Everything you need to know this week about the games market in Asia
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.
Apple announced their new pricing matrix for the App Store in China, and it was effective September 30th. Now the sales tax will be deducted from the app sales and in-app purchases before Apple provides the 30:70 revenue share with developers. Until September 30th, Apple had not taken out tax until a developer hit a certain amount of revenue. The new policy will reduce the developer's take only slightly, by about 2%. For example, if a gamer spends 6 RMB on an in-app item, Apple will deduct 2% tax then split the rest 30:70. The developer receives 4.12 RMB instead of 4.2 RMB. Starting October 1st the policy was also employed in the Japan App Store, where Apple deducts 8% tax before the revenue share. In both cases the taxes go directly to the government.
Thailand is considering implementing its own "Great Firewall", similar to that in China, and it would enable the government to closely control content and Internet traffic. Citizens are fighting the possible legislation, and several government websites were taken down in a coordinated DDoS attack recently. The country's government has banned Facebook, Bitcoin, and certain games in the past.
Techcrunch writes about how the environment in China is prime for success of young, driven entrepreneurs and that now is the time to enter the vast growth market. Whereas it has been very daunting to approach Chinese consumers in the past decade and longer, now market entry is not as difficult, at least for smaller businesses. The games industry is no exception, it is easier to launch a game in China now, though it is still a cumbersome process that requires market knowledge, strategic planning and tenacity. (Oh, and Niko is here to help!).
Economic sources say that the Chinese Yuan has overtaken the Japanese Yen in terms of value as a payment currency. The Yuan (RMB) is now the #4 currency among all world payment currencies. The Yuan accounted fro only 2.8% of global payments in terms of value in August, which is low compared to the USD (44.8%), Euro (27.2%) and GBP (8.5%). However the amount of Yuan usage and the number of FX transactions has shown a steady increase. One year earlier the Yuan was #12 with only 0.84% share.
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.
