The nation’s online gaming industry is expected to see 10 percent growth this year, but growth could slow if the economy further deteriorates, said Wang Chin-po (王俊博), chairman of Soft-World International Corp (智冠科技), the nation’s largest developer and distributor of online games.
Despite the global economic slowdown, Soft-World International reported record revenues of NT$6.15 billion (US$181.95 million) last year, up 36.9 percent from a year earlier. It was the second consecutive month that the company posted record-high sales, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported yesterday.
Earnings per share last year was estimated to have reached NT$9, the report showed.
Citing a Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC) study, the CNA report said that Taiwan’s online gaming market reached NT$10.41 billion last year and is expected to grow 8.4 percent to NT$11.29 billion this year.
The online gaming market is forecast to show steady growth next year, rising 8.6 percent from this year to NT$12.26 billion, the report said.
Wang, however, said Taiwan’s online gaming market scale should have already exceeded NT$12 billion last year, aided by new game releases.
He added the market would see double-digit growth this year, as online games producers raised their output.
With consumers cutting back on spending amid the economic downturn, reports said Internet traffic has risen and benefited games producers as people turn to more cost-saving entertainment.
Wang said players may indeed be spending more time online as businesses force employees to take leave.
He added, however, that it would be hard to gauge whether this had actually contributed to a surge in online business.
“If the economic slowdown lasts for more than a year, it will also adversely affect the gaming industry as players’ salaries drop,” Wang said.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS