China tech giant Tencent's net profit jumps during pandemic

HONG KONG - Chinese internet giant Tencent reported Wednesday a sharp rise in first-quarter net profit after a surge in demand for its online games as the coronavirus pandemic forces people to stay home.

The Shenzhen-based company, one of the largest listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, said net profit rose 29 percent from a year earlier to 28 billion yuan ($3.95 billion).

"During this difficult period, we seek to provide online services that keep people connected, informed, productive, and entertained," chief executive Ma Huateng said in a statement. 

"So far, our businesses have proved resilient and cashflow-generative."

While many companies are being hammered by the economic fallout of the pandemic, tech firms have seen strong demand for their products.

Tencent is one of the world's largest gaming companies and the industry has benefited enormously from the billions of people around the world forced into lockdowns or restricted by social distancing rules. 

Online game revenue grew by 31 percent on year to 37.2 billion yuan, Tencent said.

The company owns hugely popular titles such as "Honour of Kings", "PUBG Mobile" and "Clash of Clans".

"Peacekeeper Elite", a less violent version of "PUBG Mobile" that was released last year to comply with authoritarian China's censors, was also a major success.

Revenues from online advertising and tech products for the finance industry also held up despite the virus, increasing 32 percent and 22 percent respectively in the first quarter, though they continue to face stiff competition from Alibaba.

Tencent's shares closed down 0.32 percent on Wednesday before the results were released. 

But the company has gained more than $42 billion in market value since COVID-19 broke out, Bloomberg News reported, defying a global market rout and a record Chinese economic contraction.

Agence France-Presse

It's connected devices vs consoles at biggest e-games convention

COLOGNE, Germany - Connected devices are challenging consoles at the world's largest online gaming fair, as hundreds of thousands of fans jostle to see top e-sports stars in action and give feedback that can decide whether a new release is a hit or a flop.

The gamescom fair in Cologne, Germany, opens to the general public on Wednesday after a series of sneak-peek events to whet the appetite of a rising generation of enthusiasts who spend more time on gaming than they do watching TV.

Stars of competitive online gaming, known as e-sports, are now making the kind of money earned by professional soccer or tennis players, with US teenager Kyle Giersdorf scooping $3 million at last month's Fortnite World Cup.

Organizers say this year's event will focus on cloud-based gaming, amid a trend towards using a range of connected devices and away from consoles such as the Sony Playstation or Microsoft Xbox.

"Cloud gaming is a very important trend - it's about being able to play the best, newest games on practically every device because the actual account is in the cloud," said gamescom's Felix Falk.

Independent developers will also be in the spotlight, added Falk.

Fans will get an up-close look at their heroes demonstrating forthcoming releases, with developers and industry analysts observing queues and interviewing visitors to assess which might turn out to be hits.

"This starts very early," said Jens Kosche, a developer at the German unit of Electronic Arts, which is behind games such as Anthem and Apex Legends.

"We show games to select players and they tell us what they think could be better, and what they like. With that feedback we can develop the game further."

There are an estimated 2.6 billion e-gamers worldwide who will spend some $148 billion on games and related products this year, according to research from Newzoo cited by Mirabaud Securities.

That figure is forecast to rise to $174 billion by 2021 as e-gaming gains in popularity thanks to faster mobile connectivity and the spread of technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

That makes online gaming – and following e-sports pros on social networks such as Amazon's streaming platform Twitch – a lucrative channel for advertisers and marketers as mainstays like TV stagnate. (Additional reporting and writing by Douglas Busvine, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Gamers risk health in bid to be eSports millionaires

SHANGHAI - A record $33.5 million is up for grabs but professional eSports players like those competing in The International in Shanghai this week pay a physical price with deteriorating eyesight, digestive problems and wrist and hand damage.

At first, Evgenii "Blizzy" Ri looks perplexed at the notion: "It's impossible, how can you get injuries when you play games?"

Then the 24-year-old from Kyrgyzstan discloses that a doctor urged him to take six months off to give his failing vision a badly needed rest.

Ri plays for Natus Vincere, or NAVI, and this week is competing in The International, a world championship said to have the biggest prize pool in the history of eSports.

NAVI and 17 other teams will play the multiplayer battle game Dota 2 in front of thousands of fans at a major indoor stadium while hundreds of thousands more will watch online.

If NAVI triumph on Sunday, Ri and his team-mates will become instant millionaires -- but success could come at a price.

"I didn't worry before but now I feel like my eyes are really... I can't see so much," said Ri, who practises up to 12 hours a day.

"Ten years I've been playing computers so they are a bit... I've just got bad vision.

Ri has been told to wear glasses but he does not find them comfortable and said that his deteriorating eyesight does not hinder his performance because the screen is up close.

A doctor recommended simple eye exercises -- moving them up and down, left and right -- but he admits that he does not do them.

"Actually he also told me not to play the computer for six months to get back my vision, but I didn't listen.

"I need to play."

'MY BODY IS SO SORE'

According to several players in Shanghai, the most common health complaint for pro gamers is Carpal Tunnel syndrome.

Not unique to gamers, it happens through repetitive hand and wrist motions and is characterised by numbness, burning and tingling of the thumb, index, middle and ring fingers.

In severe cases surgery is required.

Some gamers talked about wrist injuries so severe they had to quit and lower back problems related to sitting for too long, day after day.

"I used to play and I had some arm and wrist problems so now I coach instead of playing because I can't take the strain," said Kurtis "Aui_2000" Ling, of the Newbee team.

Another hazard of eSports, a fast-growing but little-understood sport, is the mental toll, particularly with life-changing sums of money on the table.

With many players so young -- most are in their 20s but there is a 17 year old at The International -- some struggle in the hyper-competitive environment.

"I just sometimes feel that my body is so sore," said Ryan "Raging Potato" Jay Qui of the Mineski team, who nevertheless says that his vision is still "20/20".

"Most of the obstacles in this kind of environment is the mentality," said the Filipino, adding that Mineski has a "psych adviser" who helps prop up the players.

CHANGING HABITS

While the money at the top of eSports is soaring, in other respects gaming remains well behind many other professional sports.

Newbee coach Ling said that eSports is only now starting to appreciate the need for physiotherapists and other staff specialising in physical and mental well-being, though most teams have no such back-up. Cost is the major reason.

Roman Dvoryankin, general manager of Virtus.pro, said many gamers have scant appreciation of how important it is to eat well, exercise and sit properly when playing.

"All the pro teams are trying to educate the players to take breaks, do some exercise, stretch properly," he said.

"It's changing now, but what we face is that we get a player and realise that his digestive system is just not working properly and they have stomach problems," added Dvoryankin.

"We do it, but it can be hard to change their daily habits."

pst/ind/rma

source: news.abs-cbn.com

PH team TNC Pro Team loses to China's LFY in DOTA 2 tournament

The Philippines' TNC Pro Team lost to China's LFY, 2-0, at the Dota 2 The International 7 (TI7) tournament early Wednesday morning.

TNC Pro Team looked set to win Game 1 but LFY turned the tables to claim the victory. The Chinese team dominated the second match to sweep the Filipinos in their best of 3 series.

TNC Pro Team will next face OG in the lower bracket.

Another Filipino team, Execration, earlier ended its journey in the tournament.

Execration failed to win against Team Secret from Europe.

Following their loss, the Filipino group exited the annual competition at 12th to 16th place, to bring home roughly around P6 million as cash prize.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

PhilWeb shares plunge

MANILA - Shares of PhilWeb continued to plunge on Monday, days after President Rodrigo Duterte singled out its chairman Roberto Ongpin as an oligarch that must be "destroyed."

PhilWeb shares plunged another 33 percent in morning trade. Its shares dropped 37 percent on Thursday.

Luis Limlingan, head of research at Regina Capital, advised investors to stay on the sidelines for now and wait for more clarity from the President.

"It seems Mr. Duterte is against online gaming as a whole. So stay away, given the fact that PhilWeb has fallen sharply, there's still room to still bottom at this point, so wait and observe...This stock is going to be driven by news, at this point, rather than performance of the company," he told ANC's "Market Edge with Cathy Yang."

PhilWeb earlier said Ongpin resigned to "save the company." It added that e-Games is not online gaming.



It said access to these clubs is strictly controlled. It also warned that closing down the business will affect 5,000 employees, and deprive the government of over P2 billion in revenues for Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

PhilWeb shares are little traded, non-index issues. It is trading at a 20-month low.

In his first Cabinet meeting in June, Duterte asked PAGCOR to stop issuing licenses to online gaming firms.

PhilWeb said it has requested PAGCOR chairperson Andrea Domingo for a meeting to clarify the situation.

PhilWeb president Dennis Valdes said the company wishes to explain its side, noting that President Duterte "may have been misinformed."

"As a publicly listed company on the Philippine Stock Exchange, our records are fully open to public scrutiny and are available for a full investigation at any time," Valdes said in a statement.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com