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 [...]
Southeast Asia is a fast-growing region for the gaming industry. Niko Partners estimates that total mobile & PC game revenue will reach $6.7 billion in Southeast Asia in 2025, with an estimated CAGR of 7.8% for 2021-2025. Esports is an important segment of the games industry, especially in Southeast Asia where there are over 100 million [...]
The 19th China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference (ChinaJoy) took place July 30 - August 2, 2021, with a theme “Create Dreams with Technology and Win the Future with Fun.” There were more than 500 exhibitors across the B2B and B2C segments, nearly 30% of which were foreign, that displayed games, hardware, accessories, and new technological [...]
Moving into 2021, esports are cautiously returning to in-person events and several large-scale international competitions are now on the books for late 2021. The Asian esports industry seems hopeful. However, the effects of 2020 are still quite visible and the industry balances caution and a desire to return to normal. Leading Titles Taking Shape LoL League [...]
Niko’s China Games Streaming Tracker tracks streaming and viewing on China’s largest game streaming platforms. Streaming video is one of the most important components of the gaming and esports industry. We track and analyze the three platforms to produce weekly market trends and game rankings including: heat index, streaming hours, unique streamers, total tips/gifts, fans per streamer, and [...]
China bans fundraising through ICOs China has banned and made illegal the practice of raising funds through digital token based initial coin offerings (ICO). The rise of cryptocurrencies has led to $2.2 billion having been raised through ICOs this year alone. Chinese regulators have described initial coin offerings as “a form of unapproved illegal public financing” [...]
