KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) expects local entertainment content providers to grow at a rapid pace in midst of the Movement Control Order (MCO) by the government.
MDEC digital creative content vice president Hasnul Hadi Samsudin said Malaysian-made games and animation like Thor: War of Tapnarok, Bake ‘n Switch, WarPods, King’s League II, BoBoiBoy, Ejen Ali, Chuck Chicken and so many more, are globally popular intellectual property (IPs).
"All of these games and animated shows will certainly experience a higher surge of user download and interactivity as more people look for in-house and online activity and entertainment to replace time spent outdoors,” he told NST Business yesterday.
He said this is also an opportune time to up the creativity and cater to the market needs.
"For example, Monsta Studios is currently working on brand-new content that educates about Covid-19 and the preventive measures to avoid further infection.
"More new and diverse content from other creative studios are being produced and will be made available online soon,” he said.
Hasnul said while it is not all 'fun and games', all the creative content that are being produced will certainly be educational and interactive in some ways.
"This includes making the games and animation, or related content, engaging for the entire family.
“That is how we want to expand the #HealthyGaming initiative and, during this stay-at-home period, is suitable to really learn and understand how creative content can boost family relationships, inspire creativity among the youth, and energise positive innovation for the entire family,” he said.
Magnus Games Studio co-founder DC Gan expects the traction to come in, however, it is still too early to tell.
"I think it will somehow affect Malaysia as well, especially for the 14-day restricted MCO announced on Monday. For the time being, we are still observing the market too,” he said.
Magnus Games Studio is an independent game studio based in Malaysia.
Meanwhile in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported Tencent Holdings Ltd picked up millions of new gamers during the global coronavirus outbreak - yet that surge in mobile play may be slowing as the world’s No. 2 economy goes back to work.
The quest for entertainment among millions confined to home translated into a big boost for Tencent’s marquee games, Honor of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite.
The report said helped the company gain US$25 billion of market value up to March 5, before a global market rout torpedoed the stock along with the rest of the market.
WeChat operator Tencent is now expected to report its fastest pace of revenue growth since 2018 when it unveils fourth-quarter results tomorrow, and investors will look for assurances it can sustain that pace of topline expansion, the report said.