Animoca Brands announced the signing of an agreement with Ourpalm Co. Ltd. to publish the popular game Doraemon Gadget Rush on the Android platform in China. OurPalm will act as China publisher for the Android version of Doraemon Gadget Rush, exposing the game to China’s booming Android gaming market. According to research firm TalkingData, Android accounts for two thirds of mobile operating systems in China. Doraemon Gadget Rush for iPhone and iPad was a popular success in China and across Asia. The game was downloaded over 1.8 million times in its first two weeks and was the most popular overall iPad app in five markets including China, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. In the “puzzle games” iPad category, Doraemon Gadget Rush performed even better, reaching the #1 rank in 15 markets including Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Spain, and other countries.
With the launch of the Android version of Doraemon Gadget Rush in China, published by Ourpalm, Animoca Brands is looking to recreate the success of the iOS version of the game.
“We expect Ourpalm’s reach and influence to take the success of Doraemon Gadget Rush to a new level,” said Robby Yung, CEO of Animoca Brands. “This agreement confirms our ability to boost adoption of our existing games by increasing the availability and awareness of our products in the hugely important Chinese market.”
Ourpalm pursues strategic investment mergers and acquisitions with game developers and industry leaders. Recent M&A’s include Dovo Entertainment, PlayCrab, ShangGame, TIANMA, BLINGSTORM and also strategic investments in Unity Software, ZhuChao Game, and H&R Century Pictures. Leveraging synergies with their acquired subsidiaries, Ourpalm’s mobile and web games cover all the primary game genres, including trading card games, hardcore action role playing games, casual games, racing games, first-person shooting games, single and multiplayer games, simulation games, and tower defense games, making the company not only one of the top developers and publishers in China, but one of the most diverse from a portfolio standpoint. Valued at over USD 8 billion, Ourpalm is China’s leading listed mobile and social web game developer and publisher, employing over 2,000 dedicated staff and working with a global network of companies to publish hundreds of games across China, Southeast Asia, Europe and the USA.
The Global Mobile Game Confederation (GMGC) identified China as the world’s fastest growing mobile gaming market. By next year China will overtake the USA in terms of total mobile revenues to become the world’s leading gaming market. NewZoo reports that China’s current annual mobile gaming revenues are USD 6.1 billion, still slightly below the USA’s USD 6.3 billion revenues, but by 2017 China will be at USD 9.3 billion (GMGC). This trend is being driven by increasing smartphone adoption in China and the country’s rising level of engagement with mobile games. According to GMGC, Chinese users typically spend up to three times the amount of time playing mobile games than their US counterparts.
Source: Animoca
