Shares digital

Online gaming software specialist Playtech (PTEC:AIM) will launch its first Asian P2P (player-to-player) games in the coming days. Three products will be rolled out during 2008 including 13-card poker and Do-Di-Zhu, the latter introduced from April with licence partner AsianLogic (ALOG:AIM).

Asian P2P games involve a network of players who connect via a server, in this case hosted by Playtech, to compete against each other. The market is 40 times more popular in Asia than the US and Europe, according to Playtech chief executive Mor Weizer. ‘China has around two million people playing these games concurrently. They tend to play for fun, but not for free as points amassed during the games are converted into cash afterwards.’

Playtech will offer participants the chance to play directly for money. It has signed up one of the largest Asian gaming operators which it expects to become one of the group’s ten biggest licencees.

‘We can’t disclose their name yet, but they are already one of the biggest players in Asia. They have tried P2P before but the system couldn’t cope with demand of over 1,000 people. We have developed a platform for them to support 50,000 concurrent players,’ claimed Weizer.

During the second quarter of 2008, Playtech will launch a new version of its poker game using flash technology. In Q4, it will release a new version of Mahjong.

Playtech’s share price has nearly tripled since October 2006, currently trading at 412.5p and it is considering a move to the main market.

Shares says: Playtech offers a broader entry for investors into the thriving online gaming market, as it licences out technology rather than being a gaming operator.

by: Dan Coatsworth