Sakaray during this month.

Also, more controversies with the online gaming industry as more people keep claiming that they’re number one.

Okay! That’s it for now. I’ll be writing and publishing part 2 soon. Cheers and Happy New Year everyone!