Mobile Legends releases Manny Pacquiao skin for Paquito character
Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao is once again immortalized - this time as a fighter hero for the popular video game Mobile Legends.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang or MLBB has previewed the Manny Pacquiao skin for its in-game character, Paquito, yesterday, April 14, on YouTube.
“We spent a total of four months to create the hero, Paquito,” said William Mei, marketing manager of MLBB for the Philippines.
“We extracted the spiritual core of Manny Pacquiao, and I'm sure our players feel the champion's spirit when they play him in the game.”
It took the MLBB team six months to thoroughly develop the skin, a task that included taking hundreds of photos of Pacquiao to exactly capture the boxer's features, expressions, tattoos, and other physical details.
The team was also in constant communication with the champion boxer's camp throughout the design process of the character.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, felt “very honored” to be part of an extraordinary project.
“It's hard to say no when you have a hero inspired by you in the game and now, they will give him new skin which will have my name on it. It's exciting,” said the eight-division world champion in a statement.
It was in January of this year when MLBB released the first Paquito, “The Heavenly Fist” character.
The character has broken sales records for the game, boasting of a usage rate of up to 3% in games above the rank of Legend with a win rate of 53%.
The new Paquito character, however, captures Pacquiao's image and likeness accurately.
Gamers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia can get the Pacquiao-licensed skin until September 13.
There will be a 30% discount for the skin on the first week of its release, as well as a number of in-game events so gamers can acquire the skin for free.
Meanwhile, take a look at other Filipino-inspired video game characters: