<![CDATA[Kotaku: Asia]]> http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: Asia]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/asia http://kotaku.com/tag/asia <![CDATA[Despite Hacks, Sony Is Still Asia's "Most Valued Brand"]]> It's lost billions over the past few years and been publicly shamed by one of the world's biggest ever online security breaches, but according to a survey across ten markets Sony is still Asia's "most valued brand". More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5817980&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Museum of Contemporary Art To Host Blizzard Exhibit]]> Blizzard Entertainment plans to host an art exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei this month. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5602223&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Rest Of The World Gets Another Month To Reconsider iPad Purchase]]> It looks like even Apple was caught off guard by the success of the iPad, citing its runaway success in the U.S. as the primary reason everyone else has to wait another month for it. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5517069&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Inferno Pool Headed To Xbox Live Arcade Next Week]]> The battle for pool table domination begins next week on the 360, when Dark Energy Digital's Inferno Pool hits Xbox Live Arcade. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5387891&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Sony Bringing PlayStation to Indonesia]]> Hey Indonesia! Guess what? Sony is bringing its PlayStation business to you. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5372550&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[MMO Maker: Big Names Drive Small Fish to Free-Play Market]]> MMOs smaller than the ones made by the heavyweight players - which is to say most of them - have fled for the U.S. free-to-play market, the co-founder of MMO-maker Reality Gap told Gamasutra. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5357765&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Microsoft Teams With Fashion Label For Designer Halo Wars Gear]]> You think Halo, you think...well, you don't think designer clothing. But Microsoft Asia do, which explains why we're now looking at a most unexpected (and unexpectedly tasteful) range of Halo Wars gear. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5159902&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[NFS:World Online Launches Asian Site]]> You can get your first look - and, if you read Mandarin, the first words about - Need for Speed: World Online, EA's racing MMO launching soon in Asia. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5157915&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Asia Getting New PSP Colors]]> What better way to celebrate the New Year than with new PSP colors. Sony Computer Entertainment Asia is doing just that with not one, but two new PSP shades. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5126068&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Microsoft: Things Are Lookin' Up For '09!]]> Microsoft did OK in 2008. But there’s always room for improvement! So it’s with a grim sense of predictability that Microsoft are predicting they'll sell more 360s in 2009. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5112870&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Import Gaming Gift Guide]]> Holidays are a worldwide deal — and so are Kotaku gift guides. Here it is, your window into the world with games that you can import. Some of them have full English language support. Some do not. We tried to make a note where possible to help shoppers out. Also, some of these titles will work on all consoles, while others will not. Sticky stuff, so do carefully check things out before importing. Getting a region locked game you can't play is like getting a lump of coal, but better. At least the game will have an instructional manual you can flip through. The categories are broken down into Bargains, Essentials and Hardware. Those interested in the "Things To Buy For Bashcraft" category, feel free to email. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5076542&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA['Crossing Boundaries': The International Flavor of Gaming]]> The transnational character of gaming is one that opens up a wide range of opportunities for the industry, but comes with a number of pitfalls as well — and, as Mathew McCurley argues at the Escapist, has far-reaching negative consequences, especially in term of content. Trying to navigate the tricky waters of censorship and varied expectations of what is OK (and what's not) in a variety of countries can mean developers play it safe in an attempt to ensure that their game will reach a wider audience: More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5080582&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Cartoon Network Eying Chinese Market for Casual Games]]> Just joining the rest of the world in pursuing the magical (giant) Chinese market, Cartoon Network has announced that it is commissioning SinoTech, a Beijing firm, to create games based on CN-owned properties as well as SinoTech IPs. The games will first be targeted at the pan-Asian site and a site localized for Taiwan, and may find their way to other localized Asian sites and an in-the-pipeline portal for mainland China: More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5065659&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Export Problem: East to West Localization, Collaboration]]> With a quickly expanding domestic games market, and more companies thinking of making the leap to Western markets, Asian companies are facing some serious issues in the next few years: competition to become gaming 'hubs' for foreign companies, how to localize for foreign markets (something Japanese companies have historically done well, but in other areas, companies are lagging), how to keep up with a big, demanding market. ZDNet took a look at a few of the issues currently facing Asian games companies. On the issue of dealing with Western companies looking to make an entrance into the Asian market, there was this to say: More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5055850&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Malaysia Is Getting PS3 Launch This Month]]> Sony Malaysia has apparently announced it will be launching the PS3 in the region. On Saturday September 20th, an official launch event commences from 11:30am at the 1Utama shopping centre in Petaling Jaya. There will be 150 special launch bundles available at launch, which consist of an 80GB PS3, Soulcalibur IV, a limited edition PS3 tote bag and a Soulcalibur IV CD holder. The first hundred to buy the console even get special Sony cash vouchers. Local pricing for the console has yet to be announced. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5047708&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[THQ Opens Office In Shanghai]]> THQ is looking to further their presence in the Asian gaming market, and to that end they've announced the opening of a new office in Shanghai, China, dedicated to the expansion of local partnerships and the development and publishing of online and offline games in the region, beginning with Company of Heroes Online, the free-to-play version of the popular series developed specifically for the Asian market. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5044374&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Home Hits Asia In "Fall 2008"]]> Sony have announced that Home, the Playstation 3's long-awaited online fashion show and wandering-around simulator, will be coming to Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan in "Fall 2008". Doesn't sound like idle speculation, either, as that's coming straight from a Sony press release. To help ensure everything's ready to go ahead of the launch, there'll be a closed beta held in September for residents of the region. If that's you, keep an eye on this site, details on how to get in will be going up on August 29. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5042768&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Asian MMO Players Love To Smoke And Grind]]> As a connoisseur of the MMO genre, I've often noticed that your average Chinese and Korean massively multiplayer online games tend to rely heavily on the mouse, often foregoing keyboard movement altogether in favor of the dreaded click-to-move system that I completely despise. So why do Asian MMO games lean so hard on the mouse? Perfect World product manager Jon Belliss believes he's discovered the answer - smoking. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5036547&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Microsoft Clarifies Final Fantasy XIII Asia Version "Announcement"]]> Yesterday we brought word that Taiwanese game site GNN Gamer was reporting that Xbox Taiwan head Grace Chou had confirmed the Asia release (Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong) of Final Fantasy XIII. Today, Microsoft Taiwan issued a statement clarifying this, stating: "The announcement of the release of Final Fantasy XIII on Xbox 360 at this year's E3 is at the moment still at the planning stage. We don't have any further information regarding the releasing date or the possibility of localization." Sounds like it was a little too early for Chou to apparently go around and mention the Asia release. Stay tuned for the possible "official" Asia version announcement and consider the Xbox 360 version only North America and Europe for now! More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5033592&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Sony And Nintendo Expand In Asia]]> Sony and Nintendo (separately, of course) are the latest to look outside Japan toward the primarily PC-based online game market in Asia, each with several new business initiatives, reports the Nikkei. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5022465&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Tales Of Vesperia Demo Hits Asia]]> Here's some good news, bad news, and then good news again! The first good news is that Namco Bandai's Xbox 360 exclusive Tales of Vesperia now has a demo up on Xbox Live. The bad news? Currently the demo is only available in India and Asia...but do not fret! There is no fretting! Users in other regions who just so happen to have a Japanese Silver account set up are more than welcome to download the demo and fool around with the title. The icing on this Oreo good-bad-good cake? The demo only weighs in at 278 MB, and it runs in good old English, so no battling with the squigglies. Sweet! More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5018332&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Infinite Undiscovery Dated For North America, Europe, Japan, Asia]]> Square Enix published, tri-Ace developed Xbox 360 title Infinite Undiscovery has been dated for North America (9/2), Europe (9/5), Japan (9/11) and Asia (9/11). The North America and Europe dates are ship dates, but presumably the other dates are actual in-store dates. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5014896&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Take-Two Talks Asian Expansion As If No Big Company Was Trying Desperately To Buy Them]]> Former EA President of Asian Online Hubert Larenaudie might soon be returning to the fold as he takes a position with Take-Two Interactive as their President for Asia, spearheading the company's Asian expansion initiative. Take-Two is looking to expand their distribution throughout the region, developing a strong presence in Japan while create a "meaningful online game operation", with a focus on China and Korea.
"Hubert Larenaudie is an experienced senior executive who has successfully built or expanded Asia Pacific operations for prominent interactive entertainment and consumer goods companies," said Gary Dale. "His in-depth knowledge of the region; his skill in creating the right product development, distribution and marketing strategy for each local market; and his track record of driving growth will help Take-Two realize the tremendous opportunities in APAC."
More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=379350&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Guitar Hero's World Domination Plans: Europe, Asia, "Multiple Instruments"]]> During his address at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference earlier today, Activision boss Bobby Kotick was talking up Guitar Hero's plans for world domination. While Rock Band remains focused solely on North America, Activision have outlined Guitar Hero's potential to take over not just Europe, but Asia as well. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=363856&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Asian Halo 3 Bundle Misses Christmas By Two Months]]> But that's OK, because that's not the point! This one's aimed at cashing in on Chinese new year's celebrations. The bundle includes a 20GB 360, a copy of Halo 3 and two wireless controllers, which is a nice touch. It'll set you back 669 Singaporean dollars (USD$440), which looks like a lot but is only S$20 more than the Christmas Viva Pinata/Forza bundle, a good deal since most buyers would probably prefer the second controller to the second - ie Viva Pinata - game. As for other Asian territories, it'll cost HK$3,199 in Hong Kong and NT$13,680 in Taiwan. Guey Hay Fat Choy! More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=354107&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Asia Geting Red PlayStation 2 Treasure]]> PlayStation 2 dead? Ha! At the Taipei Game Show, Sony unveiled a new limited edition PS2 for Asia. Set to drop on February 4th, the Crimson Red Treasure PS2 will help ring in the Lunar New Year. No word on a Western release. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=349220&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Outspark Gets Lots of Funding, Talks Asian Games in the US]]> Worlds in Motion has an interesting Q&A up with Susan Choe and Nick Foster of Outspark, a company that has imported games like Fiesta and Secret of the Solstice for US audiences. Outspark has managed to secure $11 million USD in funding from various sources to "help PC-based online games find the same market in North America as they currently enjoy in Asia," and Choe and Foster talk about everything from importing Korean games wholesale, how they put together the project in the first place, and the carpal tunnel inducing process of picking what games to bring over: More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=344137&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Asian Hellgate: London Servers To Get Wiped]]> The already rocky launch of Hellgate: London in Asia has gotten even rockier. After several weeks of server crashing issues, a patch known as Patch0 was created to help solve the problem. After numerous attempts to apply the patch to the servers it was discovered that the only way to make it work would be to perform a complete character wipe. Needless to say, Asian players of the game who have spent hours leveling up their characters are furious and in an attempt to appease them, IAH Games is offering players a months worth of free play time. Now at least they won't have to pay for all the time they will have to spend grinding back up to where they were before the wipe if they choose to continue playing. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=321249&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Play MMOs, Learn A Second Language]]> While perusing GameSetWatch, I hop skipped my way through a couple of blogs and found myself at a very interesting article in T.H.E. Journal on using MMORPGs in educational contexts, specifically on their use in second language acquisition. And here I've been doing it the old fashioned way all these years! It's a lengthy article, but worth a read through - author John K. Waters talks about a number of studies and approaches to the topic, but all of them are focused on use WoW and its ilk for educational purposes: More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=318617&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[CGS Announces Pan-Asian Finals]]> In preparation for the Championship Gaming Series 2007 World Championship being held in Los Angeles (6-14 December), CGS has announced the Asian final. Teams coming from Seoul, Dubai, Sydney, Singapore, Kuala Lampur, and China will meet to determine which four teams will be heading on to LA. So if anyone's going to be running around Kuala Lampur next month, the pan-Asian finals will be held from the 15th to the 18th. Full release after the jump. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=304964&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ubisoft Opens Second Studio In China]]> After eleven successful years in China with their Shanghai studios, Ubisoft today announces the creation of Ubisoft Chengdu. Having long been an established center for the electronics and IT industry, the city boasts upwards of 35,000 programming graduates a year, more than enough to bolster the new studio's ranks from the beginning 10 team members to its goal of 200 over the next year.
"The success of our studio in Shanghai, which has been further confirmed with the launch of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 for the PLAYSTATION 3 system, has encouraged us to extend our growth in China," said Christine Burgess-Quémard, executive director, Worldwide Studios at Ubisoft. "We are convinced that Chengdu offers the perfect environment for our expansion..."
The studio will be managed by Richard Tsao, a senior producer from Ubisoft Shanghai, and will initially perform internal outsourcing before moving on to creating online PC, console, and handheld titles. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=300420&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[China's Gaming Companies Trying To Combat Piracy]]> In a move that seems like it will be about as effective as trying to herd cats, China's CDC Games has announced the formation of Online Games Alliance Against Piracy (OGAAP) to attempt to stem the tide of Chinese piracy. Considering we're talking about China, where it's frequently harder to find legitimate merchandise than it is to find bootlegs and big companies have been involved in large-scale IP suits, they have their work cut out for them. Other founding members of the alliance include "CCP, the Iceland-based developer of EVE Online; Ons On Soft Co. Ltd., the Korea-based developer of Shine; Sonokong Co. Ltd., the Korea-based developer of Shaiya, and Come on Baby; T3 entertainment, the Korea-based developer of Audition online game; and Wemade Entertainment, the Korea-based developer of Legend of Mir II and MIR III online games." Full release after the jump, and we'll see how well this winds up working. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=300352&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Even Mongolia Makes A Bid For E-Sports Glory]]> When I think of Mongolia, I think of rather extreme climate, grasslands, and really pretty scenery - not rising stars in the Asian game tournament world. But a couple of Mongolian gamers are hoping to challenge Korea and China for dominance, at least in East Asia (and, I would presume, not in the realm of StarCraft): Mongolia's fielding a gaming team for the 2nd Asian Indoor Games, taking place in Macau from 26 October to 3 November this year. And despite going up against the big guys, they really want to take home the gold - Mongolia's actual soccer team may fall flat in competition, but Lkhagvasuren Byambasuren is planning on taking home the gold when it comes to the game version. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=295769&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[In the Wake of Free-To-Play, What's Next For Traditional Models?]]> While the virtual asset/microtransaction/free-to-play models are met with suspicion and derision in some quarters, Free To Play has an interesting analysis up of the challenges facing more traditional channels in the face of declining profit margins and an up-and-coming generation of gamers raised on the Club Penguin and MapleStorys of the world. "North American game companies are taking the same "partner and acquire" approach that they've used to achieve growth and purchase innovation for the last two decades," a model that doesn't work when dealing with some of the Asian companies have theoretical purchase prices that are astronomical. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=293470&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Counter-Strike Coming to Asia]]> In a partnership with Valve, Nexon (the Korean company responsible for MapleStory) will be developing and publishing Counter-Strike Online for South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Japan. Over at PlayNoEvil, an article wonders if they will be going towards a virtual asset purchase model like a number of the other big hits in Asia. "As long as the game company can keep its costs of distribution and operation low, there is a huge potential for getting a bit of money from a whole lot of folks." We'll see if Counter-Strike can make a dent in the Starcraft-mad market, free-to-play model or not. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=283574&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Asia Is the Next Hollywood ... Maybe]]> Or so some industry people are saying, at least in terms of Asia becoming a hotbed of gaming, development, and innovation. At least, that's what an audience at Silicon Valley's Kincon innovation conference heard last week. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=267554&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Koei Shows Online's Importance With Building]]> Dynasty Warriors maker Koei has wrapped up construction on a new building in Yokohama. Yes, a NEW BUILDING. Design was overseen by Osaka-born graphic designer Kazumasa Nagai. That crazy eye art? Nagai made that, and it probably can see into your soul. Dubbed Koei Gemini, the building is dedicated to online gaming in Asia. So, if anyone ever doubts the power of online gaming in Asia, please point to this building. Brian Ashcraft More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=264736&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Future of Western Games in Asia]]> Shacknews put an interesting interview up on Thursday, featuring members of Red 5 Studios (the founders are former members of Blizzard), and a big point of discussion is how Western MMOs and other games are going to fare in the Asian market. Mark Kern, Red 5's CEO, says that it's not about making "Asian" games: More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=254240&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Malaysia's Mobile Gaming Queen Crowned]]> Fourteen contestants. One winner. MaxGames, Malaysia's leading mobile game publisher, held a mobile gaming tournament. The winner was crowned Miss MaxGames 2007 and signed a year contract to head up the company's all-female all-mobile gaming team for 15,000 Malaysian Ringgits (US $4,340). Oh and as a gaming non-sequitur, they also gave her a PLAYSTATION 3. Brian Ashcraft More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=251594&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Robbie Williams Makes XBL Debut]]> Fat dancer from "Take That" and popular British solo artist Robbie Williams is hitting Xbox Live across Europe and Asia. Good for him. His tracks "She's Madonna," "A Place to Crash" and "Lovelight" command 280 Microsoft points (230 pts. for standard def). In association with Xbox, RobbieWilliams.com is giving away five 360s and a load of games. Says Robbie, More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=244651&view=rss&microfeed=true