Grand Opening of ROG Concept Store in SM Mall of ASIA

“With the launch of the South District of the Republic in SM Mall of Asia, we aim to further solidify our stance as the number one gaming brand in the country as we open the first ROG concept store in the country that adapts an open-floor layout. This is the first store outside Taiwan that will embrace an experiential floor plan, similar to our ROG premium store in Syntrend Electronics Mall in Taipei, and gives current and prospective ROG end-users with a better experience in trying out the latest ROG devices to help with their decision to Join the Republic,” said ASUS Philippines Systems Group Country Manager George Su. 

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) opened its most daring store yet in the Philippines at the SM Cyberzone, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. With its opening, ROG strengthens its forts in south Metro Manila and ensures that end users who visit the store get nothing but the best gaming experiences.

(From left to right) ASUS Philippines Systems Group Country Manager Mr. George Su, Villman Computers Philippines Inc. Chief Executive Officer and President Mr. Manuel Villaroman Jr. and Chief Financial Officer and General Manager, Ms. Girlie Villaroman led the official ribbon cutting during the opening of the ROG MoA Concept Store in SM Mall of Asia

End-users can engage with powerful ROG machines in these built fixtures, giving them more immersive experiences with the products.

This milestone opening of the first-ever ROG store boasting an open-floor layout was attended by VIPs from ASUS Philippines, executives from partner dealer and distributors, premier DoTA 2 Shoutcaster Nico “KuyaNic” Nazario, and top local female streamer and ROG Ambassador Ann B. Mateo. End-users got a chance to play together with their e-sports and gaming idols in a head-on battle between Team Hero and Team SCAR spearheaded respectively by the gaming personalities.

Premier DoTA 2 Shoutcaster Nico “KuyaNic” Nazario and ROG Ambassador Ann B. Mateo battled together with their teams to determine who dominates the South District between Team Hero and Team SCAR.

ROG started fortifying its Districts back in 2016 by opening the Capital of the Republic in SM Megamall – the first ever concept store in the country, followed by the (2^nd) North District in SM North EDSA in the same year. ROG continued to grow its territories, expanding its market to the Visayas Region by opening its 3rd District in SM City Cebu in 2017.

“With these districts of the Republic, ASUS ROG has dominated as the number one gaming brand in the country. In fact, we are happy to share that we are still the Number 1 gaming brand today, with a 53 percent market share based on market data as of June 2018,” said Su.

“However, our efforts don’t stop there. As we aim to expand our market share in the country, members of the Republic can also expect to get the same experience when they visit present and upcoming ROG districts near them,’ Su concluded.

Powerful machines to watch out for in the New ROG Concept Store

Boundless Bravery, Limitless Precision – ROG Strix GL504 Hero and SCAR Edition

Designed for both first-person shooter (FPS) and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), these powerful successors feature a more compact design and a new front RGB light bar with customizable Aura Sync lighting. Both the SCAR II and Hero II laptops feature the world’s first 144Hz ultra-narrow-bezel display which allow for hyper-immersive visual performance. Both editions come with an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H processor and 16GB of DDR4-2666MHz RAM. The Strix GL504 SCAR II comes with a 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD, a 2.5” Firecuda 1TB SSHD, NVIDIA GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 VRAM; while the Strix GL504 Hero II comes with a 128GB NVMe PCIe SSD, a 2.5” Firecuda 1TB SSHD, NVIDIA GTX 1060 with 6GB GDDR5 VRAM.

Gaming Supremacy Uncovered – ROG Huracan G21 Gaming Desktop

The ROG Huracan G21 takes desktop gaming into a whole new level with its features that fits a supreme gaming machine. It unleashes its true potential as it improves the airflow when the side cover is opened which enables CPU and GPU performance boost. Maintenance and upgrade of key components are easier with its slide-open chassis design. This small-form factor desktop houses the latest 8^th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H processor and up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics for an extraordinary gaming experience. Huracan G21 also comes with up to 512GB NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD and up to 32GB DDR4 VRAM. It also comes with Aura Sync which shows off your gaming colors with synchronized light effects with other Aura Sync-compatibles devices.

Filipino eSports Fans Rejoice: ROG Masters 2017 Asia Pacific Regional Finals to Happen in Manila this October 2017, One Step Closer to the World Finals

Manila Philippines, August 31, 2017 — ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) once again proved why it is the undisputed number one gaming brand locally and globally by gathering some of the best e-sports players for both CS:GO and DOTA 2 in the country. The ROG Masters 2017 Philippine Qualifiers journey started in June and just recently ended this month in an intensified final battle held last August 19 and 20 in SM Cyberzone, SM City North Edsa.

Live your eSports Dream with ROG Masters 2017 PH Finals

Fighting for glory, Mineski CS:GO team finished off again in the finals this year with a back-to-back win from last year’s ROG Masters PH finals. The crowd favorite took the first game at glance against Rekt E-sports with 16-6 score and swiftly bagged PHP 75,000 cash prize at the end of second game. During the Semi-Finals, Rekt E-sports turned down Wargods while Mineski eliminated Fractals. Being on top of the game, Mineski was able to secure a spot in the ROG Masters 2017 regional finals and battle against the Asia’s finest CS:GO players.

Mineski CS:GO slaying the ROG Masters 2017 Philippine Finals with a back-to-back win and securing their second title, proving they are still the number one CS:GO professional team in the country

In the MOBA side of the Masters, the DOTA 2 tournament quickly passed as a 2-0 score consistently turned out every game. Entity Gaming defeated Happy Feet during the first round of the competition and Execration, fresh from their stint in The International 2017 and also last year’s ROG Masters World Finals runner up, showed that they’re ready to fight back and this time crowned as the next ROG Masters DOTA 2 grand champions. In the end, Philippine pride, Execration proved each step of the way that they were indeed ready to redeem themselves and grab top spot after winning against Imperium in a 2-0 battle slaying the first game of the ROG Masters 2017 Philippine finals with ease.

                         

On a separate note, the uprising Entity Gaming which is composed of Filipinos and Indian players showed their presence and pulled out Execration’s winning momentum. On the first half of the do or die round, Entity Gaming dominated the battle scene but Execration showed dynamic team synergy and more “Pro” gaming experience which resulted to a game comeback and win this year’s ROG Masters 2017 Philippine finals title for DOTA 2 and bring home a whopping PHP 125,000 and more importantly a chance to win PHP 25,000,000 (USD 500,000) in the ROG Masters 2017 World Finals.

Execration Team Captain Kimuel "Kim0" Rodis explaining their game strategy and finding the perfect balance of hero against Entity Gaming

ROG Masters 2017 PH Finals: For hardcore gamers and enthusiast

It was a fun-packed, exciting 2-day event for all the Citizens of the Republic. Fellow gamers and e-sports enthusiasts not only witnessed the battle of the bests unfold, but also had the chance to experience the latest ROG machines in the experiential area.

Lots of activities and giveaways were prepared for the end-users including ROG’s eleven (11) Godlike items which include gaming monitors, mice, keyboards, DOTA 2 arcana, motherboard, graphics card and the much-awaited powerful ROG gaming laptop as the grand prize during the two-day event.

Gaming personalities like the ASUS ROG Brand Ambassador, Ann B. Mateo joined the event and even participated in some of the activities at the ROG experience area.

One of the Philippines’ most successful bands Pinoy Band Rivermaya rocked the ROG Masters’ stage with their iconic songs like Elesi, Awit ng Kabataan, and Olats.

ASUS Philippines Systems Group Country Manager, George Su, explains ROG Philippines overall performance and brand direction in 2017

“The Philippine eSports scene is starting to get really exciting day-by-day. Last year, we partnered with the Professional Gamers' League (PGL) in mounting the world’s biggest DOTA 2 tournament series in country which is the Manila Major. Last June we also took part in the grandest eSports event this year in the country which is the Manila Masters and we will not stop here,” shares George Su, Country Manager of ASUS Philippines System Business Group.

“Staying true to our commitment to support the local eSports scene, ASUS Republic Of Gamers (ROG) is proud to host the ROG Masters 2017 Asia Pacific finals in the country bringing together more than twenty professional teams all over Asia. The Republic greatly believes that the Philippines can be considered as the eSports capital of Asia and Filipino pro gamers and up and coming talents has highest potential to become the next global eSports superstars and ROG Masters 2017 can be their stepping stone to reach this dream,” Su concluded.

*This is Press Release

Pinoy App Developers Proved Their Incredible Skills in ASUS Philippines’ First Ever Hackathon Event Organized Dubbed as Zenfone AR: A New Reality

ASUS Philippines recently launched the Zenfone AR, the world’s first Tango enabled and Daydream-ready smartphone with 8GB of RAM, through a 48-hour hackathon event, dubbed as the “Zenfone AR: A New Reality Hackathon”, held last June 22 to 24 in Whitespace Manila in Makati City. In line with its commitment to search for the incredible, ASUS together with VR Philippines, a commmunity of virtual reality developers and enthusiasts who promote the advancement of VR technology in the Philippines, and key industry partners from the private and government sector, collaborated to organize a one-of-a kind hackathon event that aims to develop Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) applications that benefits the lives of Filipinos and address challenges through the power of  AR and VR. “As you may know, Augmented and Virtual reality are still in their infancy stage and it needs more awareness to properly understand its full potential,” said ASUS Philippines’ Product Marketer for Smartphones, Mike Santos, as he welcomed the teams on the first day of the event. “Hence, AR and VR are game-changers that can make our lives better; especially now in this ever-changing digital world.” “ASUS Zenfone AR is the world’s first Tango enabled and Daydream ready smartphone with 8GB of RAM that is available in the market. We, at ASUS, believe that the Zenfone AR will be a great tool for professionals and early adaptors who are keen to further explore the power of Augmented and Virtual reality to maximize their profession and expertise. “We are on the verge of going beyond what we know and hand-in-hand, we will be exploring endless possibilities and ways in making reality far better than what it is today through the innovative power of the Zenfone AR.” Santos concluded. An incredible 48-hour hackathon experience The teams being briefed on the first day before they formally begin the hackathon. For a chance to win PHP 100,000.00 and undergo an exclusive immersion at ASUS Headquarters in Taiwan, six (6) teams were chosen as finalists from different parts of the country. The six finalists were: Team ARBotics from Quezon City, Team Studio 3 from Makati City, Team ImagineAR also from Quezon City, Team MB from De La Salle University in Taft, Team Semicolon STI Global City, and Team Dark Fire from Cebu City. These teams spent 48 hours in the confines of Whitespace Manila to develop Augmented and Virtual reality applications that were special to the capabilities of the Zenfone AR. To further challenge the app developers, the teams picked 2 different fields of specialization, which they had to provide AR or VR innovation into an application. Each team convened in their respective workstations, working on their application. Bound by time in a hackathon that made use of 2 technologies that were quite new – each team displayed critical thinking and camaraderie as they worked hard to develop the application that aims to solve key problems in the Philippines. Fortunately, while still far from their perfected states, all six (6) teams prevailed in creating different applications that they feel would be best solutions to the problems that they were assigned to. Going Beyond Reality – the Hackathon awarding Zenfans and media guests enjoy the Zenfone AR experience booths as they wait for the event to begin. Media guests, Zenfans, private and government sector members and as well as various IT movers-and-shakers arrived on the final day of the Zenfone AR: A New Reality Hackathon, last June 24. Attendees during this day did not only celebrate the arrival of the much-anticipated arrival of the Zenfone AR in the Philippines, but also reveled in the brilliance each team displayed through the applications they made over the span of over just 48 hours, which they had the pleasure of experiencing during the second half of the evening. Left to Right - Mr. Solon Chen, GDAP Head of Membership, Mr. Dominikus Susanto, Qualcomm Marketing Lead for SEA Region, Mr George Su, ASUS Philippines Country Manager, and USEC Monchito Ibrahim, Undersecretary of Management and Operations of DICT, the hackathon judges with Mr. Mike Santos, ASUS Philippines Product Marketer for Smartphones. Missing in this photo, Mr. Carlo Ople, PLDT Enterprise and International Carrier Business Vice President for Digital Marketing Strategy The panel of judges were composed of individuals who were well-versed in their fields and already utilized augmented reality and virtual reality in their respective areas of expertise starting from the Head of Membership for GDAP, Mr. Solon Chen, Vice President for Digital Marketing Strategy for PLDT Enterprise and International Carrier Business, Mr. Carlo Ople, from the Marketing Lead for the SEA Region of Qualcomm, Mr. Dominukus Susanto, and the Undersecretary for Management and Operations of DICT, USEC. Monchito Ibrahim. ASUS Philippines’ very own Country Manager, Mr. George Su, who sat as the Chairman of the judges during the hackathon event. Ranging from various problems on IT/Telco and Medical to Lifestyle and Design, each team was judged according to the following criteria: 25% Relevance, 15% Creativity, 30% Usability, 20% Problem Solving, and 10% Popularity Vote from media and fans. With the presented benchmarks, 3 teams were crowned winners of the first ever ASUS Philippines Hackathon, while teams who did not place were given PHP 10,000.00 as consolation prizes and, in addition, Google Philippines gifted all participants all-access pass to Google events in the Philippines. The 3rd place, with the reward of PHP 50,000.00, was presented to Team ImagineAR, a team from UP Diliman and Los Baños that established the ImagineAR mobile games company in Quezon City, which developed “EngineAR” application – an augmented reality application on Engineering and Transport that allowed users to envision and design their automotive. The 2nd place, with the reward of PHP 75,000.00 was granted to Team Studio 3, a team of game developers from KLab Cyscorpions, Inc. based in Makati, for their “kwARrto” application, which tried to solve concerns on Lifestyle and Design with an augmented reality application which permitted the users to view rooms, and personalize them accordingly to what they want. Team ARBotics, a group of UP Diliman Students and Haraya VR/Diwata-1 engineers from Quezon City and Navotas City. The team was led by former Diwata-1 developer, Juan Paolo Espiritu, and won the 1st place by showcasing a virtual reality application that aims to solve IT-Telco and medical issues through their application called “AR/ER”. ARBotics developed the application for on-the-go medical practitioners who would need access to a body scanner, in the event of an unforeseen accident. They were awarded not only the PHP 100,000.00 cash prize but also the 5-day exclusive immersion in ASUS Taiwan, under the Research and Development AMAX department, slated for October 2017. Team ARBotics stand together with the Zenfone AR: A New Reality judges, Mr. Solon Chen of GDAP, Mr. Dominikus Susanto from Qualcomm, Mr. George Su the Country Manager for ASUS Philippines (center stage), USEC. Monchito Ibrahim of DICT upon winning the 1st place. The Zenfone AR: A New Reality aims to empower the new generation of app developers. It was truly a celebration of going beyond reality by using a powerful and innovative smartphone device for AR and VR – the Zenfone AR. Moreover, George Su, Systems Group Country Manager of ASUS Philippines shared that the search for the incredible would not end with just the hackathon. Su added, “The hackathon is only one way to help Filipinos understand this new kind of technology present today. Fans and enthusiasts can expect more efforts from ASUS Philippines to support AR and VR efforts spearheaded by industry leaders, Google Developer Groups, The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and as well as the private sector. We believe this effort is only a beginning towards the incredible.” ZENFONE AR AVAILABILITY IN THE MARKET The Zenfone AR is available for pre-ordering from July 5 to 16! Pre-order now to get the Zenfone AR together with its exclusive bundle of the ZenPower Ultra, exclusive Zenfone AR Clear Case and Tempered Glass, as well as the Zenfone AR VR Cardboard. For more information on local ASUS events, the Zenfone AR, and other incredible products available in the market, tune in to ASUS Philippines’ Official Facebook Page. SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING

ASUS Republic of Gamers Today Launched in the Philippines its Powerful and Ultra-slim Gaming Notebook yet – The ROG Zephyrus GX501

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the launch of Zephyrus, the world’s slimmest gaming laptop powered by a 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 (Kaby Lake) processor and the latest NVIDIA^® GeForce^® GTX 1080 graphics. Zephyrus features the Windows 10 Creators Update, which improves the performance of PC games via the all-new Windows Game Mode, and makes it easier to perform native game-streaming with Beam, Microsoft’s streaming service.

The 15.6-inch Zephyrus features an ultraslim profile and incorporates the ROG-exclusive Active Aerodynamic System (AAS) — a specially designed cooling system. It also features customizable ASUS Aura RGB lighting effects and a super-fast 120Hz panel with wide-view technology, 100 percent sRGB color gamut and NVIDIA G-SYNC^™ for breathtaking gaming visuals.

The world’s slimmest gaming laptop with unparalleled performance and features

ROG Zephyrus is the result of persistent dedication to gaming innovation. ROG aims to create laptops that are slimmer, cooler, quieter and more powerful than ever before — to fully address the needs of today's highly mobile gamers. Zephyrus has a blade-inspired design, resulting in an ultraslim and sleek profile that tapers from 17.9mm down to just 16.9mm at its thinnest point. Its compact dimensions make it the world’s thinnest gaming laptop powered by the 7th Generation Intel Core i7 processor and the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, delivering unstoppable gaming performance. The incredible CPU and GPU combination allows Zephyrus to compete successfully with larger devices and desktops

ROG-exclusive design and cooling system

ROG Zephyrus is cooled by an exclusive Active Aerodynamic System (AAS) that runs cooler and quieter without sacrificing performance. AAS incorporates the unique AeroAccelerator (AA) technology that increases the speed and efficiency of airflow through the laptop. The fan’s 3D-curved surface cover and accelerator guides enhance airflow and move heat away from the components more efficiently. When Zephyrus is opened, a portion of the bottom of the chassis flexes to increase the airflow volume by 20 percent and further increase air circulation. AAS maximizes system stability as well as gaming and thermal performance, and it allows full utilization of the CPU and GPU, so gamers can engage in marathon sessions without fear of interruption.

Perfected gaming keyboard with Aura RGB lighting, innovative touchpad with 10-key functionality

ROG Zephyrus features a keyboard positioned at the front of the chassis — a design that allows better cooling of internal components while providing a more comfortable and familiar experience for gamers accustomed to desktop keyboards. ASUS Aura RGB lighting technology provides dynamic and customizable lighting effects over the entire keyboard, as well as separately highlighted customizable effects for the WASD and QWER key groups, allowing users to create a gaming ambience that matches the feel of their game. Anti-ghosting keys ensure commands are instantaneously and correctly interpreted — even when up to 30 keys are pressed simultaneously. The keys have been ergonomically designed to provide optimum comfort and typing accuracy. Zephyrus positions the touchpad to the right of the keyboard and also integrates a 10-key function that is easily activated by a hot key. When activated, a red backlight illuminates the 10-key functionality.

Ultra-smooth gaming visuals and versatile connectivity

ROG Zephyrus is equipped with a 120Hz display that enables smooth gaming at a true 120Hz frame rate. NVIDIA G-SYNC display technology synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the NVIDIA GeForce graphics card’s frame rate, ensuring ultrasmooth visuals. G-SYNC reduces lag, minimizes perceived stutter, and eliminates visual tearing — providing the smoothest, fastest and most breathtaking gaming imaginable, without affecting system performance. Wide viewing angles and a 100 percent sRGB color gamut also allow the panel to produce outstanding, lifelike colors from any angle. The laptop is also equipped with a USB Type-C™ (USB-C™) port with Thunderbolt™ 3, allowing G-SYNC and 4K UHD display output, fast data transfers and power delivery.

“Today we have fulfilled our promise to bring innovative and ground-breaking gaming notebooks in the country in first half of 2017. The ASUS Republic Of Gamers (ROG) Zephyrus GX501 set the bar even higher when it comes to compact, powerful and ultra-slim gaming notebooks available in the country,” said ASUS Philippines Country Product Manager for ROG Gaming Notebooks, Joey Nocom.

“ROG aims to provide gamers and enthusiasts locally and worldwide with the ultimate gaming and computing experience because we believe that showcasing innovation through our products will ensure gaming laptop dominance and preference in the future,” Nocom concludes.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING

ASUS ROG GX501 Zephyrus will be available by August 2017 and will be available for pre-order starting June via http://rog-masters.ph/. Other configurations to might be announced by different regions in the coming months – please contact your local ASUS representative for further information.

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About ROG

Republic of Gamers (ROG) is an ASUS sub-brand dedicated to creating the world’s best gaming hardware and software. Formed in 2006, ROG offers a complete line of innovative products known for performance and quality, including motherboards, graphics cards, laptops, desktops, monitors, audio equipment, routers, and peripherals. ROG participates in and sponsors major international gaming events. ROG gear has been used to set hundreds of overclocking records and it continues to be the preferred choice of gamers and enthusiasts around the world. Learn more about the choice of champions at http://rog.asus.com.