Bankrupt Atlus parent Index to start asset auction
Tokyo-based Index Corp., the struggling owner of Japanese game developer and publisher Atlus, is seeking 15 billion JPY (US$148.7 million) in part from the auction sale of Atlus titles to assist in dealing with 24.5 billion JPY (US$242.9 million) in debt.
Index develops games for...
Japan’s online games market grew by 101 per cent in 2012
The Japan Online Game Association (JOGA) recently released their annual survey of the online and mobile game market in Japan. According to the report, Japanese online game revenues totalled 142.09 billion JPY in 2012, a year on year increase of 101 percent. JOGA noted...
True Digital Plus to release Korean MMORPG LOE Online in Thailand
Leading Thai distributor True Digital Plus will soon release Eden Entertainment's action MMORPG L.O.E. (Lune of Eden) Online.
"With the continued success of the online gaming business, True Digital Plus is always searching for a unique new game that offers diverse services," said True Digital...
Namco Bandai to open Singapore studio
Japanese game developer and publisher Namco Bandai has announced it will invest S$1 million to establish a new studio in Singapore's Mediapolis technology park this year.
"Namco Bandai Studios Singapore is positioned as the leading development centre for Namco Bandai Studios in Asia, and further...
Blizzard testing WoW in-game microtransactions in Asia
World of Warcraft, one of the few major MMOs still collecting player subscription fees, has begun the process of introducing an in-game microtransaction store. Blizzard says the store will start up initially in Asia, but that the company intends to expand in-game purchases to...
Soldgers to launch online game auctions in the Philippines
Soldgers, the Singapore-based ecommerce company behind the popular Southeast Asian online shopping and auction sites Sold.sg and Sold.my, now expands to the Philippines with Gamers.ph.
Gamers.ph has partnered with local distributor X-Play Online as a key supplier for the new website. X-Play's Boni Ong says,...
Chinese ban on game consoles may be lifted
The decade-long ban on game consoles sales may be eased, according to sources in China's Ministry of Culture.
Due to fears of the potential harmful impact on young people, seven Chinese ministries collectively banned the production, sale and import of game consoles in 2000. Now...
Legal restrictions on ‘addictive’ games proposed in Korea
Fourteen South Korean representatives have joined South Korean politician Shin Eui-jin to introduce a bill grouping online games with alcohol, gambling and drugs as activities in need stricter regulation due to their addictive nature.
The legislation intends to give the government authority to apply the...
A$6M in funding to bolster Australian developers
After weathering the global financial crisis, job cuts and dropping retail sales, ten Australian game development companies have been awarded A$6 million in government funding. The developers chosen were Defiant Development, ODD Games, Soap Creative, Tantalus Media, Tin Man Games, Torus Games, Twiitch, Uppercut...
Philippines’ Herrera-Dy calls for game legislation
Bagong Henerasyon party Representative Bernadette Herrera-Dy, vice chairman of the Philippines' House committee on children’s welfare, has urged local executives to enforce regulatory classifications for video games that are sold in stores or played in gaming arcades, claiming that many of them promote violence...
Aiming releases mobile bestseller Kingdom Corps for iOS and Android
Japanese game studio Aiming Inc. takes Kingdom Corps global with the game's release on Apple's App Store and Google Play. Kingdom Corps is a free-to-play, online card-based strategy RPG and mobile bestseller in Korea and Japan.
Based in Tokyo with offices in Osaka, Seoul, Taipei...
Rapid growth for Vietnamese mobile games in 2013
Despite the large number of licensed Chinese and Korean titles that dominate the PC and mobile online game markets in Vietnam, the recent success of the homegrown online mobile title Van Kiem by MC Games looks to heat up the competition in the Vietnamese...
Thai online market to reach US$132M by 2014
Leading Thai game publisher Asiasoft expects Thailand’s online games turnover to reach US$132 million by 2014. The rapid growth of online gaming since 2009 has been attributed to the spread of broadband Internet, the large variety of games available and decreasing hardware prices.
In 2011,...
Ubitus acquires new partners to expand cloud gaming overseas
Following an investment round in led by Samsung Ventures, Taiwan's cloud gaming technology provider Ubitus has rapidly secured new partners China Telecom, LG, Konami, Nexon and Neowiz to drive growth in Asia and North America.
In May Ubitus raised over US$15 million in cash from...
Square Enix establishes Indonesian game studio
Square Enix has joined with Indonesian Gotanda Electronic to start Square Enix Smile Works, the company's first game studio in Indonesia.
Indonesian's increasing purchasing power and consumer confidence, as well as an expected rapid expansion of the online games market, were key factors in...
Sega to close Medieval II studio in Australia
After significant layoffs in 2012, Sega confirmed that the Brisbane-based developer Sega Studios Australia will be shut down later this year.
Previously known as The Creative Assembly Australia, the studio suffered 40 layoffs last February and at the time, Sega said the developer had...
Mobile’s rise brings games industry together in Shanghai
As the games publishing industry faces significant new challenges worldwide with the rise of mobile games, Chinese and overseas business leaders will gather next week in Shanghai to map out strategies for future collaboration and growth in China and abroad. The setting will be...
Tencent launches LinkLink in China, looks to develop WeChat as gaming platform
Following the success of Japan's Line and Korea's KakaoTalk in turning chat apps into mobile game platforms, Tencent has rolled out the social game LinkLink on Weixin (the Chinese WeChat).
Tencent also reportedly plans to distribute several more casual games via the mobile messaging...
Chinese mobile publisher Yodo1 gets US$5M from SingTel
Led by Singapore's SingTel, the Chinese smartphone game publisher Yodo1 has acquired US$5 million in Series A funding to meet demand from Western game studios looking to enter China's 300 million+ iOS/Android mobile market.
Yodo1 recently reported 25 million active Chinese players of its popular...
Renren to contribute 10M RMB for online communities research lab
Renren Games has announced plans to donate 10 million RMB to China’s Qinghua University to set up a joint research lab with Qinghua’s psychology department.
The new BBD (Behaviour and Big Data) lab will focus on researching psychological behaviour related to virtual communities, like those...
