India Review 2016
Reflecting on the evolving jigsaw puzzle of India's mobile games industry in 2016
We speak to Nazara Technologies CEO Manish Agarwal about the industry's latest developments this year and look ahead to the future
Ready To Transform
Netmarble plots further acquisitions in 2017 following Kabam Vancouver Studio deal
Netmarble Chief Global Officer Seungwon Lee discusses the recent big-money purchase
Nintendo On Mobile
Nintendo planning to launch up to three mobile games a year after successful 2016
Tatsumi Kimishima thinks it should be a main pillar of the business
Let's-a-go
Super Mario Run dashes past 50 million downloads in its first week of release
Still no official word on revenue
Back Of The Net
Konami shares up 4.8% thanks to four million downloads of mobile game Jikkyou Powerful Soccer
Publisher scores a hit with football spin-off
Super Mario Runaway
Super Mario Run officially hits 40 million downloads
No word on sales
Indian Mavens
Indian Mavens' Games of the Year 2016
Clash Royale, Human Resource Machine and more!
China Esports
China's mobile eSports industry expected to generate $2.6 billion in revenue in 2016
Three times more than 2015
Slow To Switch
Nintendo Switch uses last-gen Nvidia tech and will run 60% slower when undocked
But when has Nintendo ever had the best performance?
Keep Dreaming
Halfbrick Studios terminates China distribution agreement with iDreamSky
Looking for a partner with "greater transparency"
Apple In India
Apple in talks with India's government to begin manufacturing in the country
Looking to emulate China model
Explosive Deal
Netmarble acquires Kabam’s Vancouver studio and picks up Marvel Contest of Champions
Also picks up customer support, marketing, biz dev and UA teams in Austin and San Francisco
Super Mario Fall
Nintendo shares fall further 7% as investors show Super Mario Run concerns
Early download and revenue success not enough to convince investors
Big Deal
Swedish firm Stillfront acquires MENA publisher Babil Games in deal worth up to $17 million
Stillfront aims to expand its presence in the region
Super Mario Fall
Nintendo shares fall 5% following Super Mario Run launch
Still better than pre-Pokemon GO days
Investing In Outsourcing
Starbreeze acquires Indian developer Dhruva Interactive for $8.5 million
Dhruva to continue offering work-for-hire services to external studios
We Have Lift Off
Super Mario Run now available on iPhones and iPads
Mario’s mobile debut releases in 150 countries
No Watching
China's government bans the streaming of unapproved games
Another nail in the coffin for China's indies
Go To India
Pokemon GO to officially launch in India following Niantic partnership with Reliance Jio
No data charges on the game until the end of March
Winning Accolades
How the International Mobile Gaming Awards is changing with the industry
Founder and CEO Maarten Noyons on the final call for entries
Super Nintendo World
Universal Studios Japan to open $433 million Nintendo-themed area by 2020
Generating 1.1 million jobs in the decade after its launch
Everything Or Nothing
Why Samsung is giving $10,000 to every developer in the Tizen Store's top 100
Hokyu Choi on building the Tizen smartphone market and ecosystem
Launch In China
Simplify the Chinese app publishing process and reach over a billion people with APPTUTTi
Get your game released in China
Run & Jump
Nintendo stock prices jump 3.7% after positive reaction to Super Mario Run marketing
Heading back towards post-Pokemon GO hype levels
Story Time
Legendary Games brings StoryToys children's game to Japan's HTML5 kid's platform dkids
The Very Hungry Caterpillar proves to be a hit
Five Million Heroes
Asia mobile eSports tournament Hero World Championship 2 draws in five million viewers
2,000 people there in person
Underdogs Come Good
The Indian indie game developer's road to funding
UnderDOGS CEO Vaibhav Chavan chats at NGDC
A Galaxy Too Far
Cause of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7s may be an untested battery too big for the devices
Instrumental tears down the phone to uncover the truth
Moving Forward
Sony ForwardWorks reveals first mobile games, partnerships and mixed-reality tech for 2017
A wealth of games for Asia
Business Deals
Deal Tracker: Big money deals in China, HTML5, chat apps and fashion games in November 2016
37 Interactive splashes nearly $200 million on acquisitions
Dropping Out
"If someone doesn't get the feature we had, I don't think they'd be able to sell more than 100 units"
Catching up with Creative Head Ankush Madad at NGDC 2016
Jostling In Japan
Sony's Fate/Grand Order has been more successful financially on Android in Japan than Pokemon GO
Could never match global success
Exploring Options
Capcom's Monster Hunter Explore resurfaces in Taiwan after cancellation of global launch
What could it mean?
World Of Delistings
Chinese World of Tanks publisher KongZhong set to delist itself from the US stock exchange
Online games company the latest China firm to leave the Nasdaq
Instant Success
Facebook has 26 million MAUs in Japan as it readies itself to make a splash with Instant Games
A fifth of the population have probably played Pac-Man again
Projection Or Pipe Dream?
"IAPs in India are going to be tough nut to crack"
What stands between India and $1.1 billion?
Indian Mavens
Will India's mobile games market really be worth $1.1 billion by 2020?
Indian Mavens discuss App Annie's projections
Eastern Promise
Chat apps have been vital to mobile gaming success in Asia, but can Facebook do the same in the West?
The potential impact of Facebook Instant Games
Bigger Pixels
New experimental design facility PIXEL Studios opens in Singapore to support the next generation of devs
Offering space and mentoring to game developers
India Pixels
Google's Pixel took up 10% of the premium smartphone market share in India in October
Sold 33,000 units
India Iphones
Apple sells 100,000 iPhones in India in three days following demonetisation of high-value bank notes
Only manufacturer to hit sales targets in India
Silent Growth
Introducing Timuz, the biggest Indian developer you've never heard of
We chat to MD Ahmed Mohammed at NASSCOM Game Developer Conference 2016
Fighting On Multiple Fronts
How June Software is racking up downloads in India while targeting global grossing success
CEO Roby John on a big year for the studio
Everybody Loves Pokemon
Pokemon GO is the most played game of all time in Japan
According to a not-very-scientific survey
Power Of Friendship
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links passes four million downloads in first week of Japan launch
100 million duels have taken place in the game
Think Long-term
Live ops at EA is about making stolen moments count
We talk live games and monetising Indian users
Highs And Lows
India's mobile games market is growing rapidly, but revenues are still playing catch up
Downloads not an indicator of revenues and engagement
Go East
Unity’s Xiaomi deal will offer developers “unparalleled access” to China’s mobile games market
Partnership kicks off next year
Easy-peasy
China’s NetEase is now the world's top-grossing mobile games company
Onmyoji, Fantasy Westward Journey and Ghost top 10 grossing games
Early Opportunities
India's mobile games market is like the US in 2008, but it's growing rapidly
Boss Fight Entertainment's Bill Jackson on the opportunities in India