Game Industry News, Game News

Console VS PC/Mac gaming is no longer relevant…

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A new 2017 Gaming report by IDC and App Annie has shown that the spending on mobile game has way exceeded that of console and PC. To be exact, according to the report, mobile gaming is 2.3 times that of PC/Mac games and 3.6 times of home gaming consoles. Now, it’s no longer the case of console vs PC. Mobile is officially the newest and shiniest kid in the block.

This chart from the report tells it all. The emerging trend of mobile game is overshadowing both PC/Mac gaming as well as home gaming console.

What it means for gamer

Good news for you if you are mostly playing games on your mobile phones. Already we have seen some very high quality mobile games recently such as Lineage 2 Revolution, Fate Grand Order and Onmyoji . With this ongoing trend, expect more investors pouring money into development of mobile gaming. So more choices and high quality games for you. On the flip side, being such a lucrative market, gamers may see more pay-to-win games emerging. Developers may also start to get creative with ways to get you to part your money via micro transactions.

Console game developers are fighting back

Not to lose out on the growth of mobile gaming, lately we have seen traditional console game developers such as Nintendo and Square Enix moving into the mobile space.

Nintendo now has a number of titles in the iOS and Android store. Amongst them Super Mario Run which was a paid game at $9.99. Traditionally, Mario had never leave the Nintendo console ecosystem. This game is the first for the Mario franchise and a pretty bold move for Nintendo.

Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp launched in October 2017 has also attracted a fervent group of gaming. Some of whom turned the game into a weird experimental cult game. Nonetheless, for Nintendo, it is an encouraging results from their early foray into Mobile gaming.

Then you have games that used to be on consoles but are now ported to mobile. Some like Final Fantasy VII and IX are mere direct port from the original console version.

The latest Final Fantasy XV (15) Pocket edition is Square Enix first attempt at repurposing a console game title into a mobile games built almost from ground up. I must say that the playability, graphics and experience of FF15 Pocket is way better than the normal direct port version of other Final Fantasy.

Gaming by region

Asia is the biggest spender in gaming. According to IDC and App Annie, 60% of the global spend on gaming came from the Asia Pacific region, led mostly by China, Japan and South Korea.

Gaming experience

Recently, there are many distasteful decision by game developers aiming at monetizing their game. You may have encountered some of these games.

Whatever the outcome of this gaming war is going to be, we sincerely hope that developers do not deviate from providing the best gaming experience to gamers.

Data source: IDC and App Annie
Event, General

Bak Kut Teh Ramen & IT Show 2018

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Usually, we don’t do food review. However, today, we will be doing our first food review of the limited-time Bak Kut Teh Ramen from Keisuke at Suntec. By the way this is not a sponsored post in case you are wondering. This unique fusion ramen will make a good lunch for you when you visit the IT Show at Suntec this weekend.

Bak Kut Teh Ramen is created by the Founder of Keisuke, Keisuke Takeda which is launched in conjunction with the upcoming Ramen Teh movie by Eric Khoo. You can read more about it on Mothership. It’s also worthwhile to note that Ippudo does have its own rendition of Bak Kut Teh inspired Ramen.

Now on to the food…

I was a bit surprised by how well presented the dish was. Perhaps my expectation isn’t high to begin with. After all, we are all used to order Bak Kut Teh at hawker center where the meats are just stacked up randomly in the bowl of soup. Like the other type of Ramen from Keisuke, I can see that extra attention has been put into placing the ribs and vegetable. The bowl is kind of unique by itself too.

However, the three pieces of You Tiao do look a bit out of place as I’m used to seeing larger portion of You Tiao with Bak Kut Teh. Otherwise, the You Tiao is crispy and crunchy, and goes very well with the soup. In fact, it’s even better than at some specialized Bak Kut Teh shop that I have been too!

The soup itself is delightful and at the same time surprising. Knowing that you are eating Bak Kut Teh Ramen, it should not come to your surprise that the soup indeed taste like our local Bak Kut Teh with a familiar peppery flavour to it. What surprised me was that the soup has a slight taste of Tonkutsu! So while it taste familiar, you will also get a feeling that the soup is not something you have tasted before.

The Bak Kut aka pork ribs looks tough on the outside, but they are actually very tender. They slip off the bone fairly easily and together with the dark soya sauce, it will certainly delight your taste buds.

Overall, we really recommend this Ramen. It is only available till 30th April 2018 and only at the Keisuke Ramen branch at Suntec. I saw many who ordered this Ramen dish today at the restaurant. And do be warn that it is a fairly big portion. Perhaps enough for two ladies to share. As for me, I left with a stomach full of Bak Kut Teh warmth.

IT Show 2018

The yearly IT Show 2018 is now happening at Suntec till 18th Mar. The Keisuke Ramen branch that sells this Ramen is just nearby.

Address:

Ramen Dining Keisuke Tokyo

•#02-391/392 Suntec City Mall, 3 Temasek Boulevard, Singapore 038983

• Mon-Fri: 11:30~15:00 / 17:00~22:00
Sat, Sun, PH: 11:30~22:00

•65-6337-7919

PS: There is a PlayStation booth at level 6 where you can try out games like Shadow of the Colossus and Monster Hunter. Be sure to check that out if you have time.

General

Super charge for ACG (Anime, Cosplay, Game) events in SE Asia

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If you like the yearly Anime Festival Asia and GameStart, you will be happy to know that the organizers of both events have just announced their strategic alliance. SOZO, the organizer of the popular regional Anime Festival Asia, will team up with Eliphant, organizer of the much-loved GameStart, to bring about greater offering for anime fan and gaming fan in Singapore and SE Asia.

What it could mean for us?

We are big fans of both AFA and GameStart. Over the years, both events have constantly get better and bigger. We have always wonder, wouldn’t it be nice to have a AFA plus GameStart event for both the Anime and Gaming fans? Cosplayers from both camps can meet together and it would be so much fun to see the two communities coming together. With this announcement, we can expect this year AFA to have a greater emphasis on gaming such as Esports and GameStart to have more manga/anime exhibitions and activities. “Southeast Asia emerges as one of the fastest growing markets for gaming and content, we recognised that both AFA and GameStart audiences have diverse interests in both gaming and anime. With our partnership, we hope to work closely to bring even more exhilarating content and holistic experiences to both fanbases across the regions,” said Shawn Chin, Managing Director of SOZO and founder of Anime Festival Asia.

Also we can expect more events in the South East Asia region. For a start, GameStart will be expanding to Indonesia this year, its first foray into Indonesia with the support of SOZO. “We are extremely excited to be able to bring our event to various regions, with the support of our partners. We are determined to support the regional gaming industry, especially in esports and game development. We are positive that our partnership will provide more events and enable us to bring awesome content to both gamers and anime fans, ” said Elicia Lee, founder of GameStart Asia and CEO of Eliphant Pte Ltd.

We hope that with the alliance, we can see more ACG events in Singapore and the larger SE Asia. This announcement is definitely good news for many who enjoyed gaming and anime. We will be on a lookout for what both SOZO and Eliphant have in store for us this year.