Piano Tiles 2 One of the World’s Leading Games (Thanks to Hong Kong)

According to Inside Games Asia, Piano Tiles 2 is now one of the world’s most popular mobile games. The game was developed by Clean Master Games, based in Guangzhou, and the sequel was promoted by Cheetah Mobile Inc. after Clean Master Games was acquired. The article elaborates on why Hong Kong was critical to the game’s success, serving as a gateway to Asia. Hong Kong’s simple tax regime helped the business save money, their free capital flows enabled the company to allocate capital without foreign exchange controls, and their location to Shenzhen enabled them to pull in great talent to develop the game.

China’s Mobile Game Market is Growing Up

Our most recent article on Forbes features data from our partner, DataEye, and the growth of China’s mobile game market into a more developed playing field. Mobile games now account for nearly 40% of the country’s total digital games revenue. Read more here.

Leading Vietnamese Game Publisher Slowing Down

Tri Tue Viet, a leading publisher in online gaming in Vietnam since 2013, has faced an increasingly competitive market and suffered after being fined regarding its G1 license since August 2015. Within the first 4 months of 2016, TTV Online has shut down nearly half of its game offering. Recently, it has closed down 2 more online games, bringing the total of defunct games in 2016 up to 6. Now it’s only maintained 5 games that aren’t as popular. The closing of these games were foreseen due to the lack of official approval on their content.

Indonesia Releases List of 15 Dangerous Video Games

The Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture on April 14 released a list of 15 “dangerous video games” that could bring negative influence and violent behavior to kids. The games are: World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Point Blank, Cross Fire, War Rock, Counter Strike, Mortal Combat, Future Cop, Carmageddon, Shelshock, Raising Force, Atlantica, Conflict Vietnam, Bully, and Grand Theft Auto (GTA). The Ministry’s list is based on a research from Iowa State University on the correlation between playing violent video games and reduced empathy.

Eddy Lim, the president of Indonesia e-Sport Association (IeSPA) Eddy Lim, protested the Ministry’s list. He said that the policy is too rushed, and the research it was based on does not even talk about causal relationships. Moreover, all the games in the list are rated as M (Mature), and therefore are not intended for youth gamers. Lim also mentions the importance of esports for healthy competitions, as well as providing the platform for Indonesian gamers to participate and achieve good results in international events.

Vietnam’s ABEI Encouraging Games with Domestic Themes

According to the Vietnamese Agency of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI), licenses have been granted to 51 G1 games, including 40 Chinese games and 11 games made in Vietnam. The ABEI is investigating the imbalance and why a majority of the games are “violent and fighting” themed, hoping to encourage local firms to create more games pertaining to Vietnamese culture and history. Their goal is to provide “better educational material for youths” through games. One Vietnamese developer, Egame, is succeeding with an educational title called Chinh phục vu mon, boasting 5 million players in its first year. “Healthy games” also have an easier road to getting a government license.

Niko Partners on Twitter

Follow us on Twitter @nikochina to see these comments in real time as we publish them! Here are a few of our tweets from last week:

  • Top 10 fastest-growing Chinese brands http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2016-04/15/content_24571853.htm …
  • Tencent CEO Pony Ma makes $2bn charity pledge http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2016-04-19-tencent-ceo-pony-ma-makes-usd2bn-charity-pledge …
  • Twitter gears up for new push into China with hiring of regional director http://venturebeat.com/2016/04/15/twitter-gears-up-for-new-push-into-china-with-hiring-of-regional-director/ …
  • Niko is proud to be a media partner of @CasualConnect Asia! 17 – 19 May 2016 at the Hard Rock Hotel, Sentosa Island, Singapore!
  • Alibaba Enters the eSports Scene https://nikopartners.com/alibaba-enters-the-esports-scene/ …
  • China invents world’s first deep learning processor chip http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0323/c98649-9034426.html …
  • Ubisoft’s New Studio in the Philippines https://nikopartners.com/ubisofts-new-studio-in-the-philippines/ …
  • Shanghai park triggers huge Disney rush http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0329/c90000-9036779.html …