Kuma Games Gets Real With IBM, One Episode at a Time

Kuma Games, the world leading episodic game publisher and developer, has chosen IBM (NYSE: IBM) BladeCenter to support its rapid business growth.

Kuma is a pioneer in the new market for Episodic Video Games -- rich, 3D, immersive game experiences delivered to consumers’ PCs and gaming consoles in weekly episodes. Known for its re-creations of real-world events, military training simulations, licensed TV properties, and works of fiction, Kuma requires advanced gaming tools at the heart of its operation.
“Kuma specializes in interactive game-isodes that let viewers watch a television show, then immediately jump into the action,” said Keith Halper, chief executive officer of Kuma Games. “The idea is catching on quickly... and as our audience grows and our business expands, the easy-to-use design and open architecture of IBM BladeCenter lets us rapidly scale the Kuma experience so no player is left behind.”

Anticipating their growth to continue at an accelerated rate, Kuma needed a new systems architecture that could accommodate thousands of simultaneous players and millions of game downloads, and provide a flexible foundation for their expanding business. IBM BladeCenter quad core HS21 servers offer the scalable architecture that Kuma needed to deliver immersive and responsive experiences to all levels of gamers whether they are reliving a real-life battle or playing a deadly game of cops and robbers. In addition, the BladeCenter solution is power efficient, helping Kuma manage energy costs, and has an open, flexible design that will allow the system to grow with Kuma as it expands its online business by adding new users, protecting the company’s investment.

Blade computers integrate servers, storage, networking and applications into one system to end the proliferation of server “farms,” the large IT staffs needed to manage them and wasted energy resources. As a high performance, scalable computing platform, IBM BladeCenter is particularly well suited to support gaming environments.

Kuma Games is a privately held company expanding its portfolio of graphics-rich video game titles, downloadable for free and supported by advertising. Kuma’s current lineup includes “The DinoHunters,” “Kuma\War,” The History Channel’s “Dogfights” and “ShootOut,” and Spike TV’s “The Kill Point.” With game episodes based on hit programs, viewers can tune into a program on television and then participate in that week’s episode online. For example, “Dogfights: The Game” lets gamers experience history’s greatest aerial battles firsthand, with heart-stopping multiplayer action inside well-researched real war scenarios.