That Was Onix-pected
Pokemon Quest catches one million downloads on Nintendo Switch within two days of launch
The title is currently out on Switch but will find its way to mobile in June
Opinion
PUBG Corp's lawsuit against Epic's Fortnite could set an uncomfortable precedent
This market has been built on a cycle of iteration and improvement which could end if the Playerunknown's Battlegrounds firm wins this case
Data Klaxon
75% of spending in the iOS App Store came from games over the past 10 years
In terms of downloads games took 31 per cent
Going Public
Chinese games publisher iDreamSky plots Hong Kong IPO
Gardenscapes and Subway Surfers publisher could raise as much as $300 million
International Events
Pocket Gamer and G-STAR launch international promotional partnership as Big Indie Awards heads to South Korea
UK publisher Steel Media Ltd extends partnership with South Korea’s leading game expo G-STAR, including the Big Indie Game Awards in Busan in 2018
I Choose You
Slate of new pokemon games set for Nintendo Switch and mobile
Pokémon: Let’s Go duo to come out late next year while Pokémon Quest is out now
There Can Be Only One
PUBG Corp sues Epic over Fortnite Battle Royale
Follows threats last September and a lawsuit against NetEase
Augmented Reality
Google’s ARCore heads to China
Partners up with Xiaomi
Critical Hit
Pokemon Company profits almost halve to $81 million
But still represents the second highest on record
Co-development
Canada’s Throwback Entertainment inks co-development deal with South Korea’s Leanup
Two titles set for release by the end of the year
Not Bad
Tencent's Honour of Kings made $185 million in April 2018
Fortnite meanwhile generates $296 million across platforms
Well Then
New PlayStation chief sees future in portable games for Sony
John Kodera thinks it should be a vital part of the PlayStation ecosystem
Why Not
NetEase developing internet drama based on battle royale hit Knives Out
The Chinese tech company are also turning Onmyoji into a live action movie
Crafty
Minecraft builds up 100 million players in China since launching last year
The popular builder originally came to China in August
Search Ads
How AppBi is supporting Apple Search Ads campaigns for top mobile games publishers
AppBi CEO Carmen Lu discusses how its services can lead to a generous ROI
Knighted
Netmarble’s Knights Chronicle pulls in 500,000 pre-registrations in one week
Players who sign-up will gain a slew of rewards come games launch
Nice
Cartoon Network soft launches new Powerpuff Girls game in Asia
The horde mode-styled beat ‘em up pits the girls against monsters
Whoot!
Alien Path publisher iCandy buys Indonesian Hollywhoot developer Joyseed
Deal worth up to $263,000
New Job Klaxon
NCSoft appoints chief development officer for Western operations
Chris Corry will be responsible for overseeing all development in the West
Rip
Sony to cease production of physical PlayStation Vita Games, except in Japan
Creation of games cards to finish by the end of March 2019
One V One Me Bro
Street Fighter characters touch down in Power Rangers: Legacy Wars
Cammy, M. Bison, Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile and Akuma set to join the fray
Netease Financials
NetEase profits tumble 20% in Q1 as Onmyoji and New Ghost lose traction
Battle royale hits Knives Out and Terminator 2: Judgement Day offset lost revenue
God Like
How NadiaSoft plans to mix Eastern and Western influencers for global appeal
The new IP will feature an array of gods and heroes from Greece, China and more
What's Next?
Monster Strike publisher Mixi plots $900m investment in biz dev and M&A over next five years
$100 million earmarked for Monster Strike and new IP development
Tencent Financials
Tencent’s mobile games revenue up 68% to $3.4 billion in Q1 2018
But investors concerned by historically low operating margin
Uninstall Rates
Three out of 10 apps uninstalled after 30 days
But games one of the least likely to be deleted, according to Appsflyer report
Gladiators, Ready
Nintendo and Cygames' Dragalia Lost picks up 200,000 pre-registrations
Game set for summer launch in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau
Racing To Mobile
Slightly Mad partners with Gamevil for new Project Cars mobile game
But no release date announced
Power Of Ip
Lineage M spikes NCSoft profits up 570% year-on-year to $189m
But revenues are down quarter-on-quarter as Lineage sales stabilise
Still Going Strong
GungHo’s sales and profits continue to fall amidst Puzzle & Dragons decline
But still hugely profitable
East To West
Chinese livestreaming platform Huya raises $180 million in US IPO
15 million shares sold at $12 each
Going Public
Kakao Games applies for IPO in South Korea
Publisher set to go public on South Korea's second-tier stock exchange Kosdaq
Financial Fantasy
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius and Hoshi no Dragon Quest help bump Square Enix to profits of $348 million
Dragon Quest Monsters Super Light and Kingdom Hearts Union X also given nods
Take To The Seas
Overseas sales push Com2us to $100m revenues for Q1 FY18
85 per cent of revenues came from abroad as Summoners War continues to draw players
Ouch
Tencent up against worst margins ever as value drops $78 billion
Rising costs and continued investments will strain profits
Financials
Netmarble revenue and profits tumble year-on-year as sales slow
Lineage 2: Revolution takes 35 per cent of revenue share of game sales
Rapid Growth
Chinese mobile games sector set to double to over $24 billion by 2022
Set to surpass PC this year
Down
Revenues and profits down for DENA’s games segment over the past year
Virtual currency consumption for browser titles declined
Oh
Mobile games Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links and Pro Evo 2018 power Konami to record profits of $413m
Revenues also grew 4.2 per cent year-on-year to $2.19 billion
Rip
Nintendo’s social app Miitomo goes offline two years after launching
The decision to take the app was revealed earlier this year
Mobile Game Trends
Malaysia snapshot: Mobile Legends extends its lead
Niko Partners' Daniel Ahmad takes a close look at the hottest trends
Witness The Fitness
Animoca Brands nabs investment to create AI-based exercise app
Animoca Brands’ subsidiary OliveX to lead the development
Not Bad
Top 25 public games companies captured 77% of global games revenues in 2017
Tencent, Sony, Apple, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard took the top five spots
Tencent... Again
Tencent signs strategic partnership with UK's Department for International Trade
But barely a mention of video games at the event announcing the collaboration
Flip The Switch
Virtual Console unlikely to be coming to Nintendo Switch Online
The games giant also revealed data cloud backup and pricing for Nintendo Switch Online
Mena Expansion
PocketGamer.biz expands with new Arabic-language sister-site PocketGamer.me
Steel Media partners with leading Jordan games publisher Maysalward
Pokemon Goes On Tour
Pokemon Go Summer Tour heads to the US, Germany and Japan
Events will feature a host of interactive adventures and special challenges
Rewarding Creativity
IMGA founder on rewarding creativity and its ambitious plans for 2018
Maarten Noyons discusses hot industry trends and brand new events
Royale Royalty
NetEase recruits Battle Royale film scriptwriter for Knives Out
Kenta Fukasaku to build story and lore for hit mobile game
Streaming Ads
Synative’s HTML5 cloud tech offers a new streamable approach to playable ads
Founder Ken Liu on an interactive way to acquire users