Gamers can now look forward on Cloud Based service. Another news is that Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY is exclusively with Singtel. More information on ESC and SE Xperia PLAY after the break.
SingTel brings the top games to homes and mobiles
- Asia’s first cloud-based gaming service
- XperiaTM PLAY available exclusively from SingTel
Singapore, 19 April, 2011 – Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) today announced a significant move into the gaming space, with the launch of a unique cloud-based video gaming service called ‘ESC’ and exclusive distributorship of the highly anticipated Sony Ericsson Xperia Play mobile handset – further advancing its evolution from a telco into a leading multimedia services provider.
Reality now has an ‘ESC’ button
Launched in partnership with Playcast Media Systems, ESC (read as ‘ESCape’) is the first service in Asia to deliver on-demand high quality games directly from the ‘cloud’ to customers on TV and PC. This enables a rich and immersive gaming experience through a simple one-time client download – eliminating the need for consoles and time-consuming installations.
“We are very pleased to be offering this exciting and affordable high-quality gaming service to Singaporeans without the need for clunky downloads, expensive computers or additional hardware,” said Mr Allen Lew, SingTel’s CEO Singapore.
“SingTel’s broadband infrastructure in tandem with the national fibre network has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities and we are pleased that ESC has allowed us to introduce the consumer to the world of cloud services.”
“Asia represents a huge opportunity for our game streaming service,” said Mr Guy de Beer, CEO of Playcast. “We believe that the partnership with such a powerful platform in the region such as SingTel, will succeed in markets where the console-based gaming economy has had somewhat limited success.”
With instant and unlimited access to 24 titles at launch from a range of genres, ESC gamers can enjoy popular game titles from publishing bigwigs Atari, Capcom, Codemasters, Disney, Tell Tale Games and THQ. For example, Street Fighter 4, which is one of the most popular game franchises ever, and Back to the Future and Toy Story 3 are available to customers who sign up for the service. Each month, two to three titles will be refreshed to ensure the line-up is current and engaging
ESC is available to anyone with fibre or broadband connectivity of 10Mbps and above. Unlimited ESC gameplay starts from $1.99 for a One Day Pack, and $9.99 for a month (all prices inclusive of GST). As a launch special, SingTel will be offering an unlimited free trial until 30 April 2011.
Customers on fibre can access ESC on their television sets via SingTel’s exCite TV service and both fibre and broadband customers can enjoy the PC service by downloading a simple client.
From May 2011, ESC will also be offered with SingTel’s exPress 50 fibre broadband plan at a bundled price of $66.90 per month. With this package, customers can enjoy unlimited game play with 50Mbps fibre broadband. From June, customers can look forward to the exPress 50 Ultimate Entertainment Pack which will bundle mio TV and games.
“Besides having on-demand access to the best web video content, our exCite TV customers are now able to enjoy the convenience of playing games on their TV,” added Mr Lew.
For more information and to register for the service, customers can log onto the ESC website at www.ESC.com.sg
(Please refer to Annex 1 for ESC fact sheet).
Sony Ericsson XperiaTM PLAY
The eagerly anticipated Sony Ericsson XperiaTM PLAY will be available in Singapore exclusively to SingTel customers from 22 April 2011. Powered by Android version 2.3 technology, this ground-breaking smartphone delivers the ultimate mobile gaming experience with super-fast graphics capabilities and dedicated game controls. It is also equipped with all the features of a leading-edge smartphone to deliver a superb experience for web-browsing, communications, multimedia content and social networking. (Please refer to Annex 2 for detailed handset specifications).
The XperiaTM PLAY is the first smartphone to be PlayStation™-certified and is pre-loaded with six leading games: FIFA 10, Bruce Lee Dragon Warrior, SIMS 3, Star Battalion, Madden NFL 11 and Crash Bandicoot. As an exclusive bonus, SingTel customers will also get to enjoy the popular action game, Modern Combat 2: Black Pegasus, free of charge. They will be able to compete against other Xperia Play users in an online leaderboard competition, to win an all-expenses paid trip to the annual video game conference E3 in Los Angeles in June.
Customers can also expand their games library with titles from the SingTel IDEAS portal, Android Marketplace and PlayStation® Pocket.
In addition to games, the XperiaTM PLAY is pre-loaded with SingTel apps, such as the award-winning AMPed social music service and MobileTV video streaming service. Customers will be able to catch the live football action of the Barclays Premier League with the BPL Mobile service, and connect with their friends via SingTel’s WheresApp application.
Mr Lew said: “By bringing the XperiaTM PLAY to Singapore, we want to give our customers the freedom to take their favourite games with them wherever they go. This exciting handset perfectly complements our ESC cloud-based games offerings. Just as ESC showcases the strengths of our high-speed broadband services, the XperiaTM PLAY demonstrates the strengths of our mobile network. So whether at home or on the move, SingTel customers will never be short of entertainment and lifestyle options.”
“Sony Ericsson is delighted to introduce, in partnership with SingTel, the world’s first PlayStation™ certified smartphone – the Xperia™ PLAY – to Singapore. Singaporeans are increasingly looking for access to all their favourite apps, games, chat and web browsing functions in one smart device. The Xperia™ PLAY meets the on-the-go communication and entertainment needs of consumers, and is the only smartphone to combine the best of Android with a PlayStation quality gaming experience,” said Mr Eugene Goh, Deputy General Manager and Head of Market Unit Singapore, Sony Ericsson.
The XperiaTM PLAY is available with SingTel’s 3G Flexi price plans which include up to 500 free minutes of local outgoing calls, 500 free local SMSes and 12 GB of free local data usage.
Customers may pre-order the XperiaTM PLAY from www.singtelshop.com from 6pm on 19 April 2011, with collection or delivery from 22 April. The handset will also be available at SingTel’s XperiaTM PLAY roadshow at Vivocity on 22-24 April from 11am to 9pm.
(Please see next page for XperiaTM PLAY pricing table)
About SingTel
SingTel is Asia’s leading communications group with operations and investments around the world. Serving both the corporate and consumer markets, it is committed to bringing the best global communications solutions to customers in the Asia Pacific and beyond.
With significant operations in Singapore and Australia (through wholly-owned subsidiary SingTel Optus), the Group provides a comprehensive portfolio of services that includes voice and data solutions over fixed, wireless and Internet platforms, as well as infocomm technology and pay TV.
The Group has presence in Asia and Africa with more than 383 million mobile customers in 25 countries, including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand.
To serve the needs of multi-national corporations, SingTel also has a network of 36 offices in 19 countries and territories throughout Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States. These offices enable SingTel to deliver reliable and quality network solutions to its customers, either on its own or jointly with local partners.
SingTel employs more than 23,000 people worldwide and had a turnover of S$16.87 billion (US$11.82 billion) and net profit after tax of S$3.91 billion (US$2.74 billion) for the year ended 31 March 2010. More information can be found @ www.singtel.com and www.optus.com.au.
About Playcast Media
Playcast provides a Cloud Gaming service to IPTV and Cable operators, bringing the console experience as a turnkey TV channel over the existing set-top boxes and broadband network. The service is commercially available in Europe, and includes titles from the industry’s major game publishers. Playcast is a privately held company, based in Israel, UK and Los Angeles. For additional information about Playcast, please visit: www.playcast-media.com.
About Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson celebrates its 10th year as a joint venture between Sony Corporation and Ericsson in October, 2011. Over the years the company has brought together the best communication technologies with superior entertainment user experiences to create its Xperia™ line of the most entertaining smartphones in the mobile handset industry. With its global corporate functions in London, Sony Ericsson has sales and marketing operations in all major regions of the world, as well as manufacturing in China, and product development sites in China, Japan, Sweden and Silicon Valley, California. For more information, please visit: www.sonyericsson.com/press
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