Philippines Government Announces Support for Esports
The Philippines’ Games and Amusement Board has officially begun to recognize esports and competitive computer/video gaming as a professional activity. The GAB has licensed several Filipino Dota 2 players to travel to the USA for the International – previously, they would sign on with Chinese teams. However, there may also be a movement to tax the winnings earned from esports events and it may be higher than the Philippines’ basic income tax. We will be following this as it progresses, but it supports our assertion that esports is real business, especially throughout Asia. We will take a closer look in our upcoming reports on Taiwan and on 6 countries of SEA.
China’s H1 2017 Internet User Base Reaches 751 Mln
According to Marbridge Daily and new data from the CNNIC, “China’s internet user base reached 751 mln in H1 2017, up 19.92 mln from the end of 2016, among which the mobile internet user base was 724 mln, up 28.30 mln from the end of 2016, according to data in the China Internet Network Information Center’s (CNNIC) newly released H1 2017 State of the Chinese Internet Report. Internet penetration reached 54.3% in H1 2017, up 1.1 percentage points from the end of 2016.
Mobile internet users refers to users accessing the internet via mobile handsets. The proportion of internet users accessing the internet through mobile handsets increased to 96.3% during H1 2017, up 1.2 percentage points from the end of 2016, while 55.0% accessed the internet via desktop computers, 36.5% accessed using laptops, 28.7% accessed using tablets, and 26.7% accessed using smart TV sets.”
Wolf Warrior 2
Wolf Warrior 2, a nationalist film with the tagline “Anyone who offends China will be killed no matter how far the target is,” is setting records in the mainland. It pulled in a record 1.6 billion yuan ($238 million USD) in one week, which made it the top global box office worldwide last weekend. The film premiered just before the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese army, right before a military parade was held by the PLA.
American actor Frank Grillo is the chief villain and it is set in Africa, where a Chinese soldier ventures into an African warzone and saves people from Westerners. The first Wolf Warrior came out in 2014 but it didn’t garner a very large following.
Apple Agrees to Chinese Censorship
Wired gives a quick break-down of how other companies besides Apple, like Yahoo, Microsoft and LinkedIn, have catered to China’s censorship requirements in order to enter the market. One of the most notable take-aways, “Bending to China’s will doesn’t guarantee success. China remains a tough market, even for those willing to censor.” Entering China continues to be a tremendous challenge.
Niko’s Latest Analysis on China’s Esports Market
The China Esports Market Topic Report, the fourth of five companion reports to Niko’s 2017 China Digital Games Market Data Report, is now available. This report can be used by itself, but is intended to be paired with the Market Data Report, in which we published the market size and forecast for PC online, mobile and TV-based games.
With more than 200 million fans and the most top competitors and teams, China dominates the global esports market and is also the most advanced in terms of esports infrastructure and venues. Many of China’s leading companies are investing billions to grow the market. The report explains our analysis on the factors that are driving and inhibiting growth as well as which companies, games, and competitors, both foreign and domestic, are important.
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