One Small Step For The Empire; One Giant Leap For Jamaica!

Representing Jamaica worldwide, the son of Tony Johnson and Melody Frazer continues to push the envelope for eSports in Jamaica. Bringing his experience from the trenches of the eSports industry from abroad, TriForce Johnson has made some aggressive moves at the start of the year to make sure that eSports continues to improve in Jamaica.

This morning, January 26, 2015 TriForce was a guest on the RJR 94’s “Guest Room”. Paula Anne Porter and Alan Magnus interviewed him in regards to his past growing up as a gamer, to what he’s doing now with Empire Arcadia and his most recently contracted position at Cyberbox as their eSports Ambassador for the LAN Centre at Halfway Tree in Kingston Jamaica. Have a listen to the recording or watch the playback (RJR Link: http://www.rjr94fm.com/sites/default/files/podcasts/2015-01-26%2007-39-59%20JAMAICA%20MORNING%20Monday.mp3 or via Cyberbox YouTube Channel below.

Let’s find out more about some of the topics TriForce covered while he was on the show today.

Q. Welcome back to Jamaica TriForce. You left in September of 2014 and now you’re back in January 2015, what brings you back to Jamaica?

A. The food and the air. *laughs* Seriously speaking, Cyberbox is the real reason I’m back in Jamaica. I spoke with the Director of the company and we engaged in some serious talks about eSports and some of the initiatives he had in mind. I like his aggressive approach and he likes some of the things I’ve done in eSports. He then offered me a contracted position as Cyberbox’s eSports Ambassador to help him launch his eSports League.

The position comes with sponsorship and all of the trimmings. I honestly was pretty shocked in a sense. I discussed with him what is it that he wants to do and he said that he wants to provide the resources to the Jamaica’s gaming community so that it can be respected as a legitimate eSports scene. There were a lot of things that we see eye to eye on in terms of being aggressive in this endeavor and taking the necessary risks to make things happen. So my job now is to use my 13 year experience in the gaming industry and the accolades of my teams brand to position Cyberbox as the authority in eSports for Jamaica.

Q. As Cyberbox’s eSports Ambassador can you give some examples of how you plan to accomplish that goal?

A. Well honestly, Cyberbox gives me a distinct advantage. Of all the partnerships I’ve had recently, we’ve had to work from the rock bottom, up. That is one of the most difficult things to do and the success rate isn’t high. With Cyberbox’s resources such as their LAN center, vision and flexibility; it really makes my job a bit easier to perform. I’m able to onboard international sponsors such as Noscope because of the flexibility of the Cyberbox Executive team.

Cyberbox provides real measurable opportunities through their venue. It enables us to set up direct sales for sponsored products and services. From mobile phone cards and top up’s to video games and video game accessories. Their desire to uniform teams and create a professional environment for competitive gaming is what every eSports scene throughout the Caribbean should aspire to. These elements gives me the ammunition to approach potential sponsors with real opportunities to expand on the eSports initiative here in Jamaica. When I look at companies like PUMA, LIME, Wisynco, Inctomex and more, I can see the real integration of their sponsorship opportunities with the Cyberbox eSports League.

Before that it was tough because we had to put together community based resources along with the Empire Arcadia team brand and even with that, honestly it isn’t enough at times. This would put me in the position to put out 120% more effort than what was fairly needed to complete the required job of our sponsors. Thank goodness I had the help of some professionals who are passionate about eSports in Jamaica like Wayne Benjamin of the Lab Video Game TV. His work ethic is to be admired and was key to setting up the early landscape for eSports in Jamaica last year, that we work with now.

Q. ePro, eLearning and eSports; three things I heard you mention on the radio broadcast. Embellish on those three elements for us?

A. Technology is the future. It has always been the future. When you look at society from a global point of view, everything that we do from banking to mailing, to learning, sports, music, etc… all has been evolved by technology. The use of the lower case letter “e” before any of these words signifies “electronic”. Thus for Banking then, it’s now eBanking today. For Mail then you have eMail. The same goes for Sports in the traditional sense we call electronic competition eSports today.

For Cyberbox however it is more than just eSports. Cyberbox has a responsibility to Jamaica to provide more than just entertainment through technology. Jamaica needs the development tools to empower people today and our children tomorrow so that Jamaica can have a brighter future.  LIME’s CEO Garry Sinclair embraces this very same concept and has helped turn around the LIME brand. It is that visionary persona that attracts us to LIME as we have similar outlooks on what technology can do for Jamaica as a whole.

One of the key projects that Cyberbox is working on is its eLearning initiatives. We are very excited about this because we are working on a unique formula to combine the competitive aspect of eSports with the ability to learn. This would make learning not only fun but competitive. Something that would drive our children to learn more. In the United States and various countries around the world, there are scholarships that comes from games. MLG (Major League Gaming) has done it and so has EVO to name a few. That is needed here in Jamaica, tremendously and Cyberbox is the working on making that happen, this YEAR!

Q. You mention that Saturday January 31st, 2015 that Cyberbox would be launching its “Cyberbox eSports League Open”, what can we expect from the league’s launch?

A. The Cyberbox eSports League Open is the first of many events that Cyberbox will be hosting throughout the year. The open will feature FIFA 2015, League of Legends and Candy Crush. Now I know some of you may be thinking “Candy Crush?” Yes, Candy Crush. This game is one of the most played puzzle games in the world and is a gate way game. The problem people see in it is that usually played on a phone. This should not be a problem as Pokemon is played on a Handheld and the Pokemon World Championships has thousands of competitors.

This game gives ladies yet another path to enter competitive gaming despite not being exclusive to their gender. I know some ladies that would destroy guys at Candy Crush and it’s a simple game. Especially older ladies like mothers etc. The real issue is that the game needs an opportunity and we want to give it that opportunity. With the right partner and sponsor, Cyberbox envisions a wonderful experience that may not be matched by any other game in Jamaica outside of FIFA. Our idea sponsor and or partner would be LIME. We’re working on finalizing an agreement with them to continue the eSports Integration initiative that I started with them late last year.

Going back to our main game FIFA, well that game speaks for itself. It’s FIFA and this is the #1 played console game in Jamaica. After the Cyberbox Open then it will host the Cross Country Tour and the All-Star Finals, then the actual Cyberbox eSports League Season starts and we’ll introduce other games like Dota2, Halo 2, Call of Duty AW, Super Smash Wii U, and more.

Q. Controversial question here. You stated that you’ve worked with Digicel and LIME in developing eSports for Jamaica in 2014 but you said that you prefer to work with LIME because you like the way they do business along with their involvement regarding the Youth which caters more to your style. Please go into depth with us why you choose LIME?

A. The first thing I want to do is express the professional pleasure I had completing the work we did with Digicel regarding the eSport DigiCup Championship back in July 2014. If not for that first footprint we would not have gotten this far in Jamaica regarding eSports. I learned a lot working with a corporate giant like Digicel which prepared me to create my next eSports project with LIME.

My preference to LIME has nothing to do with either of their services, it’s literately Garry Sinclair. He is a leader that walks among the people he leads. The man comes on LIVE STREAM to answer questions from his consumers. He provides information to the people about the direction of LIME and its services. He reminds me of a much more mature and experienced version of myself. His work ethic is without question. He has a continued interested in technology and entertainment and we need that from a corporate giant like LIME if we are going to do eSports right in Jamaica. No one person or entity can do this. This is not to say we can’t have a leader but we need all hands on deck to make this work. Cyberbox has the resources, experience, innovation and vision to lead as the authority in eSports for Jamaica but that alone is not enough. We still need powerful partners and significant sponsorship to make this a successful venture.

Q. The Cyberbox eSports Cross Country Tour. What is that and when does that happen?

A. The Cyberbox eSports Cross Country Tour is a 7 week tour that starts out of the Cyberbox venue here in Kingston and passes through every region in Jamaica. Here is the schedule:
• Sports Day – Saturday, Jan 31 (Pre event: Cyberbox Springs Plaza, Kingston)
• Sports Day – Saturday, Feb 7 (Event 1: Jesse Ripoll Primary, Kingston)
• Sports Day – Saturday, Feb 14 (Port Antonio High, Portland)
• Sports Day – Saturday, Feb 21 ( Manchester High, Mandeville)
• Sports Day – Saturday, Feb 28 (Godfrey Stewart High, Sav-la-mar)
• Sports Day – Saturday, March 7 (Dinthill High, Linstead)
• Sports Day – Saturday, March 14 (All-Star eSports Finals: Cyberbox Springs Plaza, Kingston)

Cyberbox will be hosting a FIFA tournament, Candy Crush Tournament and a Tetris Ultimate Celebrity Challenge for 6 weeks which will end in Cyberbox for the All-Stars Finals for the championships. It will be the first eSports Cross Country Tour in the Caribbean ever. In fact the last Cross Country Tour eve hosted was Walter Day who is the Founder of eSports itself and that was back in 1983.

This tour will effectively spread eSports throughout the entire country and lay down the strongest foundation for eSports in Jamaica and possibly throughout the Caribbean. It is this type of aggressive campaign that we need to show others just how serious Jamaica is when it comes to eSports. With the full coverage provided by the RJR Communications group with Radio and TV; from TVJ, JNN, RETV and TVJ Sports Network, this will be the most comprehensive coverage for eSports in Jamaica and most certainly throughout the Caribbean. What better way for Jamaica to open up with eSports in 2015 than this.

Q. What’s your trade secret in getting sponsors on board for these eSports projects that you do in the different countries that you visit?

A. Honestly, there is no trade secret. My experience, passion and persistence is what gets the job done. It doesn’t always work. Some people are just too short sighted to see down the road. Let me tell you a story. In the United States, I engaged a sponsor for a digital eyewear product called Noscope and they decided to give our brand team a chance. I told them straight up what our team was about, what we’ve done and what we plan to do for them with Empire Arcadia’s global eSports initiative starting with the United States, to the Caribbean, then out to Africa and back.

They were skeptical but fair. Then we got some disbelievers telling Noscope that it was the worst decision that they’ve ever made sponsoring our brand team. With the integrity that Noscope has, they decided to let us show and prove. They were not interested in word of mouth. We are #5 out of 10,000 + accounts that they have. They are glad to have us and we are glad to have them as a true sponsorship. The integrity they showed us by standing by what work we do and not the fear of those who may influence others to not give us a chance is so much appreciated.

The same thing happen with Cyberbox and we found it funny. In my 1 week of work we have covered so much terrain and created so much ground breaking opportunities for Jamaica to effectively and significantly quadruple the eSports progress in just the first quarter alone in 2015. For me and Empire Arcadia, I’ve recently learned that it’s not how many partnerships and sponsors that you have on board but the integrity of your partners and sponsors who stand by the work you do for them.  At the end of the day this is business right? So what matters most is not what people say but the grade of the work you do that satisfy the people and your sponsors and partners.

Q. What can we expect from you in the immediate future?

A. I’m working with Cyberbox right now to lay down some real bedrock as a foundation for eSports in Jamaica and when I’m satisfied with that work, then my next move is to Africa where I can join my partner from Nex Gen who is working on similar initiatives to help develop the final frontier for eSports in Africa. My partner Nathan in Africa is working on a “Rally” game which we are in talks with having a Beta Tournament for the game here at Cyberbox. This would be to support the completion of the game’s development. Don’t be surprised if Cyberbox pops up in Africa in the future.

Right now, I just want to focus on the plans that we have for Jamaica and that is to onboard and integrate the potential sponsors that we are engaging with such as LIME and other sponsors that we can’t mention right now. You’ll hear more from Cyberbox before we even reach the middle of this week. First I want to thank you for the platform again Zalgo, it’s great to be back in Jamaica. I want to thank my sponsors NoScope Glasses, Cyberbox and DigiGear Pro. I want to also thank our supporters LIME, RJR Group, Guinness World Record, The Lab Video Game TV and all the remaining members in Empire Arcadia who understand the goal and the vision. Excelsior!

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Companies Are Stepping Up To Play Ball

Huzzah! Excelsior! Yatta! And any other source of exciting affirmation you can find. The first major company to take the plunge full on into eSports has made their voice be heard. Ya friendly neighborhood gamer Zalgo Cometh got the oppurtunity to sit down with a gentleman being heralded as the first bridge of progress to the future. A tech saavy and forward thinking man by the name of Tafari Hendrick; owner and operator of CyberBox LAN Centre. He was kind enough to answer a few questions about what he is working towards and his hopes for this business venture.

Introduce yourself and position

Tafari Hendricks is a Microsoft Certified Professional and Managing Director of Cyberbox Jamaica Limited And Optimus Software Limited. A Enterprise Software Engineer, Certified Local Area Network and Industrial Electrical Specialist with over 15years of experience, boasting some of Jamaica’s largest institutions as Clients.

Q. What is Cyberbox, when and why did you open it here in Kingston Jamaica?
Cyberbox is all about innovation; we are the first LAN Center in Jamaica, boasting 72 computer systems & the fastest internet in Jamaica. Undoubtedly the PC Gaming Mecca of Jamaica; to put things into perspective, we embrace education but like to provide entertainment as well. Our 2,000 SQF Facility was designed to fuel the body and mind in an ergonomically engineered setting for maximum efficiency.

Q. Since its opening how has the reception been? 
We Opened Cyberbox Lan Centre On Sept 9th, 2014 after 3 months of innovative design and construction. Since then the reception from a wide demographic of Jamaicans has been fantastic. Our customer base has increased by over 300% month over month and a 800 response comprehensive market research survey was done outlining the positive satisfaction level of our customers.

Q. Can you go into a bit of details of the staff and administration behind running Cyberbox?
At Cyberbox we’re proud of our high customer service standing, we employ 6 full time technical customer service representatives to assist customers will all their technology related needs. 2 Cashiers man a fully stocked beverage and snack bar, supported by a 2 member highly effective supervisory and management team. We have 3 highly skilled and continuously trained Network and Computer Engineers that keeps the motors of CyberBox running 7 days per week 15 hours per day. All Backed up by a super talented 3 member team boasting skills in graphic design, photography, video production, web site development and social media management.

Q. You recently flew in some help to get Cyberbox moving in the direction of eSports. Can you embellish on this news?
Yes. We were fortunate to attract the owner and manager of the Guinness World Record Team, Empire Arcadia, Mr. Triforce Johnson as our eSports ambassador and consultant. With Triforce’s reputation and winning track record it was a no brainer when the opportunity presented itself to marry his expertise and experience with the CyberBox Brand. His first task and priority is to continue the gains made in eSports over the last 2-3 years and solidifying existing relationships while generating new ones to make sure Jamaica does not miss out on the lucrative Global eSports Industry.

Q. What's the future of Cyberbox in eSports for Jamaica?

Cyberbox will continue to assist the Jamaican competitive gaming community by providing the use of our venue, resources, corporate outreach and more further develop the eSports in Jamaica. We are doing everything we can to help, from bringing in experienced eSports developers such as Triforce of Empire Arcadia who is creating opportunities and building bridges for Cyberbox to approach potential sponsors such as LIME, Digicel, RJR Group, Wisynco, PUMA and more, to us engaging in partnerships with gaming community entities such as Fighters Allegiance Jamaica, Swallowtail Sports and others. It is important for us to do this so that we can forge a cohesive independent eSports infrastructure for Jamaica. In this we support the “Jamaica G.A.M.E.S.” initiative.

Further down the road we are looking to expand Cyberbox eSports initiative internationally and eventually go global. We are going to announce our “Cyberbox eSports League” which will feature FIFA 2015, League of Legends, Call of Duty: AW, Tetris, Candy Crush, and Hearthstone. We are also open to host other games like Smash Wii U, Ultra Street Fighter 4, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 where we can talk with various tournament organizers throughout the community and possibly collaborate in using our venue to host other games for other competitive community brands. This provides everyone with the opportunity contribute to the further development of eSports for Jamaica. 

Any last comments and thanks?

We would like to thank the community for their support since we’ve open our doors. We are well aware of the number of gamers throughout Jamaica. We have a population of 1.3 million people and we know that a significant amount of people play video games, whether on their phone, tablet, computer, handheld or console. This is the perfect time for the community to rise up and show the companies in Jamaica that we are ready for eSports and that their support is needed and appreciated. I look forward to seeing everyone continue to come out and support Cyberbox. Finally, thank you Rion for taking the time to provide us with this platform to share information of our service brand directly with the gaming community here in Jamaica.

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The Man, The Mystery, The Martyr...

e-Sports! This is a word many will come to know in the days, weeks, and months ahead here in Jamaica. Fighter's Allegiance Jamaica, Str8 Games, and The Lab GameTV have answered the call to battle and currently are teaming up with LIME Jamaica to spread the good word of competitive gaming also referred to as e-Sports. How did this happen you might ask? Where did the initiative and infrastructure come from to facilitate a corporate investment in such a new and emerging market? Well let me introduce you to the man who started it all, a man who has seen the best and the worst of what the competitive gaming scene has to offer; CEO of Empire Arcadia, Isaiah-Triforce M. Johnson. I managed to get a quick interview with him so please take the time to educate yourself on the man so many love to hate...

1. What is your name?
My name is Isaiah-Triforce M. Johnson.

2. Is that your legal name?
Yes.

3. How did you come about such a name and why did you decide to make it as your legal name?
My friends didn’t want to call me GameMaster and tried to find a name for me. They knew I loved the Legend of Zelda a lot and they eventually came up with Triforce. It didn’t really end there though. My Father told me that your real name is the name you give yourself, not the name you are given at birth. I didn’t want to disrespect my Father by removing my first name so I amended it to my first name and that is why you get Isaiah Triforce Johnson. Everyone calls me Triforce for short though.


4. What exactly is Empire Arcadia?
Empire Arcadia is a Development Company for Digital Entertainment, Culture, Community, Industry & eSports. The organization has an eSports team named after the company and we use the exposure that we get from competition and winning to bring attention the organizations other services.

5. What is E-Sports?
eSports is just the modern name for competitive gaming. Its origin came about in 1999 around the CPL tournaments when gamers wanted to change the term to be more commercially viable. A lot of gamers got turned away from sponsors when they went to them asking for sponsorship for playing “video games”. Back then and even still now, the concept of paying someone money to pay video games is not appealing. Thus the moniker “eSports” was created to give outside business the true concept and vision of what Walter Day had laid the foundation down for competitive gaming. From that point on, more and more businesses get what we mean by eSports and have helped expand competitive gaming tremendously.

6. How does the Empire Arcadia represent and impact E-Sports?
Our team is one of the oldest teams to date. We pride ourselves on that. Over the years the team has scene players come and go and right now we’re looking to adapt to the ever evolving eSports industry. As new games come into play we are working with new players to help maintain this historic legacy brand.

In terms of our impact on eSports, I would like to think we've made a significant impact. I think we can do a whole lot more but the brand team has brought exposure to eSports on a commercial level throughout various countries around the world. The United States and Europe as a whole doesn’t really need our help. However areas like the Jamaica, St. Maarten and other island’s throughout the Caribbean, along with countries like Belize in Central America and Kenya in Africa are all areas that we’ve been working to develop eSports in. So far I’m confident that we’re coming along well. We recently just finished a integrated eSports project with LIME Jamaica.

7. What has the business accomplished in order to reach their goals?
Over the years we've accomplished a lot from the grassroots community. Of recent our goal to bring eSports to my home country Jamaica has seen tremendous success. This is all part in thanks to our partners Andrew Johnson of Fighters Allegiance Jamaica, Gregory Moore of Str8 Games and Wayne Benjamin of The Lab Video Game TV. With their help Empire Arcadia has been able to work with telecommunication giants such as LIME Jamaica and Digicel Jamaica to lay down the first corporate backed eSports tournaments in Jamaica.

Our most accomplished goal is the amount of competitions and world championships that we have won. We've won so much that we have the Guinness World Record for the most tournaments won by a video game team. We are nearing our milestone of 2,000 tournament wins, which at our pace we should reach before the end of the first quarter in 2015.

8. Wow that’s pretty impressive, where can people check out more information on your records and Guinness World Records?
You can check out our record on the Guinness World Record Page

9. Who are the main players in the business who have helped the business reach where it is today?
The main players that have helped me with the business reach its goal are not necessarily here. Although many of the champions are now on new teams, for Empire Arcadia to be here, that is credit goes to the unsung players who don’t necessarily just compete. Players such as Royal “Lance” Eustache, Phillip “KDZ” Atkinson, Todd Rogers, Arthur “Red” Hill and many more who are not in the spot light, all have helped maintain the organization to this point.

10. What made you decide to approach E-Sports and its development as your life’s goal?
Originally, I was just a casual gamer; as were we all. Some time around 2006 I realized the true potential of Empire Arcadia. The organization became bigger than myself and then submitted to my position to serve it. Since then I’ve also realized that eSports in its purity is really the advancement technology and entertainment. This can aid in human evolution and because I love video games so much, I have accepted this as one of my life’s work.

11. What have been some recent projects that you and the Empire Arcadia been spearheading?
Well right now our major focus is preparing a new front line of players for 2015. Along with building a League of Legends team. I’m currently working as an eSports consultant and architect for a new gaming league by laying down its foundation throughout several countries around the world. This is a pretext to what is going to come in 2015.

I don’t want to say much because everything launches in 2015 but what I can give out is their social media information at now. The League is called the MVG. It stands for Multimedia Video Game League. You can visit their Facebook Page and you can also follow them on their twitter page which is @MVG_League.

The Global eSports initiative that I’m currently working on for MVG directly affects the Caribbean and Central America for 2015. Our mission is to help bolster the eSports landscape; by partnering up with existing eSports foundations in Jamaica such as Caribbean Games and the Belize Gaming League in Belize. The professional services along with its commercially viable image will grant both entities international support and strengthen the integrity of the eSports industry in these key locations. Keep your eyes on their social media pages for upcoming news.

12. What do you think is the potential for e-Sports across multiple gaming genre?
We haven’t even scratched the surface of eSports true potential. Despite the fact that there are too many gamers and games out there, the demand is still high. Which is a good thing by the way. When we eventually get to the point of creating a Global eSports Network, I think that is when we will see the true potential of competitive gaming which will dwarf the combined accomplishment of what traditional sports has done for us in terms of entertainment. That statement may come as a surprise to many, but eSports has something that traditional sports does not have to help it evolve and that is technology.

With technology the world is literately and I stress literately is at our finger tips. No matter who you are or what you do, the technology in video games and the multimedia platforms that they are available in such as phones, tablets, handhelds, arcades, computers and consoles just opens up the world to not only spectate but also participate in a way traditional sports does not.

13. How well do you think implementing a better E-Sports influence in a region such as Central America will benefit the region?
Developing eSports in Central America is “CRITICAL”. I didn’t just randomly decide to go to Belize and set up eSports there with the ambitious eSports director Ahijah Holland. This is a strategy. Just as Jamaica is the focal point for the Caribbean, Belize is a crucial point for Central America. It will be one of the merging points to connect the entire west to eSports. From the North American Union, down to Central America, connecting to South America and then throughout the Caribbean; which finally connects the entire Latin America region. We will be one step closer to our ultimate goal, a “Global eSports Network”. If I were you guys keep an eye out for Belize and Jamaica in 2015. There is a rivalry coming.

14. In closing what do you see as the potential end game scenario that you want to accomplish with E-Sports and Empire Arcadia?
The potential end game for Empire Arcadia in eSports is to become one of the world leaders in this industry. We’ve already partly accomplished that in the competitive element. Now we need to follow suit from the business stand point. This is why the organization is taken a slightly different approach as we head towards 2015.

Well that is about it from your friendly neighborhood gamer Zalgo_Cometh, as we forge ahead on this new path. Next big event upcoming is a League Of Legends tournament being held on the 27/11/14. Please do make the effort to come out and support the event as the more support these get the better they can grow to be. Until next time keep on gaming...

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eSports in Jamaica

Retrospect on the movers and shakers in eSports in Jamaica

2014 has been an exciting year for Jamaica for gaming and the industries that surround it. The gaming communities have strived to bring competitive gaming to the forefront for years but has not really made any significant progress until now. I would like to take the time to look at the key players that have made a big difference in the gaming scene here in Jamaica. Here is my top 5 movers and shakers for eSports in Jamaica.

5. Dean Barnnett

If you play FIFA competitively in Jamaica then you will know who Dean is. Founder of the Silverbirds Steel Pan Band, Dean is also the Captain and Manager of Empire Arcadia’s FIFA video game team. Dean hosts monthly FIFA tournaments at the Silver Birds manor located at 21 WestLake Richmond Park.

Dean’s multi-talent in management between his band and eSports division has earned him respect throughout the gaming community and peers in business alike. His band is renown throughout Jamaica as well as his FIFA Division which not only won the International Caribbean Championship for FIFA in St. Maarten in 2013 but has also won the Digicel DigiCup FIFA eSports Championship in Jamaica over the summer.

Dean continues to host his monthly FIFA Tournament which you can find more information about here: http://bit.ly/1ugir4p for more information on Dean you can contact him on his team’s Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/EmpireArcadia or follow on twitter at: @EmpireArcadia   

4. Gregory Moore

One of Jamaica’s premiere retailers for video games is Str8Games; owned by Gregory Moore. Gregory has worked with countless companies in Jamaica to host a number of video game oriented events. From providing video game equipment to structuring the event itself, you name it and Gregory has played a part in it.

Str8Games is currently in the planning phases to set up a local tournament series in Sovereign Mall in Kingston Jamaica. With his experience in direct business sales via retail and business development Gregory is one of the key players in the development of eSports in Jamaica and is the one to watch out for. 

You can find out more about Gregory and Str8Games at the stores Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/str8games or follow him on twitter at @str8gamesja

3. Wayne Benjamin

It’s a shame that a lot of people in Jamaica have no idea who “Wayne Benjamin” is. The fact of the matter is, Wayne is single handily responsible for Jamaica’s sole gaming channel “The Lab Video Game TV”. Aired on FLOW Channel 100, the Lab Video Game TV show case some of the newest video games out to date along with what is going on in the video game industry.

This is a huge contribution to gaming in Jamaica on so many levels. Of late Wayne has been focusing his attention on eSports in Jamaica by lending his resources and multi-year talents in filming to help develop eSports in Jamaica from the media end.

Wayne recently launched season 6 of The Lab Video Game TV series which focuses on the core development strategies for laying down the foundation of eSports in Jamaica. You can view the episode here: http://youtu.be/H17D579S_90 for more information and video content on the Lab Video Game TV you can check out their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/TheLabVideoGameTV?fref=ts  or follow on twitter at: @TheLabGameTV

2. Andrew Johnson

Andrew is no stranger to competitive gaming in Jamaica. Not only is he a competitor he is also Jamaica’s premiere tournament director. Andrew manages one of Jamaica’s largest online social communities for gaming via Fighter’s Allegiance Jamaica on Facebook.

Andrew’s passion to see Jamaica move forward in eSports is shown through his hard work and dedication as he self-funded the National Jamaican eSports Tournament “Mash Di Button” which he founded. Andrew is one of the core components in making eSports work in Jamaica as he was instrumental for bringing international support for eSports to Jamaica to help lay down its foundation.

Andrew is now working behind the scene with key eSports enthusiast of like minds to ensure that competitive gaming will be a huge industry in Jamaica. For more information about Andrew check out his Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fightersallegianceja/ or follow on Twitter at: @FAllegianceja  

1. TriForce Johnson

A Jamaican Native comes home to master mind a plan to put his home country on the map in the eSports world. Triforce has created a network with members in the Jamaican gaming community and major companies both in Jamaica and the United States.

TriForce spent one year working behind the scene with Digicel while in the United States to set up the country’s Virtual World Cup tournament which has now created a rippling effect that has gained the attention of other major businesses in Jamaica to help spearhead eSports in Jamaica.

Continuing his work abroad, TriForce is slowly giving Jamaica international exposure in eSports to officially welcome the country to the industry. When at the Digicel FIFA Championships, TriForce dedicated his team Empire Arcadia’s; World Record for the most documented Tournament wins for a gaming team to the country of Jamaica in respect to his late mother who was buried in Jamaica in 2012. 

For more information on TriForce you can visit his Facebook Page at: https://www.facebook.com/EMP.TriForce.GameMaster or follow him on Twitter at: @EMP_TriForce_GM

The future for gaming in Jamaica is bright and I would like to know your thoughts on other movers and shakers in Jamaica for eSports. So please leave your comments below and tell me who you think should have made this list. I’m really interested to know who else out there is helping to push the cause because they need the recognition as well. You can also follow me on Twitter at: @Mr_Gamehead and visit my Facebook page for more news on gaming in Jamaica and worldwide. 

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Everything Has Gone To Shit

So this is just a short blurb, I know I been kinda inconsistent with the blogs of late which I do feel a ways about. So here is the reason why:

Had my first accident; ain't that a bitch. Thankfully nothing major and I am unhurt but the frustration of trying to get compensated and get my car fixed has been stressful and annoying. I wont get into all the details and get pissed off just thinking about it but in another week or so my car should be back to normal. Sad part is my car got the worst of it and their car ends up just getting away with this:

Anyways whats done is done. Currently finishing up Dragons Crown for review on Friday and on the side I have started playing LoL and am trying to not suck at that game. SO as always until next time; keep on gaming...

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Cosplaying Like A Bawse!!!

Freaks, weirdos, geeks, nerds, otakus, weeaboos all these different labels and names that people find for us but none capture fully the true essence of what we are. Passionate! About a culture so refined and foreign to us that damn near everything about it pulls you in. The time honored history, values and culture that is passed on through not only the people but also the media that manages to leave its country and make its way overseas for us to partake in. It has been 50 long and noteworthy years since Jamaica first partnered with Japan as countries in arms and I am proud to see such an out pouring of support from so many for events such as Anime Nation. This will now be the 5th year since this event took Jamaica by storm and oddly it shows no signs of slowing down. Every year more and more people show up and every year the lovely people at JA Cosplayaz have to find a bigger and better venue to house all the passionate anime/manga lovers out there.

JaCosplayaz is primarily spearheaded by the above 3 individuals; from left  to right: Tetrice Afayah Prendergast, Zane Francis, & Fabian Pinkney. AS you can see clearly they have a strong passion for the culture and all it offers whether through gaming or animation. It was this passion that has led them into a long standing partnership with the Embassy Of Japan that has helped bring awareness of Japan in Jamaica to higher heights every year. From the various cultural exchange programs such as JET (The Japan Exchange And Teaching Programme) to more local based events such as Anime Nation, Japanese presence and impact is at an all time high in Jamaica. Just want to take this time to say kudos to the aforementioned people and all the countless hours and sacrifices they made to make this recurring event the success it is today. Also want to give a very honorable mention to the three main admins of the JACosplayaz Facebook page Tara Sham, Sherae Morrison & Stephen Brown.

Stephen & Sherae Spent The Night Terrifying Patron Young And Old

The event started off well and granted some items ran overtime somehow managed to progress smoothly into the night. The day started off with a one of a kind interview segment with one of Japans animators of legend Masami Suda. One of the main driving forces behind such classics as Gatchaman aka G-Force and Fist of the North Star. Not to mention all the cultural displays and merchandise on sale; and if that wasn't enough there was a wide variety of live performances on display for the patrons from musical to animated. Hell there was even a video game tournament played for Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. The night culminated into an epic costume parade to showcase some of the cosplayers in attendance. Local cosplayer extraordinaire Steffi Singh made a clean sweep of Anime Nation 2014 by winning not only the award for cosplayer of the year but also best costume of the event. Kudos to you Steffi you made a lot of people proud, really wanted to get one of your water paintings but my outfit broke my piggy bank so sucks to be me.

Steffi Singh

All in all great event, great turnout and great people. I am very happy with my first experience cosplaying even though I was pretty nervous about my outfit and being around so many people. The highlights of my night would be all the lil kids I took pictures with, seeing all the Japanese people instantly recognize my cosplay and wanting to take pics and getting to snap a picture with a fellow Dragonball Z cosplayer who was cosplaying as Gohan. Can't wait for next years event to roll around definitely going to cosplay a character that isn't short so I don't have to crouch for all my pics to stay in character, its been two days and my legs are still jello and ache. Sorry to those that would have preferred to see video coverage footage but my camera has issues and dies super fast if I record video so I focused mainly on taking pictures so feel free to look through the 200+ pictures I managed to get and remember to like our Facebook page. This is your friendly neighborhood gamer Zalgo Cometh signing off...

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Reminder Of Events Taking Place This Saturday To Come Out And Support

I finally finished my cosplay prop for Anime Nation 2014. Yaay me!!! This Saturday the 16th of August is chock full of awesome activities for one and all. Ill primarily be going to Anime Nation but I will try to make an appearance at one or two extra events to support the cause. Anime Nation has always been an awesome event and I expect this year to be no different. Here is a sneak peek at my main prop for my cosplay outfit: 

Next up is the Call Of Duty Ghosts gaming tournament taking place for $25,000 and bragging rights as the best local COD players. (event was postponed till the end of the month. Will update with a new flyer eventually.)

If you are more into the late night scene instead of the day time approach feel free to check out the epic party taking place on August 16th.

Just in case you subscribed to a higher calling in a more fast paced lifestyle we have just the event for you to check out over at the National Stadium on August 16th.

So no matter what your slice of life there is something happening this Saturday for your enjoyment so do take the plunge and come out to these events and enjoy yourself and if you see me at any of these events don't be shy to say hi and we can grab a pic together ^_^.

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Everyone Be One Be On Dat Soccer Hype

Welcome to another random Monday blog. Feel like i'm running out of topics I wanna actively talk about on this blog on Mondays so this kind of devolved into a recap or summary type of thing. So the big thing for the last couple weeks and going forwards for now is the 2014 FIFA World Cup. You know this shit is serious when even a country like USA that doesn't really give two shits about Soccer comes out in support of their national team. Personally there is only one team to back which is Argentina but let everyone have their fun in the spirit of competition. Shit is so real even corporate business places are filled with the gasps, sighs, and cheers of workers watching the matches and enjoying the hype in the typical work day. Shit is so intense my department has a betting pool going on for each stage of the tournament. I tried it out for the first section but they upped the stakes from $500 to $1000 so I had to fall back from that cause i'm not about that life. Hopefully your team that you are carrying or bandwagoning with is still currently in the tournament; if not then tough shit better luck next 4 years. Here is the current standings as of typing this blogpost:

Switching gears a bit but still on Soccer news; Digicel is spearheading an e-Sports related event in tandem with the current World Cup fever sweeping the world. I present to you the Digicel FIFA 2014 World DigiCup Ranking Tournament sponsored by Digicel Jamaica; endorsed by Empire Arcadia and organized by Fighter's Allegiance Jamaica. This tournament is Digicel's first venture into the realm of e-Sports and competitive gaming in Jamaica. This tournament will see 32 selected finalists compete in a virtual world cup with each finalist representing one of the 32 teams qualified for this years World Cup competition. The eventual winner of the tournament receives $100,000 and a Samsung Galaxy S5 courtesy of Digicel Jamaica; second place walks away with $50,000 and third place takes home $25,000. Digicel Jamaica is the leader of technology and innovation in the telecommunications field and as such saw it fit to take it upon themselves to be the first major corporation to take the initiative to join the world of e-Sports. Check out this wrap up footage from the event by one of the attendants:

Anywhore i'm going to just leave this here as this is and go test this El Gato capture card I got. All the best and hope to see you come out and support the event on the various tournament dates on July 5th, July 6th, July 12th, July 13th. Stay tuned to our Facebook fan page, Fighter's Allegiance Jamaica and Empire Arcadia for further news concerning the event. Quick side note; I realize my life is getting a bit more hectic and as such I doubt I will be ale to do video game reviews every week so ill be aiming to do one game review every two weeks instead. Thanks for understanding and as always "keep on gaming"...

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Time To Start Catching Up

Guys!!! Girls!!! Animals of the jungle!!! Lend me your ears... I'm back in the booth; haters still lying but your boy is da truth. I am finally getting back to blogging for those that care, it's been nearly a month since I stopped blogging due to a wide variety of activities and time constraints but now that things are simmering down we can get back to basics. Keeping this short and sweet as best as I can; with that been said first up is Mash Di Button 2014.

Mash Di Button

I wont get into too much details in regards to the event since I already covered that in a previous blog. Sad to say I couldn't take first place in the Injustice tournament but instead got third place. This was the main reason I took a break from blogging since I was trying to make as much time as possible for training. Glad to see it paid off and i placed top three. On the bright side though I guess I'm consistent since last year I got third place in the Street Fighter tournament. I would have liked to have video footage and pics to show you but I was also a judge during the competition and forgot my camera so I have no personal footage to share. Thankfully I got the hook up to some pictures so you can enjoy. Click the picture below to open up the Facebook picture album.

Guild Wars 2

Recently a fan/friend bought me a copy of Guild Wars 2 and as with most MMORPG's it took over my life. This is partly why I don't review MMORPG games when I do reviews because they are far too time consuming and easy to get addicted to. In any case I finally hit lvl 80 recently and got most of the gear needed for my character so its with perfect timing now that i can start to ease off the crack pipe called Guild Wars 2 and get back to doing video game reviews. Had fun while it lasted and even streamed it on the twitch channel. You can check that out below...

Watch live video from The_Ghost_Who_Walks on TwitchTV

FIFA 2014 Digicup Gamers Challenge

Since roughly about last year august I have been trying to work on getting Digicel to embrace the realm of E-Sports. Alongside influential entities both local and overseas such as Fighters Allegiance Jamaica and The Empire Arcadia respectively we have started planting seeds. Seeds we hope one day grow into big burly connections so that the realm of E-Sports can be embraced on multiple levels of Jamaican society. It has been a long and arduous road that has had its fair share of growing pains. This however is beginning to form and take root as Digicel finally put together an E-Sports event to run alongside the currently ongoing FIFA World Cup. As things progress we hope this will be a clear cut sign to other entities in Jamaica to take a closer look at the potential and market reach that ventures into E-Sports holds for them. Now that the preliminaries are over the next step is the Finals on the 28th of June; hope to see you all out in full support of what is shaping up to be quite the event.

Well that's basically everything that has happened  thus far. Special thanks to all those who stuck around wanting to see more and all the new likes we got on our Facebook fan page. Glad to see you back here reading again and until next time; keep on gaming.

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The impact of the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector on the Jamaican economy, culture and communications

Digicel is a privately held firm owned by Denis O‟Brien a Boston College educated, Irishman. Forbes magazine in 2010 estimated his net worth at US$4.2B placing him 254 on the Forbes rich list. In April 2001, when Digicel launched its GSM mobile service in Jamaica, the company anticipated reaching the 100,000 customer plateau by the end of its first year in operation. Instead, it hit the 100,000 mark a mere 100 days after launch. Never before in the country's history of mobile telecommunications had such tremendous growth been seen in a network, as Digicel broke record after record on its way to surpassing its major competitor as the mobile provider with the largest customer base in the island.

Digicel raised the bar where an acceptable level of network coverage was concerned. Jamaicans living in rural parishes finally had a genuine option for mobile communications. With an island-wide network of over 1,000 cellular towers spread across all 14 parishes, Digicel firmly established itself as the mobile provider with the premier network coverage across the country. The company's approach of affordable phones, a user-friendly approach and mass marketing earned Digicel a leading place in the market that it astutely defended. From its inception to this very day Digicel has helped mold and shape Jamaica in a wide variety of ways, their arrival in the island was truly a catalyst that set the telecommunications sector in motion.

Liberalisation of the telecommunications market commenced with the granting of two new carrier licences for the provision of domestic mobile voice, data, and information services. Each mobile entrant used a different technology for its mobile network. Mossel (which operates under the trade name Digicel) commenced service in April 2001 using Global System of Mobile (GSM) Communications; later that year Oceanic Digital Jamaica (now Claro) commenced operation deploying Code Division Multi Access (CDMA); while C&WJ, who had been offering mobile services in Jamaica since 1991, employed Time Division Multi Access (TDMA). CWJ subsequently switched from TDMA to GSM, similar to Digicel except that they operate on different frequencies. Competition in the provider market is always beneficial to the customer so as to ensure maximum value for their money.

FLOW

Flow offers what it calls its Triple Play services to residential consumers: digital cable TV, digital landline and broadband internet access. Flow has the highest capacity broadband network in the country with 320 Gbps capability with excess capacity of approximately 75%. Since the entry of Flow in 2005 the cost of ADSL and other broadband services have fallen in excess of 60%. This has impacted our culture as well being able to bring Jamaicans that much closer to a first world technological experience even though we are considered a third world country. Allowing information of all shapes and sizes to be readily accessible by the masses; this has help speed up the cultural imperialization of our country to better match the ideals and values of the world of large. 

DIGICEL

Digicel has made a large impact on Jamaica economically through bout their corporate actions and through the Digicel Foundation's exemplary charity work. Most recently though the building of a US$65M headquarters in downtown Kingston, an area that has been blighted by urban flight. The headquarters is expected to house 1,000 employees and politicians and real estate agents are expecting that this will be a catalyst for growth and renewal in the downtown business district. This is poised to bring in a lot of new businesses and interest in the area. We can see this already with the introduction of a Domino's pizza store and increased pedestrian traffic down by the waterfront properties.

LIME

In response to Digicel entering the telecommunications market; C&WJ in 2008, embarked on a new high risk transformation strategy which included corporate re-branding and changing its name from C&WJ to LIME. Since the emergence of Digicel LIME has essentially been playing a constant game of catch up trying to hold on to what little of the market-share they still have. This has led to a fair amount of promotions and network improvements beneficial to the customers such as their 3G network upgrade and launching the Caribbean's first mobile television service. This show of technological improvement pushed Digicel to one up LIME by implementing 4G technology and upgrading their own network to better facilitate their customers growing mobile needs. Most recently LIME launched a $2.99 campaign on call rates to which Digicel countered with a flurry of call plans to give the customer the best available call rate to suit their needs. In our currently declining economy value for money is a major concern for customers no matter what company you side with.

With all that being said it seems like Digicel was one of if not the biggest catalyst for technological change in the recent history of Jamaica. This is seen from the direct impact they have made on the telecommunications industry as well as indirectly pushing the competition to step their game up and not just rest on their laurels. This primarily helps Jamaica as a whole to step forward into the technological information age and become self aware that just as they take notice of other countries they are being watched as well. As stated previously the impact can be seen in a variety of ways but more so on Jamaica's economy, culture and communications advancement.

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