Calgary-based Ph03nix New Media, who created the runaway hit Curse of the Pharoah (released through Big Fish Games) was pitching TRZZonline.com, a "hip hop multiplayer online universe" at the 24th Angel Forum at SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver. Jon Lam of Pho3nix termed hip-hop as the biggest cultural revolution in the last 20 years in terms of music, culture and entertainment, but as of yet there hasn't been a hip-hop based MMO, even though the MMO space is the fastest growing segment of the games market. The site will be aimed at a 13 to 18 year old demographic, and will include an education component through mini-games. The site will be browser-based and run in Flash, requiring no additioanl software installation. Lam referred to the site as a "chocolate vitamin," in that even in tough economic times, people still want to buy chocolate and the vitamin component comes through in the educational component.
Cambrian House's MJ Sikorsky was in attendance and led the investor-only disussion after Lam's presentation. Sikorsky invested $100K in Ph03nix New Media last week.
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