TENCENT RELEASES MOBILE PLATFORM

Tencent recently announced it will combine previously separate mobile app publishing platforms into one unified platform with variable rates of revenue share to developers depending on the level of service provided by Tencent. This unified platform will directly feed apps into Tencent’s “Yingyongbao” mobile app store, which is the company’s central app store for all mobile apps. Marbridge Daily
 
CHINA MOBILE LAUNCHES iPHONE

China Mobile launched sales of the iPhone after many years of anticipation. Now Apple has access to users on all three of the major mobile networks in China, but since the iPhone has been in country for a long while, the first day of sales for China Mobile were rather uneventful. Fast Company
 
XIAOMI PLANS TO INVEST IN XUNLEI

According to Marbridge Daily citing a source familiar with the matter, Xiaomi plans to invest in Xunlei, which would result in bringing Xunlei’s popular online video content services to Xiaomi’s smart Android devices. Online video content was responsible for nearly 10% of Xunlei’s revenue in 2013. The company is also involved with I-café software and other areas. Xiaomi continues to impress Chinese consumers and international investors and hardware partners with its innovative strategies. Marbridge Daily
 
CHINA LIMITS ONLINE ANONYMITY

As China’s government continues to ease up on some fronts (like with the recent allowance of consoles in the Chinese video game industry), they are cracking down on other fronts – one of the latest moves being the government taking away the right to online anonymity. This is an effort to prevent vulgar content by anonymous sources since vulgarity on the Internet has already been criticized by the government. China already tries to ensure strict governance of its online citizens, however, like with gaming curfews that restrict younger gamers from continuously playing games. The Inquirer

In a related matter, the GAPPRFT announced new regulations to limit vulgar, violent and sexually explicit content in Internet dramas and short films.
 
INTERNET USER BASE HITS 618MM IN CHINA

China’s CNNIC reported results from its latest survey of Chinese Internet users. As of December 31, 2013 the total Internet users reached 618 million, up 53.58 million from a year earlier. Internet penetration now exceeds 45% of the population. There are 500 million mobile Internet users, up 80 million from a year earlier. Online games ranked 7th in the list of most popular Internet applications on PC, and gaming ranked 6th on mobile. In past years online games had ranked as high as #5, and fluctuated between #6 and #7 as other apps have emerged. The #1 app on both PC and mobile is instant messaging. Marbridge Daily
 
PLAYSTATION 4 ARRIVES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

The Playstation 4 is now available in the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia in terms of southeast Asia – both areas launching with similar bundles either including Killzone or Battlefield 4. Games In Asia

 
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