Thai King Bhumibol’s Health Unstable

King Bhumibol has been on the throne of Thailand since 1946, making him the world’s longest reigning monarch, but he has spent much of the last year in hospital. He has recently recovered from a respiratory infection and is now being prepared for haemodialysis, a procedure used to treat kidney failure. King Bhumibol has been a pivotal figure it keeping Thailand stable throughout its very volatile decades.

According to the BBC, “Thailand’s strict lese majeste laws mean public discussion of his health and succession plans are not permitted, and punishable by lengthy jail terms.”

Riot Games to Open Offices in Southeast Asia

According to a report by Inside Games Asia, the creators of the massively popular MOBA *League of Legends *are planning a more aggressive expansion into Southeast Asia with new offices opening in Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. Each office will have approximately 15 to 20 staff members – the Singapore office is already up and functioning (covering both Singapore and Malaysia) and it appears that the Vietnam office in Ho Chi Minh is next up. Southeast Asia is a stronghold for LOL and the company has seen great success in the area in its partnership with operator Garena.

China’s 2018 World Cup Hopes Set Back By Syria

During China’s Golden Week, the Chinese national soccer team lost to Syria in a very narrow 1-0 win. This game marked Syria’s first victory in the qualifying games but it has put much pressure on China’s team to meet the goals set by President Xi Jinping in 2011 – that the Chinese national team could qualify for another World Cup, host a World Cup and win a World Cup.

New Curfew for Young Gamers in China

Young gamers in China could be banned from playing online games after midnight under draft national regulations designed to combat internet addiction. The rules, released by the Cyberspace Administration of China last week, also call on schools to help rehabilitate young adults addicted to the Internet.

China has many “health and safety” regulations in place to protect young gamers, including age restrictions for the use of Internet cafes and real name registration requirements. There are also rules for the duration of youth gameplay. This would be one more attempt to curtail the amount of time young Chinese spend on digital games.

Niko Partners on Twitter

Follow us on Twitter @nikochina to see these comments in real time as we publish them! @ZhugeEx is Niko analyst Daniel Ahmad – his opinions are his own and he has a very informative blog and Twitter feed. Here are a few of our tweets from last week:

  • Jagex is Now Part of a Chinese Company https://nikopartners.com/jagex-now-part-chinese-company/ …
  • Riot Games Set To Open Offices In Southeast Asia In 2017 http://insidegamesasia.biz/riot-games-set-to-open-offices-in-southeast-asia-in-2017/ via iga_biz
  • Wanda Goes Head-to-Head with Disney https://nikopartners.com/wanda-goes-head-head-disney/ …
  • Unity Technologies Developer Conference Comes To Singapore In October http://insidegamesasia.biz/unity-technologies-developer-conference-comes-to-singapore-in-october/ … via @iga_biz
  • China Would Like Superhero Films to Stop Pandering and Actually Give Chinese Actors Substantial Roles http://io9.gizmodo.com/china-would-like-superhero-films-to-stop-pandering-and-1786820358 … via @io9
  • iCandy Proposes To Acquire Singapore Based Mobile Games Studio Inzen http://insidegamesasia.biz/icandy-proposes-to-acquire-singapore-based-mobile-games-studio-inzen/ … via @iga_biz
  • SAPPRFT Delayed Date for Licenses on Mobile Games Under New Regulations https://nikopartners.com/sapprft-delayed-date-licenses-mobile-games-new-regulations/ …
  • Further proof that eSports are hot: Philly Sixers Acquire, Merge, & Manage eSports Teams Dignitas, Apex http://www.nba.com/sixers/news/sixers-acquire-merge-and-manage-esports-teams-dignitas-apex … via @Sixers