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INSIGHTS SCOOP ++ Issue 04 | APR 08
Gaming Rules in Asia
How young people adopt digital gaming in Asia-Pacific
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Asia Scout Network’s Quarterly
Insights Scoop
Every 3 months, MindShare Asia-Pacific invites designated ‘scouts’ living in each major city in Asia
to provide updates on urban youth culture and their own opinions on two preset topics, dropping their articles on our blog.
At the end of each quarter, stories from our scouts are picked and pulled together by the MindShare Asia-Pacific Insights unit into a pan-regional, topical report, called the Asia Scout Network Insights Scoop.
We’re hoping this will help provide a close-up view of what the urban and opinionated 18-32 yearolds Asians are up to, through real, local examples. The bird ’s-eye-view regional perspective is
meant to serve as a springboard to inspire new communication ideas, sometimes by adapting concepts originating outside the borders of your respective countries to fit the local climate.
This fourth issue , titled ‘GAMING RULES IN ASIA’, highlights the directions in which digital gaming takes shape and form in the lives of young people across Asia-Pacific.
The business directions are not explicit, but we hope that taking this with openness and flexibility can help tease out the ideas that lie in the shadows and uncover the opportunities for innovation ahead.
For the full version of the scouts’ articles, check out www.asiascoutnetwork.com This PDF copy contains links to the relevant articles, connoted by underlined and bold phrases like this Good and bad comments, or just tips on trends, we’d love to hear from you...XXX
The City Scouts: Ayumi Ai (Tokyo) Bayliss Wu (Taipei) Ginette Chittick (Singapore)
MINDSHARE ASIA PACIFIC: Achara Masoodi (Ju) The Scout - Asia Pacific
Kitty Jiang (Shanghai) Michelle Mossfield (Sydney)
James Chadwick
Rajiv Dingra (Mumbai)
Head of Strategy
Stephanie Caunter (Kuala Lumpur) Stirling Silliphant (Jakarta) Tintin Cooper (Bangkok) Click here for profiles and pictures
THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING SITES FOR REFERENCE AND IMAGES: Voices.com, TheTrendWatch.com, Game-Addicts.com, Asiajin.com, Cnanalyst.com, The Big, Switch blog, PSFK, Tech-On Nikkei BP, China Trends, Neocha
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ISSUE
04:
Gaming Rules in Asia GAMING IN APAC: FAST FACTS
Video games market will remain the strongest in APAC region compared to other parts of the world APAC remains its largest market–40% of global
gaming industry Expecting 10% annual growth rate through 2011
Online gaming to soar driven by increased broadband access Total APAC market revenue will rise to US$6.8 billion in 2010 Online gaming growth came in second only to wireless in the region Japan and China are the two biggest markets (70% of revenue)
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG)
…is
a key growing genre
–
APAC region holds
the majority of subscriptions (73%)
Beyond the “hardcore” niche - the Casual boom Broadening of audience, changing demographics Females, younger and older segments; fuelled by popularity of Wii
Sourced via “Understanding Gaming in Asia” by Mindshare’s business consulting unit mConsult
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Throughout September-November 2007, the city scouts were asked to:
Look At: What’s popular? What do you find cool / interesting? Who plays what sort of games? Is there any brand involvement? Where/when do you play these games?
For Example... Casual Games Home Consoles Portables Arcade Games Massive Multimedia Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) Other Gaming Platforms Gaming and You
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The Headlines 01. 02.
Gaming Meets Social Networks
03.
Gaming With Grandma: Asia Goes Mainstream
04.
Materialistic Gaming: Building Cyber-Status with Virtual Items
05. 06.
Gaming Goes Tribal in Asia
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Gaming Gets Physical: Movement Recognition and the Revolutionary Wii
Gaming On The Go
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1. GAMING Meets Social Networks Gaming platforms are incorporating social networking elements, allowing players to meet, chat, and interact with new and old friends online. Vice versa, social networking sites are offering casual games to provide members with new ways of interacting with each other. This social aspect has always been part and parcel of Massive Multiplayer Online Role- Playing Games (MMORPG’s) and is now extending to multiplayer casual online games.
A >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> : CASUAL GAMES + INSTANT MESSAGING / SOCIAL NETWORKING SHANGHAI | Kitty QQ Games: Games + Instant Messaging China ’ s biggest chat community QQ is also quite possibly the largest platform for online
casual games, with the peak number of simultaneous users at 3 million users. QQ Games bundles games into its instant messenger chat window, allowing member to initiate quick and easy gaming sessions with chat friends.
SINGAPORE | Ginette
‘Scrabulous’
and other Facebook games
The classic Scrabble board game goes online through Facebook with almost half a million daily active users (November 2007). Other popular games: ATTACK! (similar to the boardgame RISK), Pop Culture Quizzes, and Mind Jolt Games. Maybe the popularity of board games (See Board Games Aren’t Dead Yet in Jakarta and The Boardgame Cafe, KL ) can be transferred online?
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MUMBAI | Rajiv Zapak ventures into Facebook Online gaming giant Zapak.com launches Facebook application offering casual multiplayer games like chess, tictactoe, sudoku, backgammon and others.
Also: - MySpace Games: MySpace ’ s brand new gaming portal: http://games.myspace.com/
- The Global Nintendo Wi-Fi Community:
–
A community for
Nintendo users to chat from the web or their Wi-Fi connected gaming consoles: http://www.wiiusers.net/
b >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> : VIRTUAL WORLDS GAMING
JAKARTA | Stirling Social networking meets online gaming in Jakarta: Lilo
“The core of the game is to network through a virtual city, become a 3D self-developing character living within it (known as avatar). Features consist of adding friends, buying clothes, chatting, quest game, etc…”
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TOKYO | Ayumi Mobage-Town: Social Gaming Worlds on Mobile
“ Mobage-town offers free online games, ranging from full to simple mini-games, also
it’s popular for its community functions which users can enjoy SNS functions such as blogs, email, chat, diaries, message boards, and share interest communities for free.”
SCOUT BYTES: “Open
Creation”
The concept of allowing the development and integration of games and other applications by external, third-party developers based on open-source technology, sometimes referred to
“Open Creation”
is likely to become another crucial ingredient to the social networking + casual
games mix. Facebook’s explosive success has been attributed to this. Look out for the effects of Google’s OpenSocial that allows applications to work on multiple social networking sites.
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2. GAMING Gets Physical: Movement Recognition and the Revolutionary Wii
Gaming controllers are moving beyond buttons and joysticks, allowing players to use a range of body movements involving arms and legs, or fingers through touch-screen interactivity. A global success phenomenon, the Nintendo Wii has revolutionized homebased gaming systems with its movementbased controllers loved by the young and old, male and female alike, extending the gaming audience beyond the realm of geeks. In the handheld and mobile category, many successful “games on-the-go” have also taken on interactive elements of touch and physical movement.
A >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> : THE NINTENDO WII: Wii has been officially released only in few key countries in Asia-Pacific - Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, but impatient enthusiasts outside these territories are already turning to the black market or sites like www.play-asia.com to purchase their consoles. Wii’s popularity has been mentioned in the following cities: BANGKOK | Tintin Nintendo Wii: Uniting the Young, Old, and Physically Inept
“ It ’ s hilarious to watch people, and has given birth to a whole new range of games; boxing, golfing, bowling, baseball and…even WARIO WARE SMOOTH MOVE! Currently though, “ Boogey ” , a dancing game for both guys and girls, is the most popular, espe-
cially with university students (but don’t expect it to really teach you to dance)”
Games mentioned: Wii Boogie, Wario Ware
JAKARTA | Stirling Jakarta’s Home Hit: Nintendo Wii
“It’s not really a couch potato game: movement of arms, pressure of fingers on the buttons, the
slight jab or sway counts for a lot. Its most popular with the younger generation because its cheaper and requires nimble bodies.”
Games mentioned: Cooking Mama: Cook Off Wii
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KUALA LUMPUR | Stephanie Wii Gets Gamers on Their Feet
“…you’ll be on your feet, backhanding and fore-handing your afternoon away. No longer will you just be exercising your thumbs and straining your eyes…”
Games mentioned: Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy
SHANGHAI | Kitty Marvelous Experience From Wii Sports in Shanghai
“User-friendly controller, simple
game design and strong interaction are all key features of Wii and will definitely capture more and more gamers, as well as non-gamers in the future.”
Games mentioned: Wii Sports TAIPEI | Bayliss Taiwan Wii Together
“It still isn’t selling in Taiwan, but so many people have it and are crazy about it. Many commercial promotions use it for prizes,
and people buy it in many ways, such as asking friends in Japan or the USA to buy for them, shop at auction online stores, or stores selling illegally imported Wii. Everyone talks about Wii. Even banks provide wii to their customer when their customers are waiting for banking service.” Did you know? The country with the highest number of Google searches for ‘Wii’ globally came from Taiwan. The second Asian country is Japan coming in at a distant number 6.
Number of Google searches for “Wii” from Google Trends
TOKYO | Ayumi Will Wii Help Keep Players Fit? The Wii Fit Balance Board & Mat
“Wii Fit” which is scheduled to be launch on Dec 1, 2007 will help
you balance out your health through more than 40 different types of trainings such as balanced-games, yoga, and aerobics. Instead of remote-controllers, you step on Wii Fit ’ s balance board, weigh yourself first, and then it calculates your body balance and manages your progress as you exercise. It’s already getting high attentions from adults who are conscious about
their BMI (Body Mass Index), but it seems to be a great health
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management for families too.”
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B >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> : BEYOND THE WII: Nintendo DS, the Nintendo’s portable gaming console, is becoming more popular and has been mentioned in the following markets through these games
TOKYO | Ayumi Japanese ‘Drummers’ on Taiko Master by Nintendo DS
“Nintendo DS has just released Taiko Master game
soft in July 2007 (which uses the touch screen as an interactive drum) which has triggered the increase in the game’s popularity”
TAIPEI | Bayliss Playing the Lawyer in Taipei (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney)
“The new episode takes advantage of the Nintendo DS’s luminol with the touch screen to locate blood stains at crime scenes,
dust for fingerprints, or examine a three-dimensional view of evidence.”
BANGKOK | Tintin New Sensation Capturing The Two-Second Attention Span of Bangkokians
“This deceivingly small-looking object is actually rivaling alongside bigger, pricier consoles such as the PSP. It’s interactive, has 2 screens, and holds thousands of games, ranging from full-length role-play to short mini games.” Games mentioned: Cooking Mama, Wario Ware, Pheonix Wright
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Movement and Touch-Based Games on Mobiles and other Platforms TOKYO | Ayumi Docomo’s Gesture-Recognition Mobile Games
“Some of new DoCoMo FOMA 904 series intro-
duced the next generation of mobile gaming style with
“ EyeMobile-enabled applications ”
which are mobile gesture recognition technol-
ogy by GestureTek. So now you can bowl with your mobile phone, or even play golf as well as boxing like Wii!” UNDER DEVELOPMENT | Van ’ s Finger Fracture Skateboard Game on iPhone
Skateboard with your fingers! Sneaker brand Vans offers a sneak preview of their interactive touchscreen-based skateboard game still under development. Source: TheTrendWatch.com TOKYO | Ayumi Rock Tamashii
“ Following the air guitar craze, a handy toy called “ Rock Tamashii ” has become popular among rock fans! Each Rock Tamashii holds two
songs to play out. For example, Rock Tamashii Greatest Hits VI has “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana and “All I Want” by Offspring.”
SCOUT BYTES: “Satisfying
the primal urge for physical tangibility”
In the mp3 and mobile phone arena, Apple fulfilled this innate human characteristic trait through the iPod’ s and iPhone ’ s movement-
based touch screens. Wii has now repeated the same success with gaming consoles, following the similar path of physical tangibility. The Asia Scout Network’s previous study on “The Mobile Life” reported
a similar finding on the appeal of mobile phone functionalities that were made more visible and tangible. Is there a trend towards the
“digitized
un-digital” where electronic items encourage the fulfill-
ment of the primal instinct for physical movement and touch, as clicking and pressing buttons becomes a bit too constraining?
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3. GAMING With Grandma: Asia Goes Mainstream Games are adopting a positive spin and being used for nobler objectives beyond just fun and games, attracting the traditionally non-gamer groups such as females. Think casual games for relationship bonding, health management, education, brain development, skills enhancement, stress management, confidence-boosting, including even psycho-analysis. New multiplayer games have adopted colorful, cutesy characters in place of dark, serious, weaponloaded ones, with an emphasis on teamwork and light fun. SYDNEY | Michelle Boost your self-confidence through games Reach Out Central, Australia ’ s leading youth help website, offers games “aimed at increasing the players’ self confidence
and improving their emotional state. Instead of collecting amo, collect stuff like good-mood vibes and tips for boosting your self confidence”.
TOKYO | Ayumi
“ Brain
Training ” games boost number of
female gamers
“…female mobile gamers have increased thanks to the popularity of Nintendo DS’ brain training game which is handy as you can play it anywhere. Brain training games on mobile phones is one of the most popular games followed by puzzle games such as Tetris.”
TOKYO | Ayumi Japanese website reads your brain A site offering a simple ‘game’ where you enter your name and it will tell you “what’s inside your mind”, accessible via PC and mobile.
“Within 4 months after the release of the service, it earned more than
500 million page views and this number is still growing even faster than before. This became a little social phenomenon and recently it is selected as a most notable web service by Web of the Year 2007 in Japan.” Source: Asianjin
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TOKYO | Ayumi Wii Fit’s Health Management Program
“…you step on Wii Fit’s balance board, weigh yourself first, and
then it calculates your body balance and manages your progress as you exercise. It’s already getting high attentions from adults who are conscious about their BMI (Body Mass Index), but it seems to be a great health management for families too.”
MUMBAI | Rajiv Online Games Used for Teaching & Training in India
“ICICI Bank, India has recently started using online games for training their employees. Indian Institutes of Management have
been using online games for teaching their students about stock market for very long now.”
SHANGHAI | Kitty Games Promoting Teamwork FreeStyle Basketball
“Excellent individual skills are not enough
to win the championship, it also requires good co-operation and
tacit understanding between teammates…The atmosphere in the game is much more relaxed and casual than EA’s NBA series..” PopKart Drift Driving
“…cute cartoon characters and easy to
grasp game design are all key features in capturing young players, especially girls… Also, there is a game mode for team racing, in which all the teammate can find a sense of pride.”
TAIPEI | Bayliss Maple Story (for kids and teens)
“ Unlike other on-line games which emphasize on gorgeous 3D animation and realistic figures, Maple Story uses 2D graphic and big head figures. Monsters in the game are also cute and funny, thus fighting does not seem so violent.”
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BANGKOK | Tintin Spore A much anticipated “massively single player” online game developed by Will Wright (creator of the best selling PC games in history The Sims) to be released in September 2008. In the game,
“…play-
ers will not only evolve human beings from birth, but will start from a singlecelled organism which will have to fight its way through challenges in the cruel world to become a capable, intelligent human being…’Creation’ games have become widely popular in the past few years amongst girls and boys alike, and are set to turn around the previous fashions of “destruction” games…” Also: Nintendo Touch Generations Nintendo is targeting this audience through its umbrella brand of games called Touch Generations:
“games that promote production over destruction, contemplation over domination”.
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4. Materialist GAMING: Building Cyber-status with Virtual Objects In role-playing games, players are inclined to equip their characters with virtual possessions – clothes, accessories, weapons, magic spells, even food and drinks. This quest for online ‘social status’ is naturally addictive. Can the provision, selling, or sponsorship of these ingame items present an opportunity for brand involvement?
MUMBAI | Rajiv The trend for sale of virtual items
“The revenue model of the online gaming portal is seeing a shift
from paying one time fee to subscription based to now selling gaming merchandise. This is something Second Life has been doing for some time now.”
SYDNEY | Michelle Kwari
–
Murder for Money
“A new game which players can earn money (real money) for killing opponents. Equally, players will lose money for being felled….There are other actions where players can earn or lose money also. The game
itself is free to download, but players must pay for ammunition.” Kwari
was released as a free download in Europe in January 2008. More info on Wikipedia
SHANGHAI | Kitty Zheng Tu Online ZT Online, set in the world of ancient China, claims 1.3 million active subscribers and was the most popular online game in China in 2006.
“Different from most online games, ZT is a “free” game, i.e. no need pay monthly fee. You can earn virtual money through killing enemies, completing missions and trading. However, the reward is
very little. In order to upgrade equipment and items, most people in the game have to convert real $ to virtual $.” According to China Analyst’s Ranking of Top 10 Online Games in China and Its Implication, “seven
of the top 10 games generate revenues from the “Free-to-Play, Pay-for-Virtual-Items” model.”
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BANGKOK | Tintin
‘Dress up’ your soldier on Battlefield Special Forces
“…you can have way more fun by customizing your soldier,
giving him a makeover with different types of clothes, boots or weapons that can make you walk faster or harder to kill, and in turn this all affects your
JAKARTA | Stirling
playing and ranking levels…”
Jakarta’s Gaming Old and New
“…there aren’t any ‘Arcade Heroes’ strutting their stuff at the arcades anymore; just insomniac
students playing computer games as a part (or full time!) job to sell accrued status and experience levels off to rich geeks!”
SCOUT BYTES: Games with Brand Involvement
SYDNEY | Michelle
“Just
a Song About Ping-Pong” by “Operator Please”
“…a promotion that the (Operator Please) band are currently running in conjunc-
tion with their record label EMI whereby fans can download a free Operator Please PING PONG game for their mobile phone. The mechanics are quite simple, as is the game itself. Fans text the word PING to the number 193123, and they receive a link to download a PING PONG game for free (although data charges apply) to their mobile… The branding is fantastic. It’s a fresh and innovative approach to marketing a musical act, and one that plays to the sensibilities of its target audience perfectly. This band is keeping up in a time when many more established artist & industry folk alike are losing touch with their fans...”
BEYOND ASIA
‘Sneak “On
King’ for XBox 360
– Advergaming
by Burger King
November 19, 2006, Burger King started selling it for an additional $3.99
USD ($4.99 in Canada) with any value meal. It is one of three titles released by Burger King… Sneak King gained a cult following from its fan base and has gone on to win several advertising awards including the Cannes Titanium Grand Prix Award and a Golden Clio.” Source: Wikipedia
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5. GAMING Goes Tribal in Asia Games that reference the values related to popular cultures or subcultures in their storyline, setting, characters, language, or any other elements, can drive appeal and attract a cult following. Tribal communities can either develop around the game, in which case the game’s popularity spawns competitions, events, and TV or cinema spin-offs, or the game itself is developed as an extension of such content, mostly derived from comics and manga.
A >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> : Games based on cultural traditions: CHINESE FOLKLORE: the notions of “Wuxia” (martial arts heroes) and “Jinghu” (the setting of fantasy Chinese kingdoms with rivers, lakes, and mountains)
SHANGHAI | Kitty Zheng Tu Online
“The Chinese word “Zheng Tu (征途) ” means journey to
battle. To many people, WOW is too western style, but ZT
can truly represent Chinese culture and beliefs- a game of “Jianghu*” and ancient kingdoms. ZT is a typical boy’s game, it’s all about membership of a brotherhood, honor,
power and respect, revenge and vengeance, loyalty and patriotism, venture and challenge”
TAIPEI | Bayliss The Legend of Sword and Fairy 2
“This game represents Chinese kung fu perfectly, every single movement is certified, abundant moves and attack combination give this game realistic visual effects. Players can choose freely from the different kung fu schools, like Shaolin, Wing Chun or others…” A
television series based on the first version was made in 2004.
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JAPANESE TRADITIONAL CULTURE: Taiko Drumming TOKYO | Ayumi Taiko Master An arcade game based on the Japanese tradition of Taiko drumming that has adopted the platforms of Nintento DS, PlayStation 2, PSP.
“You see symbols which are moving along
a timeline which shows what to hit and when along with a variety of music ranging from J-pop to Anime songs.”
FANTASY TALES: BANGKOK | Tintin Fantasy & War Forever
“...Warcraft, Lineage and Cabal are extremely addictive games, created after the epic “Lord of the Rings” films dominated the scene for over three years.” The US-originated WORLD OF WARCRAFT is a global success with now over 8 million players (5.5 million in Asia) and localized versions in Korean and Chinese. See: TAIPEI | Bayliss: World of Warcraft in Taiwan SHANGHAI | Kitty: Warcraft in Shanghai dinary experience in a epic realm
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an extraor-
b >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> : Games based on comics and manga: CHINESE COMICS: Fung Wan, a Chinese comic series that has also been adapted into a film titled “The Storm Riders” KUALA LUMPUR | Stephanie Malaysian Made Fung Wan Online
“The game is based on a famous Chinese comic by the same moniker. Set in ancient China, the game is unique to
most games in that Chinese culture is heavily featured in all its aspects.”
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JAPANESE MANGA
SHANGHAI Initial D Arcade Initial D is a racing arcade game based on the Japanese manga of the same name and has been already been adapted into an anime TV series and film. Players have a card that stores data so that they pick up where they left with the previous game. Players can join the Netranking on their website to compete their time record with other players around the world. Initial D apparently has a strong core group of followers at least in Shanghai. Source: The Big Switch
C >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> : Games based on real-life locations TAIPEI | Bayliss
‘Railfan’
Taiwan’s High Speed Rail
A PS3 game simulating the Taiwan’s High-Speed Rail, the latest of the Train Simulation series
based on lines and trains in Japan, France, Germany, and USA.
JAPAN Mixed Reality Hunt with Nintendo DS
“In “Treasure Quest: Enoshima - Treasure of the Dragon” competitors use their portable consoles to find clues around the island which eventually lead them to a hidden treasure. Anyone who is able to find a way to Enoshima (which sits 50 km south of Tokyo) can participate in the game for free, so long as they’re already a Nintendo DS owner. The game depends on the DS’s wireless capabilities, which players use to find clues and match their onscreen location with their real-life one..” Source: PSFK
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6. GAMING On The Go
There is a healthy and growing taste for portable gaming consoles across Asia-Pacific markets, dominated by the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Nintendo Dual Screen (DS). Beyond consoles, mobile gaming also presents an opportunity to reach out to the most casual of gamers on the move.
A >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> : THE PORTABLE CONSOLES WAR IN FAVOR OF NINTENDO DS:
BANGKOK | Tintin New Sensation Capturing The Two-Second Attention Span of Bangkokians
siam square … well, anywhere
really, some even play it in their bedrooms for fun…” TAIPEI | Bayliss
“THE CULPRITS: Mostly high-
Playing the Lawyer in Taipei
dents … .Also, a lot of people
“It all started when I borrowed my friend ’ s Nintendo DS. At
school and university stu-
in the yellow shirts who work for government agencies.
vs IN FAVOR OF SONY PSP: SHANGHAI | Kitty PSP in China
–
first I was not so impressed
Anyone under the age of 30
by the 2D interface and mini-
who knows how to work a
mal action game. But when I
computer, really. WHERE? The
started the first case in the
skytrain, in class, on taxis, in
game, I knew I was addicted.”
SINGAPORE | Ginette PSP & Zouk, Singapore
not official,
but already popular
“ PSP launched in May ‘ 05 at
Zouk and PSP consoles have
“It is very common to see
been given away at Zouk
park, on a train or a bus. The
integrated drum machine, syn-
someone playing a PSP in the portable game console is loved by the students and also white collars who need to kill time.”
events… Features include thesiser, video animator using outstanding 3D graphic FX and scratch mode.” JAKARTA | Stirling All the rage in Jakarta
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on viewing and playing. Some
–
PSP
“ With a 4-inch widescreen LCD, it has a significant leg up
even consider it to be a better gadget than the iPod, as it can do everything the Apple does -- WITH games and Wi-fi.”
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Both seem to enjoying equal praise and popularity, but if Japan’s saturated gaming market is to set the trend for the region, the Nintendo DS may emerge the winner, according to this survey:
“Japanese
Play Nintendo DS Most, PSP Least”
A survey by Kakaku.com, a Japanese price comparison website, on 3,422 of its users from Dec 25, 2007 through Jan 7, 2008 revealed that 54% of Japanese had played on the DS in the last 6 months, compared to 12.8% on the PSP: (Source: Tech-On Nikkei BP)
Game played in the last 6 months (pink is PS3)
Game Ownership (middle bar is PS3)
B >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> : QUICK AND EASY MOBILE GAMES TOKYO | Ayumi Brain Training & Puzzle Games on Mobile
“According to report from docomo-com, female mobile gamers have increased thanks to the popularity of Nintendo DS’ brain training game which is handy as you can play it anywhere. Brain training games on mobile phones is one of the most popular games followed by puzzle games such as Tetris.”
SYDNEY | Michelle EMI Uses Mobile Game to Promote Song See page 15, SCOUT BYTES
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Š MindShare Asia-Pacific. 2008. All rights reserved.
No part of the publication may be reproduced in any form without prior permission from the publisher. For private circulation only. For more information: Achara Masoodi, achara.masoodi@mindshareworld.com