Shutdown Archives - Gizmochina

Oppo has cleared out its official website for Germany

Sean — Mon, 15 May 2023 12:31:35 +0000

Oppo has seemingly cleared out its entire official website for the German market. The company has been facing a rough period in the European market with previous rumors of an eventual exit, and now, the latest move has it wipe out its official German website.

Oppo’s exit from Europe could be right around the corner

For those unaware, despite being one of the largest smartphone manufacturer’s in the world, the BBK Group (umbrella corp that presides over Oppo & OnePlus) might be preparing to withdraw from Europe. One of the first market’s for this exodus would’ve been France and would soon include Germany as well.

Now, ahead of any official announcement, the brand’s official website in Germany has been completely wiped out. As of right now, there is only a single advertisement for the company’s ongoing partnership with YEFA Champions League. There is also a FAQ banner that only answers one question, which is related to its existing Oppo devices in the country. Based on recent rumors, the smartphone maker is expected to exit the French market in June 30.

Initial reports had also hinted at OnePlus also exiting the European market along with Oppo, but these claims were later refuted officially. Keep in mind that this is still just an unconfirmed report so take this news with a pinch of salt for now. Stick around for more as we will be covering any updates when additional information is available regarding this matter.

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Xiaomi Is Shutting Down Its TikTok Rival Zili in India

Sean — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 08:08:21 +0000

Xiaomi is gearing up to shut down its short video sharing platform that is called Zili. The company will be ending its operations in the Indian market soon, so here is everything you need to know about this new move.

For those unaware, the Chinese tech giant’s Zili was first launched in Google Play Store back in 2018 and functioned similar to another social media giant, TikTok. In other words, Zili also allowed users to share or watch short videos on their platform and even sought to fill up the market left by TikTok after it was banned by the Indian government. But now, it appears that Xiaomi is also exiting the market, as it plans on shutting its operations on 13th March 2023 at 23:59PM “due to an operational adjustment.”

As of right now, the application has already been removed from the Google Play Store. Furthermore, Zili added that “All services on Zili app will be disabled on and from the shutdown date, including but not limited to the functions of download, Z-points encashments or withdrawal, etc. and all user data would be deleted from our server after that date and will no longer be retrievable.” Notably, this decision to shut down the platform would likely have resulted in a number of people being laid off in the country.

This app was quite popular in the Indian market with Play Store showing downloads crossing an impressive 100 million before it was taken down. Zili had seen breakout success after TikTok got banned in India in 2020. So it remains to be seen, which other short video sharing app will cover the gap left behind by these two platforms.

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Apex Legends Mobile will Shutdown in May, EA Cancels Battlefield Mobile Project

Sean — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 11:05:05 +0000

Apex Legends Mobile, the mobile port of the popular battle royale title from Respawn Entertainment, has announced that the game will be shutting down later this year. Respawn has revealed that the game is being cancelled a year after its original release.

For those unaware, Apex Legends is a massively successful multiplayer title that was originally release on the PC and Console platforms. It was developed by Respawn Entertainment, which is also behind the acclaimed Titanfall series. The company is currently under EA (Electronic Arts), and recently announced that the mobile port of this title will be shut down on 1st of May 2023. Respawn Entertainment stated that this decision was made due to factors outside of its control.

As of right now, the company has announced that it has stopped in game purchases required real currencies. Furthermore, the game will also be removed from web stores starting today (1st February 2023). This wasn’t the only unfortunate news however, as EA also announced that it is cancelling the highly anticipated mobile port of its popular Battlefield franchise as well. The decision from EA to kill Apex Legends Mobile arrives weeks after the game winning the Game of the Year 2022 award on Apple and Google app stores.

The company stated that the game had a strong start but various factors lead to its shutdown. This includes its content roadmap and the bar for quality and quantity also falling short. This, the developers and studio behind the title have decided to kill the mobile port in May 2023. Keep in mind that this decision does not affect the actual PC or console version of this game.

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World of Warcraft & Overwatch Are Going Offline in China, Here’s Why

Sean — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 13:52:52 +0000

Blizzard Entertainment is shutting down two of its most popular online multiplayer games in China. The servers for the company’s massively successful World of Warcraft and Overwatch are going offline. This news was followed by many taking to social media platforms to express their grievances, since both titles collectively had tens of million of players in the region alone. Many are still unclear as to why Blizzard is shutting its servers in China, so here are all the details.

NetEase And Blizzard’s Partnership Lasted 14-years In China

The decision from Blizzard to shut down the servers in China is due to a major fallout with its local publisher, NetEase. For those unaware, game developer Blizzard had partnered with NetEase for the past 14 years to have its popular titles be available in the Chinese market. This cooperation was inevitable considering the rigid and strict market rules the Chinese government places on the gaming industry. So since 2008, Blizzard’s massively multiplayer games like World of Warcraft (aka WoW) had its servers managed by NetEase in China.

Notably, this publisher is also behind other major Western games like Minecraft. So, it was a solid deal for the Chinese company since it boosted it to become the second-largest games distributor in the region, just behind Tencent Holdings. But now, both firms broke off their deal, following talks late last year regarding the licensing agreement that allowed Blizzard to run its Diablo, Warcraft, and Overwatch titles. However, after a public fallout, NetEase accused Blizzard of being “rude and inappropriate.”

This statement was made after Blizzard offered to extend their licensing agreement for another six months while they work out new terms. NetEase stated that this idea was the same as “proposing a divorce while still engaging with the same partner”. While the game devs IPs were licensed by NetEase, they were still owned by Blizzard. Following talks, NetEase rejected this offer from the developer. Thus, Blizzard’s games went offline on the midnight of January 23. Notably, the company has also promised World of Warcraft players to save their progress with a new service.

All May Not Be Lost For Blizzard In China

China and the US are two of the biggest gaming markets in the world, and Blizzard Entertainment has faced a lot of criticism for going out of its way to remain active in the former market. During the outbreak of protests in Hong Kong, it had even banned esports athletes from its tournaments over statements that sided against the Chinese government. So it is clear that Blizzard aims to continue its service in the country. Meaning, while the developer has lost its ability to run its popular games in China right now, there is a possibility that the shutdown isn’t permanent. In other words, the company might return to the region with a different partner.

Keep in mind that this is still just speculation at the moment, so take this with a pinch of salt for now. Although, if this does end up happening, it would be great news for many gamers in China. One fan of the World of Warcraft wrote that “It is truly a sad day for World of Warcraft players and Blizzard Entertainment fans everywhere,” while another stated that “The sudden shutdown is a stark reminder of impermanence, displacing millions of players”.

Interestingly enough, the president of NetEase’s global investment, Simon Zhu, also added that he had spent over 10,000 hours playing those games and expressed his disapproval of Blizzard’s actions.

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Some Apple suppliers halt production for a few days in China due to energy crisis

Jeet — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 02:44:46 +0000

Some of the contract manufacturers and suppliers of Apple in China have temporarily shut down production for a few days. This is because of the government initiating a crackdown as the country faces an energy crisis.

The move is a part of the Chinese government’s new regulations related to the use of energy in the country. However, the timing is crucial as tech giant Apple has just launched its latest iPhone 13 series smartphones and the backorders are rising as the shipment dates for the new Apple iPhone models keep getting pushed.

While not all the suppliers of Apple are affected, those factories which manufacture parts like motherboards and speakers have to shut down their manufacturing operations for a few days. Analysts claim that the reduction in production due to the power shortage is resulting in a drag on the country’s economic growth.

There’s a shortage of coal and the tougher standards related to emissions, combined with the strong demand from manufacturers have resulted in coal prices surging and it has now hit a record high which is forcing users to ration energy.

Eson Precision Engineering, an affiliate of Foxconn and a key supplier for Apple and Tesla, has suspended its production for a week. On the other hand, Unimicron Technology has stopped production in two cities until the end of the month.

As of now, there’s no information about whether any of these shutdowns will directly impact Apple’s manufacturing plans. Along with the iPhone 13 series, the US-based technology giant has also launched a new iPad, iPad Mini, and Apple Watch Series 7.