Remember the global Pokémon Go craze when smartphone users, young and old, wandered around catching Pokémon? That was one of the best examples of innovation driving companies to overcome challenges.

What made Pokémon Go a hit? Certainly, it was not just the popular manga or anime brand. The innovative use of technology spelt the big difference. The game took advantage of GPS, geospatial mapping, augmented reality, and multiple sensors to provide a new and unique experience for gamers.

Profitable innovation

Pokémon Go’s success was an excellent demonstration of how businesses can mindfully factor in market changes, new tech, and trends to come up with an innovative product. It taught business owners how powerful the combination of familiarity, interactivity, and an omnichannel strategy can be.

The team behind Pokémon Go saw the potential of going beyond the usual interaction with touchscreen displays. The game forced players to move around in real life instead of doing the usual sedentary gaming habits. It opened up opportunities to explore new places and meet people in real life.

As players enjoyed the considerably more engaging gaming experience, Pokémon Go presented different monetisation streams, including in-app purchases for Poke Balls and lure modules, sponsored locations and partnerships, and Pokémon Go events, among many others. With these, the game has become one of the world’s most profitable, earning US$5 billion over the course of five years.

Replicating Pokémon Go’s success

The technologies that made Pokémon Go wildly popular are no longer novel and innovative. For businesses to stand out and maximise viability now, there are new factors to work with, especially the advent of Web3.

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Web3 is the evolution of digital and internet technology characterised by the wider adoption of AI, blockchain, crypto, and decentralised systems. It also features better digital asset ownership and community-driven development. Businesses can harness the new technologies under Web3 to bolster success in the following ways.

Attracting more customers through better monetisation and digital asset ownership

Web3 gaming typically integrates digital assets and NFTs into gaming. They enable new ways for monetisation through NFT game item purchases. Reaching a peak market size of US$755 million in 2021, the play-to-earn industry demonstrated how game developers and players alike can monetise with digital assets.  

Digital assets, empowered by the unchangeable foundation of blockchain technology, grant gamers the autonomy to better manage their in-game possessions. These assets can be freely exchanged on NFT marketplaces, both within and beyond the game’s own environment. 

This marks a significant progression beyond the conventional game studio model, where game developers retain exclusive control over all digital in-game items. This can limit revenue streams that could otherwise be created by opening up the game’s monetisation channels to NFT marketplaces. With tokenisation, any game assets, characters and player achievements can be converted into digital assets. 

Citizen Conflict, a shooter game developed by QORPO Game Studio, is an example of how tokenisation enhances gaming. Its tokenised and distinctive approach to monetisation offers an alternative to conventional play-to-earn models. This tokenisation advantage comes on top of the game’s enticing gameplay, impressive graphics, and an overall intuitive gaming experience comparable to the quality of popular Web2 games such as Valorant, CS:GO, and Fortnite.

Reshaping game development with community governance

The democratisation movement has reached the gaming industry. Web3 empowers players to have a direct impact on game development by enabling them to vote on game development features, such as the addition of new maps or characters. It creates an inclusive environment for players and developers to collaboratively shape and align with gamer preferences.

Also Read: Indonesian gaming powerhouse Agate unveils strategy to conquer the global arena

In a significant departure from the conventional esports landscape, Citizen Conflict is introducing a novel approach to tournament organisation that puts the community in charge, minimising the role of intermediaries. This empowers players and fans alike to collaboratively design tournaments through participatory decision-making. By utilising a voting system, participants collectively influence aspects such as prize allocations, rule frameworks, and how rewards are distributed, fostering a heightened sense of involvement.

A pivotal factor underpinning this shift towards inclusivity is the integration of smart contracts. These automated protocols facilitate the equitable distribution of rewards among competing teams and passionate fans. This process ensures transparency and helps to eliminate the need for middlemen. Consequently, the esports realm becomes a realm of open interaction, erasing the lines between players and their audience.

Building forward-looking businesses with technology

At this point, the gaming industry is already getting saturated. The mobile gaming market is starting to reach saturation in the world’s biggest markets, namely the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea. For game developers and publishers to succeed, they need to find ways to stand out while making sure that they are profitable.

As such, businesses need to be more tech-savvy to connect to customers who are becoming increasingly reliant on more technologies. To this end, the gaming industry shows how the ingenious use of technology pays off.

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The post How gaming innovations in Web3 are rewriting entrepreneurial playbooks appeared first on e27.

Dear reader,

The exodus of American VC firms from China to Silicon Valley marks a significant shift in investment strategies as the once-lucrative Chinese tech market faces challenges. China’s stringent tech crackdown and escalating US-China tensions have left US funds grappling with uncertainties and dwindling opportunities, prompting a pivot to global markets. The year 2022 saw a drastic reduction in U.S. investment in Chinese companies, with only US$14.5 billion compared to US$45.4 billion the previous year.

The regulatory landscape and a slowing economy have forced American investors to reassess their engagement in China, fearing the fate of high-profile companies like Ant Group and Didi. The tightening grip on overseas IPOs and US restrictions on investments in critical sectors further add to the complexity. Even renowned investors like Sequoia Capital China face challenges, with its deal count dropping significantly.

Simultaneously, a new generation of Chinese-founded startups, dubbed “sea turtles,” is shifting focus from China to global markets. The challenges of navigating China’s regulatory hurdles lead entrepreneurs to establish dual-market strategies or, in some cases, leave China altogether.

This presents an opportunity for US fund managers to explore investments beyond China’s borders, particularly as VC activity in China is predicted to hit a nine-year low in 2023.

While the influx of Chinese VCs into Silicon Valley reflects a transient demand for international deals, the broader trend suggests re-evaluating the Chinese tech market’s viability. Whether US investors can find comparable growth and returns in alternative markets or if Chinese tech firms can adapt to the new regulatory landscape remains a looming question. The evolving dynamics signify a pivotal moment in the longstanding relationship between American venture capitalists and the Chinese tech ecosystem.

Sainul
Editor.

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The post Ecosystem Roundup: US VCs’ exodus from China; JALA completes US$13.1M funding round appeared first on e27.

In most societies, there are two ways to end a conversation: bring up religion or politics. However, in the Philippines, the topic guaranteed to have dinner party guests make an early exit is money. Even in 2023, discussing money is culturally taboo in the Philippines – much to the detriment of the nation’s youth.

Out of fear of being branded greedy or mukhang pera in Tagalog, Filipino households and schools rarely discuss their salaries, money troubles or even basic financial advice. And this is holding young Filipinos back from making informed decisions on day-to-day spending, savings, credit cards and life-changing investments.

Unfortunately, the Philippines now sits in the bottom 30 out of 144 countries for global financial literacy. This is alarming for a nation whose youths rarely have sufficient savings to help them in the event of a job loss. As such, it is hardly surprising that borrowing money is the main resource for Filipinos to meet all their needs.

Lacking trustworthy educational sources, young Filipinos have to rely on Facebook and other informal outlets to learn about finance. These unregulated networks leave people vulnerable to reckless advice, predatory lenders and potential scams.

However, with the right education, young Filipinos can avoid some of the biggest financial missteps while empowering them to understand everything from budgeting, saving and investing like a professional.

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Knowledge is not only helping the Philippines; Generation Z is building a safety net and boosting their mental health. Poor financial security is a significant contributor to poor mental well-being across the world, especially in a climate of high inflation and economic uncertainty.

With financial stability and security having an overwhelmingly positive impact on mental health, young people are much better positioned to achieve long-term goals.

Financial literacy requires time and effort, but it doesn’t necessarily mean getting an economics degree. Rather, now, it can be done with a few simple clicks.

The role of tech

In 2023, the Philippines’ technological and smartphone revolution is well underway, meaning young people have more resources at their fingerprints to understand the financial landscape. Among these are technology applications that are designed specifically for the needs of the Filipino population, both at home and abroad.

The Philippines’ traditional banks have largely remained hesitant to invest in a digital banking ecosystem, but app-based payment services such as GCash and Maya are helping accelerate this market at a rapid pace. Financial technology has meanwhile enabled millions of Filipinos working abroad to send remittance money home, an enormous contributor to the nation’s economy.

Also Read: Startups impacted by the rise of embedded finance in Southeast Asia

On a day-to-day basis, apps help Filipinos lacking banking services to enter the digital payments economy, providing them with better visibility and empowering them to make more informed purchase decisions.

Technology enhances financial education by providing accessible and engaging platforms. Money management apps, such as Lista in the Philippines, excel at this by offering intuitive interfaces that make financial planning enjoyable and easy to understand, especially for young users. This accessibility helps promote financial literacy.

While previous money management and budgeting tools have used tedious spreadsheets, today’s tools are much more user-friendly. Instead of requiring constant manual inputs and updates, today’s apps can leverage data on file to help track expenses, savings and debt. Push notifications alert users to direct debits and payments due, thereby eliminating unnecessary charges and protecting credit scores.

Loans and credit cards can also be managed through financial planning apps when synced with personal bank accounts. Users, therefore, gain a more in-depth picture of their spending habits, assets portfolio and credit score.

Last but not least, in the Philippines market, there are buy-now-pay-later apps, which allow people to make necessary buying decisions conveniently, form a cohesive payment plan, and remain up to date with essential bills and payments.

The Philippines’ economy has a promising future. This year, the nation recorded its strongest economic growth in more than 40 years, with banking revenue projected to triple by 2030.

Nevertheless, with 44 per cent of the Filipino adult population lacking banking access, more work is required to help the population build long-term security and a better future. And thankfully, that no longer requires an awkward conversation.

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Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

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The post Money talks: How tech can boost Filipinos’ financial literacy appeared first on e27.