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The Rocket League Championship Series is expanding to Asia and Africa
Psynonix is taking a step toward creating a true global esport in the 2021-22 season, which has a $6 million prize pool.
Robert Downey, Jr. shifts his smartphone allegiance to OnePlus
Apparently, lifting a 49-pound block of cement by the OnePlus 7 Pro's pop-up camera wasn't the only publicity stunt the company has planned for its new phones. Today, Robert Downey, Jr. shared a photo of himself holding a 7 Pro and standing in front of a McLaren on his Weibo page. "Good to work with a technology brand I can vibe with," he wrote.
Tesla's Osaka station Powerpack is its largest storage system in Asia
Tesla has built another Powerpack system in record time, this time at Osaka train station in Japan, where it will be used as emergency backup and to reduce peak energy demand. According to the company on Twitter, the 42 Powerpack units will provide enough energy to safely move a train and its passengers for up to 30 minutes to the nearest station in the event of a power failure.
Netflix is testing a cheaper mobile-only plan in Malaysia
Earlier this week, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings told Bloomberg that the company was planning to test a cheaper version of its streaming service, and now we're beginning to see what those lower cost options will be. Malaysian news outlet The Star reports that Netflix is now offering a new tier in the country -- a mobile-only plan priced at RM17 ($4). The tier limits users to watching shows on either a phone or a tablet and content is only available in SD. The next most expensive plan in the country is Netflix's Basic option, which costs approximately $8 (RM33).
Netflix will test a cheaper pricing tier, possibly in Asia
Netflix is exploring ways to bring more subscribers into the fold, and it's set to test a cheaper version of its streaming service. CEO Reed Hastings confirmed the plans to Bloomberg, and while it's not clear where or when such a trial would take place, Asia seems the most likely region.
Ubisoft sanitizes 'Rainbow Six: Siege' to expand its audience
Ubisoft wants to bring Rainbow Six: Siege to new Asian markets, and it's sterilizing some parts of the game in the process -- regardless of where you live. It's prepping a Year 3 Season 4 update to the global version of the game that removes numerous references to gambling, sex and certain violent elements. Slot machines, neon stripper signs, blood patches and even skull imagery has been replaced with 'safer' references, even in in the activity feed for kills. There will be a separate build, Ubisoft added on Reddit, but it'll be region-locked even if you try to use a VPN.
Twitter expands its video programming in Asia-Pacific
Twitter's quest for video dominance isn't confined in the US or even in the West, and its team up with a bunch of new partners prove that. At a conference in Singapore, the platform has revealed a bevy of content partnerships that would bring hundreds of hours of livestreams and other videos to the platform in the Asia-Pacific region. Just like Twitter's deals in the US and in other places, its new deals will give users in the Asia-Pacific access to more sports, news and entertainment content.
Tesla pushes full international Model 3 launch to 2019
Just because Tesla is delivering some Model 3 units outside the US doesn't mean it's ready for a full-scale international rollout. Elon Musk has revealed that launches for left-hand drive Model 3 variants in Asia and Europe are now expected in the first half of 2019, or months later than the the second half of 2018 target it mentioned when production began last July. And if you live in the UK or other countries where right-hand drive is the norm, you may have to wait longer -- your Model 3 is "probably" arriving in the middle of 2019, Musk said.
Uber launches internal probe on Asia bribery allegations
Among its many other problems, Uber is facing a federal probe to look into allegations that it broke foreign bribery laws. To figure out what happened exactly and to cooperate with the DOJ, the ride-hailing firm recently launched its own investigation focusing on the activities of local offices in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. According to Bloomberg, Uber at least knew what happened in Jakarta from the start, but one of its senior members decided not to disclose it to authorities.
'Partner' Didi Chuxing is freezing Uber out of Southeast Asia
Part of Uber's sky-high $70 billion valuation was due to its optimism about expansion in China, India and other parts of Asia. However, its China adventure was a money bonfire that finished when it sold out to rival Didi Chuxing for $1 billion. Its plans for expansion to Thailand, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia also took a blow as its China "partner" Didi, along with Softbank, just invested $2 billion in regional arch-rival Grab.
Google will work with Vietnam to remove ‘toxic’ content
In line with recent agreements to prune their internet content in certain countries, Google's parent company Alphabet will now work with Vietnam's government to remove "toxic" information from its sites. The announcement came today following a meeting between Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
E-waste levels are surging in Asia
If you thought our throwaway gadget culture was already having a nasty effect on the environment, watch out... it's getting considerably worse. A United Nations University study has revealed that the volume of e-waste in East and Southeast Asia surged 63 percent between 2010 and 2015, reaching 12.3 million tonnes. Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and mainland China were unsurprisingly the largest local generators. But why the rapid spike?
We've never seen global sea ice levels this low before
The world climate has passed another troubling milestone this year: global sea ice levels are at the lowest level ever recorded. New research from the US National Snow & Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado indicates that the normal winter buildup of floating ice around the arctic simply isn't happening this year, though it might not be exclusively because of global warming.
China's WeChat messenger tests its own version of instant apps
WeChat might not mean much here in the US, but in Asia, the messaging app boasts some 800 million users. Its next step toward dominance is "small programs" that act like apps within the chat service, according The Information. These perform singular tasks, but won't require a download. "People would be able to scan a QR code via the WeChat app on their phone to use loyalty points at a favorite coffeeshop or transfer money without leaving WeChat or downloading a separate piece of software," the report says.
Singapore's self-driving taxi service has its first accident
That didn't take long: One of Singapore's nuTonomy self-driving taxis has already been in an at-fault collision. Less than a month after the service launched, a slow-moving taxi hit a lorry (translation: a truck) while changing lanes, according to a Facebook post from Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA). Thankfully no one was injured in the accident, but that isn't stopping the LTA and local police from investigating the matter anyway.
Amazon is getting into the oceanic freight shipping game
Virtually every product produced in Asia comes to the US by boat and, as such, oceanic shipping has become a $350 billion industry. Now, Amazon wants a piece of that action. The online mega-retailer's China division has been awarded clearance by the Federal Maritime Commission to conduct ocean freight services as a licensed Ocean Transportation Intermediary. That means it can legally ship goods for other companies. The new service, dubbed Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), won't do much directly for individual consumers. However, it will allow Amazon's Chinese partners to more easily and cost-effectively get their products across the Pacific and into said customers waiting hands.
Security firm discovers Linux botnet that hits with 150 Gbps DDoS attacks
Akamai announced on Tuesday that its Security Intelligence Response Team has discovered a massive Linux-based botnet that's reportedly capable of downing websites under a torrent of DDoS traffic exceeding 150 Gbps. The botnet spreads via a Trojan variant dubbed XOR DDoS. This malware infects Linux systems via embedded devices like network routers then brute forces SSH access. Once the malware has Secure Shell credentials, it secretly downloads and installs the necessary botnet software, then connects the newly-infected computer to the rest of the hive.
DraftKings is expanding its online gambling services to eSports
Online gambling site DraftKings told Re/code on Wednesday that it will expand its fantasy services beyond professional baseball and American football. Beginning next month, DraftKing users will be able to test their fantasy team management mettle in the rapidly-growing realm of eSports. In fact, the new service is slated to debut in time for the start of the League of Legends World Championship in October. Additionally, the company will partner six eSports teams for in-event promotions.
Netflix is coming to Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea
Netflix only just launched in Japan last month (that's the Japan office pictured above), and it's already lining up its next destinations in Asia. In early 2016 the streaming video service is coming to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea, although no exact dates or pricing are specified. It's planning to bring the usual suite of features and even Ultra HD streaming to these countries when it lands, thanks to their existing broadband infrastructure. Where it might go after that (China?) is still unknown, but its plan for global availability by the end of 2016 is apparently still on track. [Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
'Titanfall' is going free-to-play in Asia
Free-to-play games are big business outside of America and Titanfall is the next big shooter joining the ranks of Halo and Call of Duty in taking that route. Publisher Electronic Arts is working with Nexon (the company behind Maple Story and FIFA Online 3) to take developer Respawn Entertainment's mech-based shooter to China, Japan, Korea, Macau and regions of Southeast Asia including Cambodia and Thailand. Naturally, it'll only be a PC version of the game since that plays well in internet cafes, but any other details aren't known at this point. However, the F2P model could actually translate pretty easily considering the game's Burn Card system that rewards players with single-use power-ups is similar to how existing microtransaction-based games function. Stand by for Titanfall, Asia.
