The MENA region is booming for gaming and esports according to Niko Partners’ ongoing tracking of the Asia & MENA games industry. As a result, event organizers and government agencies have initiated many conferences, exhibitions, and esports events in MENA countries. Niko Partners analysts have attended key events this year to present our research, engage with [...]
When foreign game companies decide on localizing languages in games to be published in Asia, the list of languages considered is typically limited to Chinese, Japanese, and Korean due to the massive game revenue of the markets using those languages. This could cause issues as not all gamers in the region are proficient in either English [...]
ChinaJoy, one of the largest video game conventions and exhibitions in the world, celebrated its 20th anniversary between July 28 – 31 2023 in Shanghai. Niko Partners has participated in ChinaJoy for all 20 years, beginning with the inaugural event in January 2004 in Beijing (which was postponed from summer 2003 due to an airborne virus), [...]
On July 12, 2023, Tencent and Riot Games finally launched the highly anticipated first-person shooter title, Valorant, in mainland China. The launch comes three years after the games international debut in June 2020, with the delay attributed to a long process for getting a Chinese license (ISBN) required for local operations. This game licensing process had [...]
Esports at the IOC-sanctioned 32nd Southeast Asia Games (SEA Games) in Cambodia have drawn to a close. Running from May 6 to 16, the regional sporting event saw competition in six titles that are popular in Southeast Asia: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Attack Online 2, Crossfire, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Valorant, and PUBG Mobile. This [...]
Did you know that esports has entered its golden jubilee this year? It has been 50+ years since the first-ever esports event took place at Stanford University in 1972 when 24 players competed in an Intergalactic Spacewar tournament, and the winner received a year’s subscription to the Rolling Stone magazine. Fast forward to 2023, technological advancement [...]
The first floor of the PC gaming area at e-ZONe in Osaka, Japan. Tourism is one of the many industries that enjoy positive spillover effects from the fast-growing video game and esports markets in Asia. There is a strong intersection of esports and tourism in particular, and one aspect of interest is esports hotels. Niko [...]
Lucy Chow's new book Changing the Game: Discover How Esports and Gaming Are Redefining Business, Careers, Education, and the Future drops on September 27. The book features 34 essays from thought leaders in the gaming industry - including Niko. Niko Partners' Lisa Hanson is the author of the chapter Asia: The Heart of Global Esports and [...]
On May 23, the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi ended with a spectacular light show. (Source: Bernama) Vietnam hosted the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in May 2022, the first major in-person sporting event in the region after a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the second time Vietnam has hosted the [...]
The mascot of the 31st SEA Games is Sao La, which is based on the saola, a rare animal native to central Vietnam listed in Vietnam’s Red Book of Endangered Species and one of the world's rarest animals. The Southeast Asian Games (commonly known as the SEA Games) is a biennial multi-sport event that involves athletes [...]
