Local expertise, global perspective.
Since 2002, we have been exclusively researching and analyzing the video games markets and consumers in Asia and MENA. We cover China, Chinese Taipei, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. Our year-round, ongoing data-driven market research that informs and benefits all custom client work. We collect and aggregate data and news in the Asian and MENA countries we cover on a daily basis, and conduct our own primary data collection. We have a global team of analysts. Native speakers in the countries we cover conduct all of our primary research: fielding surveys, running focus group, talking to gamers, visiting events and venues, and regularly meeting with game company executives and government officials.
Our analysts are native speakers of Chinese, Hindi, Bahasa, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Arabic. Please contact us for a direct conversation. 尽管我们的研究成果以英文发表，但我们有中国本土分析师，如需中文服务，请直接与我们联系。 हमारा शोध अंग्रेजी में प्रकाशित होता है, परंतु हमारे विश्लेषक हिंदी में भी सहज हैं।अतः, किसी भी प्रकार की जानकारी के लिए कृपया हम से सीधे संपर्क करें। Meskipun hasil penelitian kami diterbitkan dalam bahasa Inggris, tim kami juga memiliki penutur asli bahasa Indonesia. Silakan hubungi kami untuk informasi lebih lanjut. 弊社の研究は全て英語で発表しておりますが、スタッフの中にはネイティブレベルの日本語が話せるアナリストも在籍しております。ご連絡をお待ちしております。 니코 파트너즈의 연구는 영어로 발표하고 있습니다만, 한국어가 가능한 애널리스트도 재적중입니다. 직접 대화를 원하시는 분은 연락 부탁드립니다. Walaupun hasil kajian kami diterbitkan dalam bahasa Inggeris, kumpulan penyelidikan kami juga memahami bahasa Melayu. Sila hubungi kami untuk maklumat lebih lanjut. ถึงแม้ว่างานวิจัยของบริษัทนีโก้พาร์ตเนอร์สซึ่งถูกตีพิมพ์เป็นภาษาอังกฤษ อย่างไรก็ตามบริษัทนีโก้ยังมีบุคคลากร นักวิเคาราะห์ที่มีความรู้ความสามารถในด้านภาษาไทย ท่านสามารถติดต่อสอบถามรายละเอียดได้. Các nghiên cứu được đúc kết và phát hành bằng tiếng Anh. Nhưng chúng tôi cũng có các nhà phân tích người Việt. Để biết thêm chi tiết, xin vui lòng liên hệ trực tiếp với chúng tôi.
علي الرغم من ان جميع الابحاث يتم نشرها باللغة الأنجليزية,لدينا ايضا متحدثين باللغة العربية ضمن فريق العمل, لمعرفة المزيد برجاء Bagama’t ang aming pananaliksik ay naka-lathala sa wikang Ingles, Ang aming grupo ay may kasamang nakakaintindi ng salitang tagalog. Mangyaring makipag-ugnayan sa amin para sa karagdagang impormasyon.
Lisa Cosmas Hanson is President and CEO of Niko Partners, a market research and consulting firm covering the Asia games market and its consumers. Lisa founded Niko Partners in 2002 and has since honed her expertise on the Chinese and Southeast Asian games industry that has benefitted Niko’s clients: Companies that are global leaders in game publishing, game services, hardware, and investments. Prior to founding Niko, she served as Lead Strategist at Viant, and as Director, Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker and Senior Analyst, Asia Pacific at IDC Research. Lisa began her career as Equity Analyst at Marusan Securities in Tokyo. Lisa appears regularly in the media such as The New York Times, Business Week, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, Reuters, BBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, and Dow Jones, among others. She is based in the US but travels to Asia regularly to give presentations at industry events and engage with the market.
Xiaofeng is Niko’s Vice President based in China. He has worked for Niko for over 15 years. He has more than 15 years of research and analysis experience, expertise in data modeling and data collection, and is bilingual in Mandarin and English. Xiaofeng manages Niko’s China focus groups, database of more than 4 million Chinese consumers, and research collection process. A hardcore gamer, Xiaofeng is the chief liaison with Niko’s China-based technology partners and the primary local contact for our clients based in China.
Daniel Ahmad is the Director of Research and Insights at Niko Partners. He is responsible for leading the company’s Syndicated Research and Subscription Insights line of business, providing valuable data driven insights and analysis to clients. Daniel joined Niko Partners as an analyst in 2016 and helped build out Niko’s Value Added News Analysis service and Syndicated Research line to cover 14 markets across Asia and MENA. Daniel has also built a vast following of readers on Twitter via his @ZhugeEX account, and is frequently quoted in major news, business, and gaming media outlets as a thought leader in the field of video games. His deep understanding of the Asia and MENA market, coupled with his ability to provide actionable insights, has helped clients find success within a complex region.
Darang is the Director for East Asia and Southeast Asia Research for Niko Partners. He has worked with an array of research institutions including ASEAN Study Center of the Universitas Indonesia, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, and the Economist Intelligence Unit. Darang also has two master’s degrees: a Master of International Affairs from University of California, San Diego and a Master of Chinese Studies from Zhejiang University. He is based in Jakarta and is trilingual in English, Bahasa Indonesia, and Chinese.
Alexander leads Niko’s esports research practice and is the primary analyst for special topics impacting the video game industry across Asia and MENA. His work includes analysis of all esports data as well as directing white papers and topic reports, such as esports, web3, metaverse, gametech, game infrastructure. Alexander holds a PhD in Media Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara with an emphasis on esports, and has authored chapters of several books used in the industry.
Tyler has nearly 20 years of experience consulting with clients on doing business in Southeast Asia and he specializes in business and developmental economics in the APAC region. He has an International MBA from National Institute of Developmental Administration in Bangkok, Thailand and a Master of International Affairs from the University of California, San Diego. Tyler is fluent in both Thai and English.
Based in Jakarta, Indonesia, Caroline is responsible for managing Niko’s research projects and deliverables. Her background is in research and academic writing, and project and stakeholder management. Previously, she worked as an Advisor at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for the ASEAN-German PROTECT project. Caroline obtained her master’s degree from the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), Seoul National University. She is fluent in English, Indonesian and Korean.
Jaqualine is the Operations Manager who manages Niko’s operations including marketing, client fulfillment, and public-facing content administration. Prior to joining Niko, she has worked in both the public and private sectors, including at a communications consultancy, an international development agency, and Indonesia’s line ministry. She holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Divya Somani is an analyst who covers the India video games market and also oversees sales outreach for Niko Partners. Divya actively engages on the business development end for Niko including engaging with businesses in the gaming ecosystem to discuss how Niko Partners can help them succeed in the complex video games markets. He has a background in Management Studies. Divya is based in India, and is multilingual in English, Hindi, and other Indian languages.
Marco is Analyst at Niko Partners who covers the Philippines games market and Asia’s esports industry. An avid gamer from an early age, he brings with him an almost two decades of illustrious experience in his home country’s esports and video games industry. His passion in gaming also leads him to engage in local gaming communities, mentoring esports players and speaking at games-related events. Marco is bilingual and fluent in both English and Tagalog.
Mohamed Zaher is Niko’s Analyst who covers the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) video games industry. One of the authors of Niko’s MENA Games Market Report, he also contributes to client research projects and value-added news analysis while engaging with the key people in the industry. Passionate to witness the growing MENA games market, he has represented Niko Partners at several major game events in MENA, speaking at conferences to share Niko’s insights on the region. Zaher holds a master’s degree in Chinese Language from Tianjin Foreign Studies University. He is based in Egypt and is trilingual in English, Arabic, and Chinese.
Edward is an analyst at Niko Partners who covers the trends and insights of the video game industry in Malaysia, Chinese Taipei and China. In addition, Edward has also published esports blog posts for Niko. Prior to Niko, Edward has been a passionate gamer from an early age. Edward takes his childhood hobby, video gaming to academic research, studies and beyond. Edward is the first Southeast Asian to graduate with a master’s degree in esports at Staffordshire University (UK) in 2021 and a recipient of the British Council GREAT Scholarship in 2020.
Considered “the top academic in the $160 billion video games industry,” Joost teaches at the NYU Stern School of Business and is author of One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games. Previously he was co-founder and CEO of SuperData Research, a games market research firm, which was acquired by Nielsen in 2018. Joost works as an advisory board member for a portfolio of both publicly traded firms and startups in gaming. He publishes a weekly newsletter on gaming, tech, and entertainment called SuperJoost Playlist.
Michele advises on business development and corporate strategy for Niko Partners. She is Senior Vice President for Asteri Networks, an eSports technology and data service, previously managed Game Developers Conference including the event’s international expansion, and has expertise in growth, strategic partnerships, international business development, cross-functional team management, as well as mergers and acquisitions. She has trusted Niko Partners for delivering guidance back when she worked on projects that required deep understanding of the game industry in China. She always looks to Niko Partners for insights as the firm remains the most respected source of expert data and advice for companies doing business in video games markets that matter.