The biggest challenge to the industry is localization and distribution. 
At App Annie, Junde manages the APAC business. His main responsibility is to bring in revenue, which in his case goes well beyond direct sales to include localized marketing, consulting, networking and building relationships. Junde tells us, “I’ve always been in start-up mode, so having a background that includes sales, product development and marketing has its advantages.”
The biggest challenge to the industry, Junde believes, is localization and distribution. He points out that there are excellent opportunities for companies with great games so long as they emphasize localization. He tells us that companies can reap enormous rewards of one to one and a half times their Western revenue. However, he maintains “Effective localization is much more than mere translation. There are specific themes and characters that Chinese, Japanese and Korean audiences appreciate. There are also specific hooks for in-app purchases and specific ways of handling local servers.”
China and Japan are growing rapidly on both iOS and Google Play whereas Korea and most parts of Southeast Asia are doing so only on Google Play.
Junde emphasizes the tremendous and constantly increasing opportunities in the Asia with huge mobile growth in downloads and revenue throughout the market. He notes that China and Japan are growing rapidly on both iOS and Google Play whereas Korea and most parts of Southeast Asia are doing so only on Google Play. Junde also notes that single tap app revenues in China, Japan and Korea are no longer less than in the US.
For those looking to enter the Asian market, it is most effective to do so with local offices and local experts. If short term plans do not allow this, he suggests using local partners and distributors to get a feel for the region, rather than diving in with big ad budgets. At App Annie, they take this challenge seriously. They have offices in Beijing, San Francisco, London and Tokyo, with a new office now opening in Seoul. They have local business and market experts, as well as relationships in every territory.
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