Media & Entertainment

Dream11 offers fantasy games in categories such as cricket, soccer, kabaddi and basketball. (Website screenshot)
DealStreetAsia

India's Dream Sports raises $225m amid stay-home boon

Funding for fantasy sports startup led by Tiger Global and TPG

15 September 2020
The Switch was on a hot streak even before the coronavirus, having sold 21 million units in fiscal 2019. (Source photos by Reuters and Tokuyuki Matsubuchi) 
Media & Entertainment

Nintendo boosts Switch production by 20% as it rides COVID wave

"Animal Crossing" popularity pushes console maker to output 25m units for FY2020

14 September 2020
Tens of millions of users in China have preregistered for the mobile version of South Korean gaming company Nexon’s popular action role-playing game, Dungeon & Fighter. (Courtesy of Nexon)
Media & Entertainment

South Korea's gaming 'Big 3' zero in on smartphone users

Shifting focus from PCs, Nexon and others lure more players in China and Japan

12 September 2020
Hong Kong police searched the offices of Next Digital on Aug. 10 in conjunction with the arrest of founder Jimmy Lai and several executives for alleged violations of the city's national security law. 
Media & Entertainment

Hong Kong police arrest 15 in Next Digital stock trading ring

Officers allege group pocketed $5.5m by distorting market for publisher's shares

10 September 2020
Kakao Games, the South Korean publisher of the popular "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" videogame, has drawn intense investor interest for its IPO.
Media & Entertainment

South Korea's Kakao Games surges 30% in stock market debut

Investors bet social distancing measures will fuel growth for 'PUBG' publisher

10 September 2020
ByteDance's Beijing headquarters. Full-time employees with a minimum of 26 working days from July 1 to Aug. 31 are eligible for bonuses equal to half of their pre-tax monthly salary.
China tech

ByteDance offers bonuses to boost morale amid TikTok uncertainty

Cash rewards aim to prevent possible departures during China-US tussle

8 September 2020
Liu Yifei in the title role of "Mulan:" the film makes clear the willingness of major U.S. production houses to serve as China's megaphone.
Opinion

Disney's magical thinking won't keep politics away from 'Mulan'

Lure of Chinese profits has led studios away from Hollywood's professed agenda

5 September 2020
The Game&Watch console will be produced on a limited basis until March 2021. (Screen shot from Nintendo movie clip) 
Media & Entertainment

Nintendo to relaunch '80s hit Game & Watch console on Nov. 13

Company reprising first mobile product with new full-color display

4 September 2020
Media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, arrives at court in Hong Kong on Sept. 3.
Politics

Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai cleared in intimidation case

Founder of Apple Daily still faces national security law charges and others

3 September 2020
U.S. presidential candidate Joe Biden has found a new campaign platform -- Nintendo's latest Animal Crossing game. (Source photos by AP and Kyodo) 
Media & Entertainment

Nintendo's Animal Crossing changes game of politics in US and Asia

Hit Switch title and apps like TikTok become spaces for virtual politicking and protest

2 September 2020
China's ByteDance is under pressure to divest its popular TikTok video-sharing app in the U.S. ahead of a Nov. 12 deadline imposed by President Donald Trump.
US-China tensions

China's new AI export curbs threaten TikTok's US sale

Popular video app's powerful algorithm likely to face 'dual-use' restrictions

29 August 2020
Until Thursday, more than two dozen VanGO stores in Hong Kong carried roughly 1,000 copies of Apple Daily on their shelves each day. (Photos by Kenji Kawase)
Media & Entertainment

Chinese state-owned store in Hong Kong halts sales of Apple Daily

VanGO says move against pro-democracy newspaper is 'regular business decision'

28 August 2020
The Nikkei Asian Review's "Hard Water" issue for Sept. 26, 2019, won the 2020 SOPA Award for Excellence in Magazine Design, one of four top prizes received by the publication. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Announcements

Nikkei Asian Review wins 4 top prizes at SOPA awards

Publication recognized for tech scoops, decoupling feature and design

26 August 2020
Razer offers products and services ranging from high-performance gaming laptops and software to digital payments.
Media & Entertainment

Gaming demand pushes Razer's revenue up 25%

With 100m users, Singapore company hopes to set up digital banking business

26 August 2020
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo had been the official sponsor of the Indian Premier League. (Photo courtesy of the Board of Control for Cricket in India)
Media & Entertainment

Chinese sponsor's exit opens up IPL cricket deal for India unicorn

Dream11 replaces Vivo for highly coveted title after smartphone maker is forced out

19 August 2020
Voodoo has drawn hundreds of millions of users. (Photo by Yusuke Hinata)
China tech

Tencent acquires stake in French game developer Voodoo

Chinese gaming leader diversifies portfolio toward 'hyper casual' mobile games

18 August 2020
SPH is axing about 140 jobs, or around 5% of its total headcount, as advertising revenue declines amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Keiichiro Asahara)
18 August 2020
China was projected to become the largest movie market in the world this year before the coronavirus outbreak disrupted the film industry.
Media & Entertainment

China film industry's recovery from coronavirus off to slow start

Studios postpone big releases as wary audiences avoid recently reopened theaters

18 August 2020
Apple Daily’s bumper Aug. 16 edition carried 13 pages of supportive messages on faux Post-it notes in echo of the “Lennon Walls” that anti-government protesters had previously set up around the city. (Photo by Kenji Kawase)
Media & Entertainment

Apple Daily enjoys advertising surge after founder's arrest

Small business rally for Jimmy Lai's feisty Hong Kong paper may not be sustainable

18 August 2020
BTS, South Korea's most successful boy band, is the creation of entertainment agency Big Hit.
Media & Entertainment

'Father of BTS' tests investor appetite for K-pop with IPO plan

South Korean agency Big Hit eyes multibillion dollar valuation

14 August 2020
Theerathon Bunmathan of the Yokohama F. Marinos is one of five Thai footballers plying their trade in Japan and helping the J-League grow its popularity in their home country.
Business trends

Big in Thailand: Japan soccer catches on in Southeast Asia

The J-League has a head start in mining a region expected to be a 'vein of gold'

13 August 2020
Tencent's headquarters in Shenzhen: The U.S. only accounts for a small fraction of the group's top line, executives say.
Companies

Tencent tries to ease investor fears over US ban as earnings grow

Confident in core China market, tech group 'patient' about its international strategy

13 August 2020
China Literature struggled under pressure from both its unhappy suppliers as well as customers who are increasingly demanding cheaper and even free products.
Caixin

Tencent-backed China Literature posts massive loss

Company cites 'structural issues' as it faced author uprising over compensation

12 August 2020
People lined up at newsstands around Hong Kong to buy copies of Apple Daily in the early hours of Aug. 11, some for the first time. 
Media & Entertainment

Hong Kongers buy stock and newspapers to support Apple Daily

Arrest of founder spurs activists to drive Next Digital shares to 12-year high

11 August 2020
Hong Kong police raided the offices of Next Digital, publisher of the pro-democracy Apple Daily, on Aug. 10.
Media & Entertainment

Hong Kong newspaper raid adds to clouds over media in city

Press association chair claims intimidation after police search Apple Daily offices

11 August 2020