Niko News is a filter of the most important news items and bits of information concerning the games markets of China and Southeast Asia uncovered by Niko each week. Our multilingual analysts review dozens of news sources from several countries, and as a team Niko reduces the long list of articles to 3-4 "must read" items for you. We then provide our Niko analysis to these items, making them relevant and highlighting the importance for the market. This service is one of the many ways we help distill the confusing, conflicting information about the games markets of Asia for our clients and readers. 

Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat conducted an exclusive interview with Lisa Hanson after the launch of Niko's April report called China's Online Games Market Size & Forecast Report. That report is available to clients only, and we are happy to discuss the ways that you can become a client in order to get it. The interview contains key data points and analysis, and is worth the read.

On May 8th Ishimaru Law hosted a China Joint Venture Boot Camp, and Lisa Hanson contributed a presentation about the importance of market intelligence when finding a partner in China. In the boot camp we learned that JVs are not as popular as they once were, but there are many other types of partnerships including VIEs and more. For the games industry the most common form of partnership is a licensing deal, because a company operating online games in China is prohibited from foreign investment. There are lots of ways around that rule too, as proven by the fact that the leading online operators are all publicly traded with foreign investment. In our Regulations & Policy Bulletin this October we will explore the rules governing the games market in China, and we continually monitor changes to regulations for our clients. Should you need help understanding partnership options, please contact us directly. 

Niko highlighted in a previous newsletter that 14 more foreign films will be allowed into China each year, in addition to the 20 already allowed, as long as those 14 are IMAX or 3-D. Now the Chinese are creating IMAX films for domestic and foreign launch, and one coming to North America this year will star Jet Li and is expected to be a hit.  This is an example of a digital entertainment sector that has spent years appreciating Western expertise turning inward and now embracing domestic production for export. Sound familiar? The same trend is happening in online games, with the Chinese online game operators making investments, acquisitions, and foreign outposts outside of China. The trick to competing is to understand a Chinese company's mindset, which means you need to understand the market where it has played so far.  For Chinese game companies coming to the US or Europe we need to understand why their prowess in China occurred, and whether it can be replicated here. This is when you turn to Niko for help.  

A study by 17173.com showed that 90% of the professionals in Chinese game development studios are under 30 years old, showing the still immature nature of the industry overall. As the industry matures the average age rises incrementally, and now there are probably plenty of staff with a few years of work experience in order to create development teams with multiple levels of staffing within. Overall, Fujian, Sichuan and and Chongqing have older staff than Beijing and Shanghai, and one reason could be the universities in those big cities enabling local companies to hire new grads easily. Even though the number of development professionals is still rising, there continues to be a lack of managers and senior producers within the studios.