southeast asia
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Inside Indonesia's fight to save its most important soil
Often referred to as one of the world's most important ecosystems, it's also one that's rapidly disappearing in bogs across the planet. While Indonesia's peatlands store more carbon than anywhere else in the world, they have been severely degraded. Once it's dry, peat can burn.
Volocopter is researching the best air taxis routes in Southeast Asia
Volocopter is preparing for a feasibility study that will determine the best cities and routes for air taxis in Southeast Asia and evaluate different air taxi use cases. This next step is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) necessary for Volocopter to bring commercial air taxis to the region.
Broadcast your Blizzard games right now via Facebook Live
As originally announced in June, game developer Blizzard Entertainment and social media powerhouse Facebook have agreed to a deal that enables FB users to stream their Blizzard gameplay over Facebook Live. And, starting Friday (hey, that's today!), users will actually be able to.
Ragnarok Online 2 shutting down in Southeast Asia
Ragnarok Online 2 isn't exactly taking the world by storm as of late. Following the title's closure in Korea last year, Ragnarok Online 2 is closing its doors in Singapore and Malaysia on October 9th. There is a pretty bright spot to this story, however, as Asiasoft's version of the game will accept account transfers from affected players. "Following the opening of Ragnarok 2's Odin Server to Philippine players last month, we are thrilled to be continuing the global expansion of Warpportal's Ragnarok Online 2 by welcoming all players from Southeast Asia regions!" Asiasoft posted. Southeast Asian players will not be able to access their characters until October 9th, and none of their Kafra Points will make the leap over to the new server.
Phantasy Star Online 2's beta ends in Southeast Asia
While Phantasy Star Online 2 is unreleased here in North America, the residents of Southeast Asia will soon get to experience the game in English. The servers for this version of the game are region-locked, but it's still as close as the game has gotten to a local release thus far. Curious about how it went? The team working for local publisher Asiasoft shared thoughts regarding the beta experience in a recent interview. The team states that while the game already has new race/class options available in Japan (as it has been out for some time), releasing these options in the localized version will depend partly on player progress. Tie-in events such as those found in the Japanese version are also nixed, as most of those cross-promotional events are strictly for Japanese marketing and wouldn't make much sense to the audience. For more details, take a look at the full interview.
Drakensang Online lands in Southeast Asia
Players in Southeast Asia will now be able to leap into the world of browser-based dungeon-crawler Drakensang Online. Bigpoint announced the expansion of Drakensang's market today, noting that the release marks the first time a Western European developer has worked with Southest Asia's Friendster social gaming platform. Drakensang Online will be offered as part of the Friendster X-Clusive series, which puts Bigpoint directly in contact with 115 million registered users across the region. The game has already launched in over 200 countries and boasts 19 million registered users. Here's Bigpoint chief business officer Jeronimo Folgueira from the announcement: As a region with increasing internet use and online gamer penetration, Southeast Asia comes with one of the most significant free2play markets worldwide. As a game changer in the region's business, Friendster is the right partner to deliver high-quality games to a sophisticated gaming community. [Source: Bigpoint press release]
Phantasy Star Online 2 English version coming to Southeast Asia
Despite the fact that Sega delayed Phantasy Star Online 2's North American launch earlier this year, fans of the game in Southeast Asia will be happy to hear that an English version is coming their way as well. A specific release date for either territory hasn't been given, but online game publisher Asiasoft has confirmed in an investor relations report (as reported by Gamespot UK) that they will be distributing both PSO2 and DC Universe Online to the Southeast Asia market. [Thanks to BGO for the tip!]
Kingdom Under Fire II gets 2013 launch window in SE Asia
It's been a couple of years since we last heard about Kingdom Under Fire II, so it's good to check in with one of our neighborly MMOs to see... oh hey! You're launching! What are the odds that this would happen during a completely random house call? OK, so the good news is that Kingdom Under Fire II has been scheduled for a 2013 launch. Unfortunately, the bad news is that so far this release will be limited to Southeast Asia at first. Apparently developer BlueSide wants to see the game in action in that region first before rolling it out elsewhere. The title is a combination of action-RPG and real-time strategy, promises battlefields with "thousands" of soldiers fighting at once, and will be launching on the PC and PlayStation 3. [Thanks to Steparu for the tip!]
Myanmar plans to open doors to foreign telcos for affordable cellular, internet service
Hefty price tags haven't exactly made cellphones ubiquitous in cash-strapped Myanmar. According to AFP, an estimated 96 percent of the nation's 60 million inhabitants don't own a mobile handset, but that might soon be changing. A new reform plan announced by Myanmar's Post and Telecommunication Minister, Thein Tun, lays out a strategy that could finally give said folks a crack at affordable cellular and internet services. If successful, the initiative will start a bidding process for international telcos to set up shop in the country, allowing the companies to partner with the state-owned telephone provider and the ISP Yatanarpon Teleport. There's no word on when the partnerships may coalesce, but here's to hoping that $200 SIM card registration fees in Myanmar soon become a thing of the past. Full details at the source link below. [Image credit: Shutterstock]
Nexon, Valve announce Counter-Strike Online 2 for Asian territories
South Korean developer Nexon this week announced Counter-Strike Online 2, a sequel to its successful made-for-Asian-gaming-cafes port of the original Counter-Strike. Developed under license from Valve, Counter-Strike Online 2 will launch in China, South Korea, Japan and "other areas in Southeast Asia" on a future date.When it does launch, it'll run on an "enhanced" version of the Source Engine and feature "enhanced graphics, more realistic gameplay and powerful impact sensations," the latter of which troubles us slightly considering the game is primarily about bullets impacting squishy human bodies. We're not in a huge rush to experience that firsthand.
World of Tanks takes aim at southeast Asia
Wargaming.net might want to think seriously about changing its name to Worldgaming.net. The studio behind World of Warplanes announced today that it's bringing its World of Tanks MMO to southeast Asia. Wargaming has formed a partnership with SEA Gaming that will bring the World War II action title to gamers in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. This isn't a simple port of the European or American client, either, as Wargaming.net says gamers in the region can expect full localization, a Singapore-based server group, and dedicated support services. Online gaming in southeast Asia features an estimated 100 million players, who will generate nearly $1 billion in sales by 2015, according to market analysts at Niko Partners. [Source: Wargaming.net press release]
Trion signs another RIFT publishing deal, brings game to southeast Asia
Trion has announced the latest step in its plans for global domination, and it takes the form of a publishing agreement for the southeast Asian market. It was only a couple of weeks ago that RIFT landed the biggest MMO deal ever for a western title in the Chinese market, and now Trion's online fantasy brand will be available in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand as well. The company is partnering with Asiasoft to make it happen, and CEO Lars Buttler says it's another example of what sets his firm apart from the competition. "Trion has a global view when it comes to delivering premium games, and our initiatives to bring RIFT to Asia through some of the industry's biggest collaborations sets Trion apart from other Western game developers." [Source: Trion press release]
Cubic Telecom's Maxroam data SIM card lets you roam the globe without breaking the bank
It's never easy to travel the globe on a tight budget, but Cubic Telecom is doing its best to ease the financial burden a bit, with its new Maxroam card -- a global data SIM card that allows American travelers to access the web for just 65 cents per MB. The card, available without any subscription or contract, works within a total of 43 countries, including India, Australia, South Africa and Europe. All you have to do is purchase the card, insert it in your unlocked handset and activate it online. From there, you'll be able to use Maxroam until you reach the data limit, without worrying about expiration dates or time constraints. It's available now at the source link below, though as Cubic Telecom points out, final data rates may vary with the euro/dollar exchange rate.
Google to build a trio of data centers in Asia, earmarks $200 million for expansion
IT specialists in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong better start polishing their resumes, because Google is rolling into town. Yesterday, Big G announced plans to build a brand new data center in each of the three Asian locales, as part of an expansion slated to cost at least $200 million. When completed, these complexes will represent the company's first fully owned and operated data centers in the burgeoning Asia-Pacific region -- where, according to Asia policy communications manager Taj Meadows, Google is "seeing large numbers of new users coming online every day". The facilities in Hong Kong and Taiwan are expected to cost around $100 million each, though the price tag for the Singapore branch remains a mystery. Big G hopes to finish construction in one to two years, though it didn't say when it would begin -- nor, for that matter, whether seawater tunnels would be involved.
Southeast Asian nations agree on a digital set-top box specification
In order to facilitate the digital TV changeover in the region, the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) recently laid out a standard spec for both SD and HD set-top boxes. They're still talking things over like interactive TV, MPEG-4 licensing fees, a standard for digital sound and 720p/1080i transmission, but expect this to push forward digital TV efforts in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Another part of the deal is a new ASEAN HD Centre to facilitate HD co-productions in the area, so even if your vacation doesn't include Southeast Asia more HD content could be headed this way.
Perfect World continues Southeast Asia business expansion
When "online gaming" and "Asia" are mentioned in the same sentence, it's a safe bet that either Korea or China are going to be mentioned. But the countries of Southeast Asia are also hotbeds of MMORPG fandom, a fact that's not lost on game companies operating elsewhere in the continent. Chinese game publisher Perfect World has struck a deal that will allow for greater expansion into Southeast Asia. The licensing agreement has been made with Malaysian online game operator Cubinet, which will bring Perfect World's title Chi Bi to Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Cubinet will handle the localization of Chi Bi for the various Southeast Asian gaming markets, offering the game in Chinese, English, Vietnamese, and Thai. Chi Bi is a fantasy MMORPG based on the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The title's introduction to the SE Asian markets follows Perfect World II, Legend of Martial Arts, and Zhu Xian, and marks another potentially lucrative pairing between Perfect World and Cubinet.
Ring in the Lunar New Year with a new Halo 3 bundle
The lucky folks in Southeast Asia are being treated to a fantastic Xbox 360 bundle for the Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year). The bundle includes an Xbox 360 Pro console, 20GB hard drive, 2 wireless controllers and a copy of the best selling Xbox 360 exclusive, Halo 3. The $669 SGD ($471 USD) bundle is another push from Microsoft to inject life into its flagging Asian market. Alan Chou, regional marketing manager for Microsoft's Southeast Asia division, called the bundle, "an excellent opportunity for friends and family to connect over the Chinese New Year and to enjoy Halo 3 on the world's most popular next-generation gaming platform." While we agree the bundle is a fantastic offer, it would be nice if a region that actually cared about the Xbox was given the same treatment.
Southeast Asia's first HD channel, HD5 launches Nov 11
Southeast Asia is finally ready to officially launch its first HD channel, when MediaCorp rolls out HD5 in 1080i on November 11. The channel will be a simulcast of Singapore's existing channel 5, and will only be in HD about 30% of the time to start. MediaCorp has already made deals with Voom and others for HD content, and plans to increase that number to 50% during prime time over the next 18 months. About 10,000 homes are already testing HDTV via SingTel's IPTV service, along with the 1,000 households previously testing the service.
