SEOUL, South Korea, July 3, 2020 — Pearl Abyss announced today that the new Hero ‘Lahn’ has arrived in Shadow Arena. Players can now play the game’s 12th character and utilize her powerful skills to target opponents effectively.
New Hero ‘Lahn’ Now Available in Shadow Arena
The new Hero ‘Lahn’ can strategically reposition her enemies by pulling her opponents closer to her using her main weapon, the Crescent Pendulum. She can also leap and glide over long distances as a precursor move leading into her next attack or as a maneuver to leave the scene of battle.
In addition to the arrival of Lahn, a new Ancient Weapons Showdown mode has been introduced in Shadow Arena. Players will start this new mode with a Laytenn’s Power Core and a Puturum’s Power Core, which can be used to summon the Ancient Weapons Laytenn and Puturum.
"Shadow Arena Regional Cup – Asia" is back to determine the best player of the Asia server. Players can sign up to participate in the tournament until July 12. Preliminary rounds will be held on July 22 and July 29, and the finals will be held on August 1. The total prize pool of the tournament is set to 10 million won(USD 8,300), and an award for Most Valuable Player voted by the tournament’s casters will be among the many awards handed out for the tournament.
Best known for the MMORPG franchise Black Desert, Pearl Abyss is a leading developer in the game industry. Established in 2010, Pearl Abyss has since developed Black Desert for PC, mobile, and console, and is developing Shadow Arena for PC and console. All of Pearl Abyss’ games are built on the company’s own proprietary engine and are renowned for their cutting-edge graphics. The company is also developing Crimson Desert, DokeV, and PLAN 8 and is poised to continue its growth through 2020 and maintain its position as one of Asia’s leaders in game development. More information about Pearl Abyss is available at: www.pearlabyss.com
TOKYO, July 3, 2020 — Railgun: Spectrum Story was released by D-techno Co., Ltd on the App Store and Google Play on July 2, 2020.
Smartphone Application Railgun: Spectrum Story Now Available!
Railgun: Spectrum Story is an application in which you can enjoy video chatting with Mikoto Misaka, main character of the wildly popular anime A Certain Scientific Railgun.
The application has been released on the App Store and Google Play in 17 counties, including the United States and Canada.
The Video Chat system makes use of your phone’s camera to make it seem like you’re really chatting with Mikoto Misaka. Raising your Bond Rank with Mikoto by talking with her will unlock new conversations. Those conversations can even change depending on your choices and the time of day.
Enjoy all-new voice lines from Mikoto Misaka (CV: Rina Sato) recorded specially for the app. We hope you enjoy the fully voiced introduction.
-More than just a school uniform… Discover the rest of Mikoto’s wardrobe
Railgun: Spectrum Story App Description
While the app allows you to enjoy conversing with Mikoto in her school uniform, additional content* will let you dress her up in different outfits seen in the anime. Each outfit comes with its own special events and cutscenes, allowing for a wide variety of different video chats with Mikoto.
*Includes paid content.
-Messages and wake-up calls too
Look forward to messages sent by familiar characters from the anime. You may even receive a message from a certain someone.
And you can even set a time and receive a wake-up call from Mikoto herself.
-Introduction: A Certain Scientific Railgun T
A Certain Scientific Railgun T is the third season of the anime adaptation of A Certain Scientific Railgun, a manga spinoff of the popular A Certain Magical Index light novel series.
The story is beloved for the view it offers into the peaceful, occasionally hectic lives of Mikoto Misaka—a Level 5 esper also known as “Railgun”—and her esper friends.
Genre: Video Chat Adventure Compatible Operating Systems: iOS11 or newer, Android 6.0 or newer required. Official Website: https://railgun-spectrum.com/en/
ZUG, Switzerland, July 2, 2020 — Following the implementation of Apple recommendations, the Swiss company 4ARTechnologies launches the next version of the 4ARTapp, the art innovation that already has customers in over 60 countries, and has now successfully placed its cryptocurrency 4ARTcoin on the renowned BITTREX Global exchange in Liechtenstein.
Niko Kipouros, Founder and CEO, Photo: Michael Weber
4ARTechnologies is the first Startup to fulfill its ICO promises
With the placement on the exchange, 4ARTechnologies is the first company in the world to have successfully completed an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) with an existing product and whose cryptocurrency is listed on a trading exchange with a stable value.
The 4ARTcoin is the world’s first cryptocurrency for the art world. It will enable transactions between all art market participants, maximizing security and eliminating transaction or exchange losses. The digital currency further supports the digitization of the global art market, which was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shift of trade to borderless online platforms. In addition, customers of 4ARTechnologies can pay for services within the 4ARTapp using the 4ARTcoin and receive a 20 percent discount.
Since the demand for the 4ARTcoin will increase with the expanding use of the 4ARTapp in the art market, financial experts expect the value of the cryptocurrency will only become higher in the long-term. Currently, the 4ARTcoin can only be purchased and traded by investors on the BITTREX Global exchange.
About 4ARTechnologies
With the goal of protecting the cultural heritage of art for future generations and bringing the global art market into the digital age, 4ARTechnologies is setting a new digital standard for the art world. The company combines the blockchain with its patented technology and offers all art world participants more transparency, security and efficiency.
Partnership brings to TME’s platforms the soundtracks of CoMix Wave Films Inc.’s popular animated works, including 5 Centimeters per Second and The Garden of Words
SHENZHEN, China, July 2, 2020 –Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) (NYSE:TME) has established a strategic partnership with CoMix Wave Films Inc. (CWF), a leading Japanese animated movie studio and distribution company known especially for the works of Makoto Shinkai and Jiro Tsunoda. Under this new partnership, the original soundtracks from 17 popular animated movies, including 5 Centimeters per Second and The Garden of Words, both directed by Makoto Shinkai, will go live on TME’s music platforms – QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing.
As a leader in the Japanese anime sector, CWF has a strong lineup of works deeply loved around the world. Makoto Shinkai Studio, an emerging animation studio under CWF, has drawn the attention of Chinese animation fans for its capabilities in creating immersive experiences in each of its works, with Your Name and Weathering With You as two of the most successful, by leveraging the unique combination of refined visual effects and emotionally strong soundtracks.
CWF commented on the strategic partnership, "TME has over 800 million monthly active users across several leading Chinese digital music and entertainment platforms, each of which boasts a huge user base of young people that offers a great environment to provide a deeper understanding of Japanese culture as embodied by music. With years of experience and accumulated expertise in digital music, TME will help CWF accelerate its digital transformation. By leveraging TME’s proven capabilities in promotion and distribution of digital music and entertainment works, CWF expects to offer animated music fans a diversified lineup of content and experiences, unleashing the unlimited power of music."
TME, a long-established player in the segment encompassing ACG (anime, comic and game) songs, selected leading global animation firm CWF as its strategic partner with the aim of addressing demand from fans for access to music specific to their preferences, while maximizing the value that can be derived from the various ACG music segments. TME plans to combine its strength in terms of music and entertainment with CWF’s strong production capabilities in anticipation of boosting the growth of the music IP industry.
As part of TME’s efforts to enhance its presence in the world of Japanese ACG music, the company signed a deal with Japanese music label Being in March 2020. With the partnership, TME obtained the music copyrights of popular animations owned by Being, including Detective Conan, Slam Dunk, Dragon Ball and Chibi Maruko-chan, immersing music fans in a wonderful world of animation accompanied by great music.
By adding the Japanese ACG music collection to its portfolio, TME has expanded its footprint in content verticals and accelerated the build-out of an international content ecosystem. In recent years, TME has already entered into strategic cooperation agreements with famous overseas labels, including Sony Music, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Being, Inc, Believe Digital, Stem Music, Roba Music Publishing, Hillsong and Twin Music.
Looking ahead, TME plans to work with CWF and other partners to build a global multicultural digital music and entertainment ecosystem and create a music partner-friendly environment as they co-create content for every conceivable musical genre. TME will continue pursuing its vision of increasing the value of musical content and further exploring the potential of the music industry by providing fans with engaging music and entertainment experiences while enhancing the connections between fans and content.
About Tencent Music Entertainment
Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE: TME) is the leading online music entertainment platform in China, operating the country’s highly popular and innovative music apps: QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing. TME’s mission is to use technology to elevate the role of music in people’s lives by enabling them to create, enjoy, share and interact with music. TME’s platform comprises online music, online karaoke and music-centric live streaming services, enabling music fans to discover, listen, sing, watch, perform and socialize around music.
TAIPEI, June 28, 2020 — Due to the pandemic, the 73rd Cannes Film Festival transformed its highly anticipated film market to the online Marche du Film, starting from June 22 to 26. Seizing the opportunity to present Taiwan’s content industry to the world, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) has set up a virtual Taiwan Cinema Pavilion to join a publisher- producer matchmaking session and participate in the Cannes XR program.
“I WeirDo” by director Ming-Yi LIAO as the theme of 2020 Taiwan Cinema Cannes.
The Taiwan Cinema Pavilion will showcase more than 80 Taiwanese films at the online Marche du Film, marking their debut at an international film market. Some outstanding works include “My Missing Valentine” by Yu-Hsun CHEN, and a zombie comedy featuring Taiwan’s parliament, “Get The Hell Out” by new director I-Fan WANG.
Also featured are two films representing different kinds of breakthroughs: “I WeirDo” by Far East Film Festival nominated director Ming-Yi LIAO, is the first Taiwanese movie filmed on an iPhone; as well as “Acting Out of Love” directed by Taiwanese comedic actor Ken LIN, debuting for the first time at a film market on the Marche du Film official site.
Additionally, TAICCA is excited to take published works from Taiwan to the Cannes Festival “Shoot the Book!”, an international initiative for film adaptations of books, for the first time. TAICCA has selected several works from this year’s Books from Taiwan recommended books for translation to showcase during the networking event, including author Kevin CHEN’s new work “Ghost of a Place” By participating in these networking events, TAICCA hopes to build a strong global presence for Taiwanese content and open up more opportunities for international audiovisual co-production.
In recent years, Taiwan has emerged as a key player in VR content and is excited to partner with Cannes Festival’s XR Day Program. More details will be announced on June 22 on the series of events highlighting Taiwan’s immersive content.
More than 40 new game products and game updates, as well as fan favorite franchises, were unveiled for next level interactive entertainment experiences.
SHENZHEN, China, June 28, 2020 — Tencent Games, the world-leading game development, publishing and operation platform, unveiled a new chapter in innovative gameplay and quality games with a roadmap of more than 40 game product updates, including new self-developed and licensed games with fan favorite intellectual property (IP). The announcement made at the Tencent Games Annual Conference held online this year, demonstrates Tencent’s leadership role in adapting famous global franchises for cross-platform games.
The event, with the theme “Spark More!”, featured the introduction of Tencent Games’ new self-developed games and collaborations with world-renowned IP owners, global game publishers and developers to offer new and exciting gaming experiences to players.
Tencent Senior Vice President Steven Ma opened the conference, revealing that Tencent Games’ strategy will revolve around three core elements – Technology, Gameplay and Storylines – that will drive the future evolution of the game industry.
Steven Ma, Senior Vice President of Tencent
“Globally, the popularity of new technologies is accelerating, the innovation cycle of gameplay is shortening, and the creation of story IP is also becoming richer,” Ma said. “The game industry is at the stage for a new generation of exciting possibilities. There is no better time than now to seize the opportunity, nurture our imaginations, explore new boundaries of creativity, and bring new values to the game community.” Tencent has a global collaboration network that provides technical resources and solutions for more than 100 game companies and studios around the world to develop new games.
People are the most valuable resource for the industry. Tencent has established cooperation with some of the top universities in the world to develop a pipeline of top tier talent that will power the industry’s future growth. Tencent’s Firework Plan, which is initiated by Tencent Institute of Games, strives to develop talent and incubate creativity for the industry.
At the Annual Conference today, Tencent Games announced several new partnerships and new game titles with popular game IP franchises, including:
Unnamed Metal Slug mobile game – Tencent Games’ TiMi Studios announced a new partnership with SNK CORPORATION to develop a new yet-to-be-named mobile game, for the classic arcade franchise Metal Slug. The game will offer a faithful rendition of Metal Slug’s classic arcade shoot ’em up play on the go and in players’ hands. A trailer for the upcoming game was released on the same day. The partnership follows in the footsteps of TiMi’s global development efforts on Call of Duty: Mobile and Arena of Valor, both of which have reached massive audiences worldwide.
Mobile Dungeon&Fighter – Dungeon&Fighter IP is a world-famous entertainment franchises, Mobile Dungeon&Fighter is developed by NEOPLE INC. and published by Tencent Games in China. The new Dungeon&Fighter mobile title will be built on the franchise’s iconic 2D arcade-style side-scrolling action gameplay, deep immersive multiplayer role-playing game (RPG) elements and continuously evolving storyline. Optimized for mobile devices, Mobile Dungeon&Fighter delivers the fast, fun and action-packed gameplay experience synonymous with the beloved franchise.
Tencent Games also released SYN, a tech demo of open world first person shooting (FPS) game marketed for PC and console games. The demo is developed by Tencent Games’ Lightspeed and Quantum Studios, leveraging Epic Games’ strand based hair system to push forward state of the art real time graphics in a cyberpunk style world with an intriguing universe and striking visuals.
About Tencent Games Tencent Games is the world leading global platform for game development, publishing and operations, as well as the operator of the largest online game community in China. It is dedicated to offering engaging, high-quality, interactive entertainment experiences for all players. Tencent Games currently offers more than 140 self-developed and licensed games across 200 countries and regions, which provides hundreds of millions of users with cross-platform interactive entertainment experiences. Honor of Kings, PUBG MOBILE and League of Legends are some of the most popular titles around the world. We are committed to exploring the full potential of games, leveraging the rich IP resources within Tencent, spanning literature, anime, film, and television, to create high-quality interactive entertainment experiences.
TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 27, 2020 — Taiwan’s immersive content has emerged as an international powerhouse and featured in the 2020 Cannes XR program keynote forum, “How to Build an Ecosystem for XR? Taiwan as an example” along with the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA). Due to the pandemic, the forum was held online at the official site of Cannes Marche du Film on June 25 from 21:00 to 22:00 GMT+2.
TAICCA’s First VR Grant Winners.
The president of TAICCA, Lolita Ching-Fang HU, who is also the chairperson of the Immersive Content Grant international jury panel, moderated the forum. She invited speakers from across the XR industry including, Wen-Hao HUANG, the Chairperson of Digital Art Foundation and well-known art curator; Shou-Jung PENG, Technical Director of Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI); Grace Huai-Chin LEE, VR Programmer of Kaohsiung Film Archive and Kaohsiung Film Festival; and Jimmy CHENG, Director of Content & Business Operations of Iconic Engine.
Chairperson HUANG opened up the discussion by sharing his experiences in XR archives and story-telling. “The Digital Art Foundation views VR development from the perspective of contemporary art. We hope to be a professional third-party platform for creators and anyone unfamiliar with VR to enter this field through promotion and experiment.” HUANG added, “we too can explore the possibilities of VR as museum pieces.”
Regarding Taiwan’s technology-end of the XR industry, ITRI Technical Director PENG, who helped and supervised building the first Volumetric Capture Studio in Taipei, spoke about how the innovation combines culture with technology. “ITRI hopes to create a hub here in Taiwan to connect with international organizations within the industry,” said PENG, who stressed the importance of the 5G network, which will allow audiences to enjoy the exciting breakthrough of immersive content from mobile devices. President HU added that aside from co-operating the 4DViews Lab with TAICCA, ITRI also assists artists to in utilizing technology, which can be exemplified by Huang Yi Studio’s human-robot dance duet.
Award-winning film producer Grace Huai-Chin LEE touched on immersive content trends and how Taiwan seizes this opportunity to join the global supply chain. In 2017, Taiwan already noticed that major international film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, Tribeca, and Venice film festivals, were expanding their completion to the VR domain. In the same year, Taiwanese Director John Han-Chiang HSU and Serendipity Films’ “Your Spiritual Temple Sucks” amazed the world through the newly-developed Microwave Camera, proving technological breakthroughs are no less important than creative minds.
An essential part of the XR ecosystem is the market. Iconic Engine’s Director of Content, Jimmy CHENG, shared feedback from international VR platforms and buyers on Taiwan’s immersive content. He also spoke of the expectations from international markets. CHENG pointed out how global telecommunications companies, including Taiwan, are all developing their strategies for ways to showcase 5G capabilities — and the answer is through VR.
In terms of themes of and subjects for immersive content, CHENG believes that the sentiment of Taiwan’s culture and history is easily relatable for a global audience. For instance, the short VR film, “The Abandoned Deity,” talks about a missing deity statue with an underlying element of familial relationships and emotions. “It’s a universal topic. TAICCA can help our creative content creators promote their works to the world. Maybe to start with film festivals, then to the telecom platforms,” said CHENG, who also believes by allowing buyers to understand these works will make Taiwan’s cultural content convincing and reach a further audience.
Chairperson HUANG commented on the changes VR brought to art. “When VR technology is introduced to the art world, it allows creators to think from different compositions and narrative structures. This young form of art reconstructs time and space. It gives the audience the power and to alter the dramatic intensity for the experience.”
As a final remark, President HU emphasized her belief in the somatosensory experience VR creates, which could transform an audience into a participant. HU concluded, “cultural content is everything, and technology, after all, comes from human beings. We are the ones who use technology to activate our imagination for the future.”
Taiwan has already enjoyed a reputation as a key player in immersive content production. As an intermediary organization, TAICCA is devoted to support and promote Taiwan’s cultural content industries, and to serve as a platform for international and cross-industry collaborations. To encourage multinational XR content development in Taiwan, TAICCA has launched the first edition of the Immersive Content Grant for International Joint Ventures or Co-Productions in March 2020, offering NT$3.5 million(US$118,000). TAICCA recently announced the grant recipients at a press conference on June 22.
The grant recipients are all projects with co-production partnerships with Taiwan-based teams: an unannounced game developed by UK-based Oiffy, “The Starry Sand Beach” by French-based Lucid Realities, “Anthem to the Fading Flowers” by Taiwan-based ET@T Lab Theater, “Missing Pictures” by Taiwan-based Serendipity Films Ltd., and “Through the Body” by Virtual & Physical Media Integration Association of Taiwan.
The full recording of the forum will be available on TAICCA’s official YouTube site on June 25 from 9 PM to 10 PM Central European Time (June 26 from 3 AM to 4 AM CST) for audiences in Taiwan and the world to join the discussion.
The Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), established in June 2019 and supervised by the Ministry of Culture, is a professional intermediary organization working to promote the development of Taiwan’s content industries including film and TV, publishing, pop music, ACG and more.
SYDNEY, June 26, 2020 — Leading shopping service and payments provider Klarna is helping Australians make smarter decisions about what to buy online during our ‘new normal’.
To encourage the entire country to buy only the things we really love and actually need, Klarna, in partnership with Universal Music Australia’s creative agency BRING, has today released a parody music video about Australia’s online shopping habits during lockdown.
Starring local favourites, The Inspired Unemployed, musicians Thandi Phoenix and Tuka – Get What I Love shines a big pink spotlight on all the things we’ve been buying, but never knew we really needed…hello Tiger King g-string!
An original R’n’B flavoured pop song which was written collaboratively over Zoom, Get What I Love is about finding fun ways to make use of the stuff we’ve bought during isolation, that in a different world may not have been added to our cart.
Klarna talks to shoppers on their terms and creates services, experiences and content which are very different from what people expect from a brand in the fintech, finance or banking space.
The pop parody allows Klarna to extend its support of local retailers to emerging homegrown artists in what is a tough time for the Australian entertainment industry.
Andrea Darling, Klarna’s Head of Marketing for Australia and New Zealand says: “We are so excited about this collaboration and working with such amazing Australian talent. Klarna is all about the consumer experience and inviting customers into our world. This music video clip illustrates perfectly how we do things differently and in a fun way. It’s time for a new kind of shopping service that is genuinely interested in its customer and fits with their lifestyle.”
From swapping high heels for Uggs, buying bread makers to bake that insta-worthy sourdough, to grabbing the latest thigh master to tone that at-home bod, the video takes a light-hearted look at how our needs changed during COVID-19.
The music clip focuses on two flatmates (The Inspired Unemployed) stuck in lockdown in a studio style apartment. Each ‘week’ a new purchase is delivered to their door thanks to the simple shopping experience of Klarna. As time passes, our two stars continue to make use of the items delivered, sometimes in unexpected ways.
The Inspired Unemployedsays: “This partnership with Klarna was an absolute pleasure to work on and it was truly a team effort to bring the vision to life with incredible creatives like Tuka and Thandi Phoenix, who we learnt a lot from. We are thrilled to see this project come to life after weeks of collaboration and we really hope Australians find it relatable, fun and entertaining and that it also serves as a reminder of the once in a lifetime lockdown experience.”
Thandi Phoenix says: “I had a such a good time working on this project for Klarna during lockdown. It was really nice to be able to collaborate with different creatives on this song and being able to make fun of some of the activities we’ve all been doing during isolation.”
Tuka says: “This project definitely saved me from the insane level of boredom we all experienced in lockdown. Thanks for getting me on board, Klarna has been a great brand to work with.”
We make shopping smoooth. With Klarna consumers can buy now and pay later, so they can get what they love today. Klarna’s offering to consumers and retailers include payments, social shopping, and personal finances. Over 205,000 merchants, including H&M, Adidas, IKEA, Expedia Group, Samsung, ASOS, Peloton, Abercrombie & Fitch, Nike and AliExpress have enabled Klarna’s innovative shopping experience online and in-store. Klarna is the most highly valued fintech in Europe with a valuation of $US5.5bn and one of the largest private fintechs globally. Klarna was founded in 2005, has over 2,700 employees and is active in 17 countries. For more information, visit klarna.com/au
About BRING BRING are a creative agency born from Universal Music Australia and as such culture runs in their DNA. With their unrivalled access to talent, data, leading live and content production capabilities as well as a creative-driven approach to everything they do, BRING create ideas that make noise. They have created brand platforms and campaigns including – Adobe, KFC, Nintendo, Oppo, Adidas, Lion, Optus, American Express, KFC and more. www.bring.com.au
TIANJIN, China, June 26, 2020 — On the afternoon of June 23, the Fourth World Intelligence Congress kicked off in Media Theater, Tianjin. Wan Gang, Vice Chairman of CPPCC and Chairman of China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), attended the online opening ceremony. CPC Tianjin Committee Secretary Li Hongzhong addressed the congress. Li Xiaohong, President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), congratulated the congress through video. Huai Jinpeng, Executive Vice Chairman of CAST, Zhang Guoqing, Mayor of Tianjin attended the meeting. Park Won Soon, Mayor of Seoul, Republic of Korea, delivered a speech via video. The congress was presided over by Gong Ke, Chairman of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations. 58.6 million people watched the cloud opening ceremony and theme summit at the same time on 40 live streaming websites and platforms, and the total number of views reached 392 million.
Venue of the Fourth World Intelligence Congress
Wan Gang pointed out that the congress is a high-end platform for artificial intelligence communication jointly created by Tianjin and CAST. We will open up big data, apply blockchain and innovate in cloud services during the pandemic prevention and control; promote the development of new industries, further drive the intelligent process and digitization of the entire industry chain, and continuously boost the close combination of artificial intelligence with real economy; create a new platform for employment, build an open source sharing platform, and forge the "Sci-Tech Innovation China" brand; continuously deepen basic research, build a world-class artificial intelligence development platform and industrial ecosystem; and promote international cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.
Li Hongzhong said that Tianjin comprehensively promotes the strategic layout of the new generation artificial intelligence industry, and intelligent technology is becoming the core driving force for high-quality development in the city. Tianjin will take the initiative to embrace the new era of intelligence, push forward the construction of a pioneer city in the fourth industrial revolution, build itself into an innovative city in intelligent technology, an energization city of the intelligent industry, and an ecological city of intelligent development, continuously optimize its business environment, and strengthen cooperation in intelligence fields with various parties from home and abroad.
According to Li Xiaohong, Tianjin has embarked on a new way of innovation-driven development with the intelligence technology industry as the lead, and Tianjin Intelligent Port shows a promising future.
Park Won Soon said that this year is a crucial year for the construction of 5G networks in Tianjin. He hoped Seoul and Tianjin will strengthen communications and share experience on the construction of intelligence industrial infrastructures.
At the theme summit, representatives from the global intelligence technology industry and academia delivered speeches on site or via video accesses. Among them include Gao Wenjiu, academician of CAE, Ma Huateng, Chairman of the Board of Tencent, Max Tegmark, tenured professor at the MIT Department of Physics, Yang Yuanqing, Chairman of Lenovo Group, Yang Xu, Global Vice President of Intel Corporation, Edmund Phelps, laureate of Nobel Economics Award, Wang Jian, Chairman of the Technical Committee of Alibaba Group, and Raj Reddy, foreign academician at CAE and winner of Turing Award.
Themed on Intelligence New Era: Innovation, Energization and Ecology, the Fourth World Intelligence Congress applied the modes of "meetings, exhibitions, contests and intelligence experience" to hold six cloud events namely, cloud promotion, cloud release, cloud bilateral talk, cloud intelligence experience, cloud intelligence technology exhibition, world intelligent driving challenge contest, "Fifth Space" intelligent safety competition, Tianjin "Haihe Talents" Entrepreneurial Competition, as well as 13 cloud parallel forums, cloud and on-site contract signing activities.
XIAMEN, China, June 25, 2020 — Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment Technology (“Blue Hat” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BHAT), a producer, developer and operator of augmented reality (“AR”) interactive entertainment games, toys and educational materials in China, today announced that it has partnered with Xiamen Xing Meng Wei Lai Culture Media Co. LTD (“Xing Meng Wei Lai“) , a leading Chinese multi-channel network (“MCN”) and internet content development agency, to build Direct-to-Consumer (“DTC”) social content marketing channels via short videos and live streaming. Through the partnership, Blue Hat expects to gradually release its product line on various popular short video and live streaming platforms, including Douyin (TikTok).
In recent years, content-driven e-commerce has been surging in China. Taobao Live, Alibaba Group’s dedicated livestreaming channel, thrived in 2019 with livestreaming-led transactions growing over 150% for three consecutive years. Live streaming has become one of the fastest growing forms of e-commerce in China with over 500 million Chinese users. A study by iiMedia Research shows that the market size of Chinese live streaming e-commerce reached RMB 433.8 billion ($61.5 billion) in 2019, and is projected to double to RMB867,6 billion ($123 billion) in 2020. In the past, the majority of toy product sales came from the offline market. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the amount of time parents and children interact at home on a daily basis. Accordingly, Blue Hat has been taking initiatives to shift its marketing focus to produce more social media and live stream content.
Based on Blue Hat’s product line, application scenarios and interactive features, Xing Meng Wei Lai intends to provide services from conception to execution, including customized planning for live streaming events, design and launch of online stores, and additional content-driven e-commerce promotions.
“Establishing a short video live streaming DTC sales model is a milestone for Blue Hat because it not only serves to increase our brand awareness, but also to broaden our market reach,” commented Mr. Xiaodong Chen, Chief Executive Officer of Blue Hat. “We believe that combining the power of short video live streaming with the reach of standard e-commerce platforms will be an important driver of Blue Hat’s online sales looking forward. With our comprehensive online and offline sales network, we believe we are building future revenue growth for our products.”
About Blue Hat
Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment Technology is a producer, developer and operator of AR interactive entertainment games and toys in China, including interactive educational materials, mobile games, and toys with mobile game features. The Company’s interactive entertainment platform creates unique user experiences by connecting physical items to mobile devices, which creates a rich visual and interactive environment for users through the integration of real objects and virtual scenery. Distinguished by its own proprietary technology, Blue Hat aims to create an engaging, interactive and immersive community for its users. For more information, please visit the Company’s investor relations website at http://ir.bluehatgroup.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events or future performance of the Company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters set in the Company’s SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
Lexie Zhang Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment Technology Phone: +86 (592) 228-0010 Email: ir@bluehatgroup.net
