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Everything you need to know this week about the games market in Asia
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Every week, our analysts review dozens of news sources, from multiple countries, in multiple languages. From this, we give you the stories that are most important, and the analysis to tell you why.
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PC Game Share in China
 According to data published by Chinese Game Industry Committee, in 2013, PC game shared 65% of the Chinese game market (increased by 18.9% YOY), webgame shared 15% (increased by 57.4% YOY), mobile game shared 14% (increased by 246.9% YOY). Keep in mind that these are government figures, and that the growth rates are not reflective of the real values of each segment (PC games, by far, dominate). |
AsiaSoft Buys Stake in Level Up!
Asiasoft has purchased a 70% stake in Level Up! of the Philippines to help the regional online game operator gain share in key markets of SEA. However, Tencent had already purchased 51% of Level
Up! so we believe Asiasofts purchase would be of the remaining 49%. We will look into it.
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Tencent Invests in Korean Game Company
Tencent has recently invested in another Korean games company, after previously investing in Kakao Talk and multiple companies via a VC partnership South Korean VC Capstone Partners. They have invested in 7 Korean gaming companies including Studio Hon, Reloaded Studios, Toppig, Nextplay,Redduck, Eyedentity and GH Hope Island, since 2008, as noted in a past article on Technode.
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Samsung Leads Smartphone Shipments
IDC says that Samsung continues to dominate smartphone shipments in mainland China, with 19% market share in Q4 2013 followed by Lenovo at 13% and Coolpad at 11%.
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Xiaomi Invests in Westhouse
Xiaomi, considered by some to be the Apple of China and one of the hottest companies on the tech landscape, is investing in a Kingsoft-owned online game company called Westhouse. Xiaomi has already bought nearly a 10 percent stake of Kingsoft. Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, worked for Kingsoft for over a decade and we believe it's only a matter of time before they fall under the Xiaomi umbrella completely - as we see Xiaomi slowly but steadily enter the games market, through Kingsoft, their phone hardware, their set top boxes and more.
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Correction
Last week we mistakenly identified Ms. Liu Wei of Giant Interactive as a male.
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ABOUT NIKO
Niko News is just one part of the strategy and expertise offered by Niko Partners to help our clients better understand and successfully navigate the thriving games markets of China and Southeast Asia.
Niko Partners is the leading provider of market intelligence, custom research, and consulting services focused on the games industries in China and Southeast Asia. Since 2003 we have provided critical information to the world's leading game publishers, developers, hardware makers, and game service providers as well as to government policymakers, trade associations, and institutional investors.
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