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This Week in Asia: Black Desert franchise hits $1.7 billion revenue as Nintendo ceases 3DS production

The biggest stories from across Asia

This Week in Asia: Black Desert franchise hits $1.7 billion revenue as Nintendo ceases 3DS production

The world is vast, and keeping up with all the news that happens is incredibly difficult, especially when it comes from another corner of the earth.

That's why we like to keep you, our readers, up-to-date on the latest goings on in Asia, a huge mobile gaming market that can be tough to keep track of, but one that the rest of the world should absolutely pay attention to.

We'll be rounding up some of the bigger stories from Asia each week, to ensure you're full in the loop with the latest goings on.

Read on for more…

Pearl Abyss' Black Desert franchise breaks $1.7 billion in lifetime revenue

South Korea-based games firm Pearl Abyss' Black Desert Online has broken $1.7 billion in lifetime revenue.

Back in April 2019, the MMO franchise smashed through $1 billion in lifetime revenue, almost a third of which was accounted for by mobile. Last December, Black Desert Mobile was rolled out for iOS and Android devices around the world. A month later, the game hit 20 million installs as the series crossed $1.5 billion in lifetime revenue.

Nintendo's mobile games library hits 650 million downloads

Nintendo's mobile games library has accumulated 650 million downloads.

As detailed in the Japanese firm's recent corporate management report, its mobile expansion has granted even more players access to its IPs, including Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem and Mario.

PGC Helsinki Digital: Battle royale made up 20% of total time spent across mobile games in the first half of 2020

Battle royale games made up 20 per cent of all total time spent among top mobile games by monthly active users in the first half of 2020, despite only making up three per cent of downloads.

This information was confirmed by App Annie general manage of gaming Junde Yu and senior market insights manager Lexi Sydow during their talk at PGC Helsinki Digital on 'Uncover Market Opportunities & Expand Your Product Portfolio by Understanding Gamer Preferences'.

PUBG Mobile fires past $3.5 billion revenue, accumulates $500 million in two months

Tencent's battle royale behemoth PUBG Mobile has exceeded $3.5 billion in lifetime revenue, according to Sensor Tower data.

More so, the mobile game accumulated approximately $500 million in 72 days alone, after reaching the $3 billion mark. PUBG Mobile has generated close to $1.8 billion from player spending and 198 million downloads from 2020 alone.

Nintendo says goodbye to 3DS production

Nintendo has chosen to discontinue its set of 3DS systems as it shifts its sole focus to the Nintendo Switch.

This will be the first time that Nintendo is operating just one platform since 1989. However, despite the stop in production, games will still be available for the 3DS and its variations via the Nintendo eShop and various retailers. Furthermore, there are no plans to end online play.


Connect with South Korea, China, Japan and the whole of the Asian games industry at G-STAR, November 17-21. The huge games exhibition features a b2b conference with top speakers and the chance to network with the leading Asian companies, and this year it’s all online. You can find out more and buy tickets at https://www.gotogstar.com/ (you can save up to 20% by buying Pocket Gamer Connects tickets at the same time).


Editor

Ric is the Editor of PocketGamer.biz, having started out as a Staff Writer on the site back in 2015. He received an honourable mention in both the MCV and Develop 30 Under 30 lists in 2016 and refuses to let anyone forget about it.