The Asia market has become the most lucrative and influential region in the global mobile games industry.
Companies in countries such as Japan, South Korea and China are highly successful at home and are increasingly expanding around the world through global game releases, international partnerships and M&A. These markets also offer lucrative opportunities for Western publishers.
To give you a deeper insight into this key region, each week we’re rounding up all the news from PocketGamer.biz and around the web. Don't forget to keep up with the news throughout the week on the Asia section of our site.
Got any news leads about the Asia market you'd like to share? Email PocketGamer.biz senior editor Craig Chapple at craig.chapple@steelmedia.co.uk.
TikTok owner Bytedance confirms plans to develop a smartphone
The Chinese tech firm has confirmed that is has partnered with smartphone manufacturer Smartisan on the new mobile hardware.
Tencent and Qualcomm team up to work on various mobile technologies
Chinese publisher Tencent and chipmaker Qualcomm have signed a deal to potentially partner on a number of digital entertainment projects including 5G, Snapdragon-based smartphones and cloud gaming.
India tops worldwide mobile downloads for Q2 2019 with 5.4 billion
The figure was a new milestone in the quarter, showing a 13 per cent increase from the 4.7 billion in Q1 2019.
Bandai Namco opens new mobile games-focused branch in Barcelona
Called Bandai Namco Mobile, the new company will focus on the publisher’s growing mobile business outside of Asia and will unify overseas mobile development and marketing efforts in the West.
My.Games partners with iDreamSky for mutual global expansion
It's hoped the strategic deal will open up new opportunities for iDreamSky to grow into European, US and Russian markets, while receiving marketing and promotional support.
Nintendo Switch sales continue to be strong as hardware reaches 36.87 million
2.13 million Switch units were sold through Q2 2019, representing a 13 per cent increase from the 1.88 million that were sold last year.
Sega Sammy Holdings sees a 246.6 per cent increase in operating income this quarter
Sega Sammy revealed a sales increase of 5.7 per cent; it reached ¥72 million ($670 million) for the quarter. Meanwhile, the company experienced an increase in its operating income increasing from ¥935 million ($8.6 million) to ¥3.4 billion ($31.3 million).
Facebook tops mobile app publishers worldwide for Q2 2019
On the App Store, Google was the most downloaded publisher globally for the three months at over 180 million installs. Tencent grabbed second for iOS at approximately 150 million downloads while Voodoo, Facebook and Good Job Games secured third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Nintendo offers free Joy Con repairs as firm is struck with class action lawsuit
An internal memo acquired by Vice states that Switch customers will no longer be charged for repairs and refunds will be given for those users who have already paid.
Epic Games “one of our best partners” says PUBG Corp
The two companies, publicly at least, appear to have buried the hatchet following PUBG Corp's previous lawsuit against the Fortnite developer, which has subsequently been dropped.
Appier launches new marketing solution to re-engage mobile gamers
Aictivate will join Appier’s technology suite and not only help with player retention but look to reduce the cost associated with doing so.
Game for Peace once again overtook Honor of Kings as Tencent continues to be unchallenged as the top grossing company on the Chinese App Store.
Connect directly with the biggest players in the Asian market at G-STAR, the most accessible games event in the region. Busan, Korea, November 14th to 16th November. Register now here.
