Macau
Latest
You’ll need to show your face to use ATMs in Macau
Macau, the gambling capital of the world, is upgrading all 1,200 of its ATMs with facial recognition cameras. According to Bloomberg, any user looking to make a withdrawal will need to enter their PIN and then stare into a lens for six seconds to verify your identity. The move is partly to improve bank security, but mostly to enable China to keep an eye on who's doing what with their cash, and when.
Lytro camera getting parallax effect and 3D display support, lands in Hong Kong (video)
Lytro isn't done extending the usefulness of its light field camera just because we have manual controls. Another update due by the end of the year will take advantage of that focus-independent sensor to allow a parallax-based 3D effect in photos: invoke a 'full' focus in reviewing shots and you can start poking around the scene in a limited way without having ever touched a dual-sensor camera. Appropriately, we're also getting support for examining photos on 3D monitors and TVs that emphasize the added depth. The promised features come hand-in-hand with Lytro's immediate availability in Hong Kong, where 8GB blue and gray cameras are selling for $3,888 HKD ($502 US) and the 16GB red model goes for $4,688 HKD ($605). Check out our Chinese crew's eyes-on look at the parallax effect in a video after the break.
iTunes in the Cloud movies find their way to Australia, Canada, the UK and 32 more countries
The advent of movie support in iTunes for the Cloud was a boon to Apple TV owners as well as any iTunes user with a tendency to hop between devices -- within the US, that is. Apple today swung the doors open and let Australia, Canada, the UK as well as 32 other countries and regions around the world get access to their movies whenever they're signed in through iTunes or an iOS device. Not every studio is on the same page, as many American viewers will know all too well: it's more likely that you'll get re-download rights for a major studio title such as Lockout than an indie production, for example. Even with that limit in mind, there's no doubt more than a few movie mavens glad to avoid shuffling and re-syncing that copy of Scott Pilgrim to watch it through to the end.
iTunes Store opens in Hong Kong, Taiwan and 10 other Asia-Pacific territories
Our Apple-loving compatriots on the west side of the Pacific Ocean have been able to purchase the latest in iPhone and iPad software from the App Store for a while, but believe it or not, they've been shut out of the iTunes Store. Apple has just opened the virtual iTunes storefront in a dozen locations across the Asia-Pacific region. The "big three" Asian markets that will get access to music and movies for the first time today are Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. Other locations that are going live today are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. All of the new stores will feature local content as well as the big international favorites. Apple chose to launch the new branches of the iTunes Store complete with iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match subscriptions.
Apple opens iTunes Store in Hong Kong, Taiwan and 10 other Asia-Pacific territories
Many Apple fans on the opposite side of the Pacific from Cupertino haven't had much of a choice to shop from iTunes, even though they've had the App Store for some time. There's now a much better sense of balance: Apple just flicked the switch on the iTunes Store for music and movies in a dozen countries and territories across the Asia-Pacific region. The company singles out our own Richard Lai's Hong Kong as well as Singapore and Taiwan, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam are also getting the media catalogs, which include local content along with the international hits. It's a full catch-up as well, with iTunes in the Cloud re-downloads and iTunes Match subscriptions available in every new country. If you're a huge Andy Lau fan but wanted his albums from the most iPhone-friendly store possible, the wait is over.
Diablo III roars into an open beta weekend
Flex those mouse-clicking fingers, compadres -- it's demon-hunting time! This weekend, Blizzard is blowing the doors off Diablo III's beta, allowing any and all (well, those with a Battle.net account, that is) to come try out this upcoming action RPG. The open beta weekend begins at 3:00 p.m. EDT today and lasts until 1:00 p.m. on Monday, April 23rd. During the beta, all five classes will be available, but players will be limited to a level 13 cap as they give the game a whirl. To access the Diablo III open beta, you'll need a valid Battle.net account and a BattleTag. Despite playing in the open beta, participants won't be able to post in the beta forums and won't receive Beta Bucks to spend. Asian players in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau will be part of not this stress test but rather a separate invitation-only closed beta test starting on April 23rd.
PSA: Get your new iPad today in Austria, Ireland, Mexico and many other places
If your homeland wasn't part of the initial iPad roll out we've got good news -- today is the day for iOS tabletry. Maybe. The latest slab of Retina display-equipped machinery out of Cupertino is landing in 25 additional countries today, including Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. So, if you haven't been waiting on line since the 16th in anticipation of this day, then go to your local Apple store to score one. Or don't. For the full list of countries check the PR after the break.
Wizard101 heading to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau
KingsIsle Entertainment announced today that its popular free-to-play MMO, Wizard101, is expanding to the exotic east. Thanks to an agreement with Taiwan Taomee Technology, the game will be launching in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau in 2012. This announcement comes shortly after the company's deal with Taomee Holdings Limited to launch the game in China next year. To get in on the Wizard101 fun yourself, head on over to the game's official site.
Mythic wages WAR in the East
While NCsoft prepares to invade the West with Aion this September, Mythic has their own preemptive RvR strike planned for the East. Both Mythic and Gigamedia are bringing Warhammer Online to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on June 25th. This means people can now play WAR in North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia. That's quite a global presence.It will be interesting to see what impact this has on WAR's subscriber count in the next quarter. When WAR originally launched in September 2008, they sold over 750,000 copies. That number dropped to 300,000 by December 2008. After a couple big marketing campaigns (recruit a friend and re-enlistment) and a launch in Russia, WAR's numbers held steady at 300,000 in March 2009.Could this Eastern launch propel them beyond the 300,000 mark again? Based on all the Land of the Dead coverage and impressions we've seen, the new live expansion should have some sort of positive effect on the game as well. I guess we'll have to wait until the next EA earnings call to find out, which should take place in August.
World's first camera goes on public display in Macau
If you thought the golden anniversary of Olympus' Pen camera was something, get a load of this. From now until August 23rd, an elaborate exhibition entitled 'The Invention of Photography and the Earliest Photographs' will showcase some of digital imaging's earliest tools, including the planet's oldest camera. The wooden sliding box shown above will undoubtedly be the centerpiece of the Macau-based expo, though it will be surrounded by 250 photography antiques and 180 old photos, which were collections lent by the Nicephore Niepce Museum and 12 other museums, cultural institutions and private collectors around the world. Anyone planning on making the trip over? Make sure you take a few snapshots with your 90s-era point-and-shoot, cool?
Three local Macau channels begin digital broadcast tests, one in HD
Those located in Macau can start gearing up for a little HD in their lives, as Teledifusao de Macau (TDM) has just started internal testing of a trio of new channels. The new digital broadcasting stations should be opened up to the public during the Olympic Games, with Macau HD airing in high-definition and TDM / Canal Macau showing in SD. Initially, Macau HD will simulcast material from TDM, but it will be developed into a channel with its own identity in due time. Also of note, it's unclear whether any of the stations will actually be used to show Olympics coverage, but we doubt the mention would've been made otherwise.
Hutchison / 3 snags iPhone for Hong Kong and Macau
Looks like Hutchison (aka 3) snagged the iPhone for distribution in Hong Kong and Macau, which will be coming "later this year." Like the rest, this was another one liner un-announcement with no real info, but you probably wouldn't want to anger Steve before WWDC. Besides, in Hong Kong 3 doesn't sell anything but 3G phones -- so put that in your iPipe and smoke it.[Thanks, Chris and Joe]
Hutchison's 3 gets iPhone in Hong Kong, Macau
The countries continue to fall ahead of Apple's presumed June 9th, 3G iPhone announcement at WWDC. This time it's Hong Kong and Macau -- foothold populations as Apple eyes the big Japanese, Russian, and Chinese prizes which have thus far avoided Jobs' charm RDF.[Thanks, Patrick C and Edmond]
The9 and Soft-World to carry Wrath in Asia
Blizzard announced today that the forthcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion will be published by The9 in mainland China, and Soft-World in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. The9 and Soft-World have brought both the original WoW and Burning Crusade to their respective regions, so it's not surprising that they'll be handling Wrath as well. Release dates, of course, are still TBA, there as here. However, if there's one thing I like to do, it's speculating based on insufficient data. The agreement with Soft-World to carry BC appears to have been made just a month before BC's January 2007 launch in North America and Europe. So if Wrath follows this pattern, it will be out next month. On the other hand, the agreement with The9 to carry BC in mainland China was made in February 2007, a month after BC came out here, so if this holds true for Wrath as well, we should have been hitting Northrend a month ago. Either one of these is pretty unlikely; maybe there's not much information to be gleaned from this announcement after all (aside from that WoW is still doing well in Asia).
EA signs agreement for WAR distribution in Asia
A press release went out today on the wire announcing that EA had signed an agreement with a Taiwanese company called GigaMedia to distribute Warhammer Online in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. According to the terms of the agreement, GigaMedia will be responsible for the advertising, community management, customer service, and technical support for those areas. Doing some cursory research on the company on the 'net, it seems like GigaMedia has really cut their teeth on more casual game distribution efforts, their biggest property being FunTown, the world's largest MahJong platform. They appear to be getting more serious about their game development and distribution efforts however, and initiated a relationship with EA last year by agreeing to release, of all games, NBA Street Online.What will really be interesting now that they've secured release efforts in the surrounding areas, is what approach EA will take to get Warhammer Online introduced onto the Chinese mainland. A week ago today we reported on a new policy of the Chinese government that would allow any domestic game publisher to effectively block the release of a foreign MMO by referring it to China's censorship board indefinitely. With that policy in place, are Chinese MMO companies going to allow the release of a game owned by one of the most prolific American game publishers in the world? You have to imagine EA is hard at work on it, given the size of the potential market there, but only time will tell.
