Pokemon Go Unavailable in China
Niko Partners’ analyst Daniel Ahmad was quoted this week by Business Insider on how Pokemon Go has still not entered China. “‘Pokémon Go’ relies on Google Services for the game to run correctly,” Daniel told Business Insider in an email exchange. “The game itself uses Google Maps as the game world and all the various Pokéstops/Gyms are stored in Google servers.” In short: Since “Pokémon Go” is an online-only game, and one that’s dependent on Google Services functioning to do literally anything, it isn’t heading to China anytime soon (at least not in the same way we know it today).
Weather Hazards in Vietnam Pose Opportunities & Challenges for Internet Cafes
With the typhoon Nida making landfall, many have decided to take refuge inside cyber cafes (aka Internet cafes), adding to the many customers who also extend their session and postpone going home. Those cyber cafes with stable and developed buildings see their business filled to the brim with both players and spectators; the food side-business also profiting from the increased customers base. Meanwhile, some structurally weak cafes see leaking and/or rising water creating electrical hazards for customers and staff. Another concern is the power outage as well as unstable power supply damaging the rigs. Cafes have invested in generators to keep the shop running and have a stable power supply outside the fluctuating public supply.
Blizzard Integrates Facebook Streaming
While Facebook is not allowed in China currently, this move by Blizzard is notable as it puts Facebook in more competitive positioning with Twitch and other live-streaming services. This partnership allows all of Blizzard’s top games, like Overwatch, Hearthstone, World of Warcraft and more to be easily streamed to the largest social networking site in the world.
Tencent & NetEase Make Up the Majority of China’s Mobile Games Market
On September 1st Niko Partners will publish our 2016 Chinese Mobile Gaming Report. In it, we are featuring overviews of several of China’s top mobile game operators, including Tencent and NetEase. According to this article on InsideGamesAsia.biz and data by Sina Technology, the two operators are beginning to enter a duopoly as they hold over 70% of the market share. If you’re interested in our upcoming report, please contact us today.
Mobile Internet Contributes US $5 Billion to Vietnam’s Economy
According to forecasts by Oxford Economics, the mobile Internet will have a major contribution to the economy of Vietnam, only behind a number of key industries such as manufacturing, distribution and agriculture. This is great for mobile gaming, though most gamers in Vietnam use low cost smartphones and acquire games through local stores as opposed to Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
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:
Leave A Comment