Asus CEO is stepping down to let the company focus on mobile power users

mongeese

Posts: 643   +123
Bottom line: Asus will begin a “comprehensive corporate transformation” at the beginning of next year, enabling them to focus more on gaming and power user markets and how they relate to emerging technologies such as AI. As part of this shift, Asus' 11-year CEO Jerry Shen will step down and create a new company.

Shen revealed the news in an interview with Business Next, where he said that both himself and Asus are ready for something fresh. During his time at the company, he led the charge on many fan favorites, such as the original Eee PC (an early ultrabook), the Zenbook, Transformer and Zenfone lines. He’ll become CEO of a new “AIoT” (Artificial Intelligence + Internet of Things) company called iFast, of which Asus has a 30% stake.

As of January 1st, Asus will have two co-CEOs: PC business head S.Y. Hsu and global customer service lead Samson Hu. Other than a general focus on gaming, the main purpose of the restructure is to completely rework the company’s mobile division, at a “loss of inventory” cost of $160 million.

According to Asus Chairman Jonney Shih, the current mobile market is a “bloody battlefield” that’s overpopulated by budget Chinese options. While Asus’ Zenfones have been well received for the last few years, they’ve been criticised for mimicking other phones, such as the iPhone X, too closely. While Asus will start afresh, they confirmed to Gadgets 360 that they’ll keep the brand name.

"With regard to doubts raised by some on the continuation of the ZenFone brand, we confirm that we will continue to develop the ZenFone series, while also aiming to expand the gaming smartphone market. We will focus on perfecting solutions for gamers and power users."

Key to Asus’ new strategy will be the development of their overkill Republic of Gamer's phones. The first generation of ROG phone came with a 90Hz OLED screen, 8GB of RAM and an “overclocked” Snapdragon 845. It did a respectable job of being a gaming phone but failed to convince reviewers that a gaming phone was even necessary.

According to Asus, however, mobile gaming hardware is a lucrative market in Asia, where the ROG phone has seen reasonable success. Asus even suggested that they were considering releasing an entire lineup of ROG phones in the near future, with some specifically targeting the emerging “mobile esports” market.

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Gaming is a pass time not to be confused with power usage. And battery life alone limits the concept of power usage on mobile devices. Then we have the dreaded data caps.

If you want me to think mobility can be used for power usage. There will need to be two things done first.
  1. Longer battery life
  2. Removal of the ridiculous cellular data caps.
 
Well maybe this explains why this company has been getting worse and worse. From weak VRM premium priced motherboards to frame skipping monitors (vg248qz), and an awful lack of QC on their monitors (clouding, overshoot levels, 600:1 contrast).

Will not miss them a single bit.
 
The so-called mobile gaming is a disgrace to the true spirit of PC gaming. Maybe this sounds exaggerated, but it did start the freemium, pay-to-win formula BS. Plus the creeping in of mobile-level graphics to PC - *cough*PUBG*cough*
 
Plus the creeping in of mobile-level graphics to PC - *cough*PUBG*cough*
MMO style games have always had "bad" graphics (just think WoW). Or it's just plain cheaper to not focus on realistic graphics. That has nothing to do with mobile.
If anything, console gaming has encouraged poorer high-end graphic fidelity.
 
That has nothing to do with mobile.
That's not true. Mobile takes graphics quality down even farther than consoles. Which is fine until they bring mobile to cross platform with both console and PC. Having a PC is then pointlessly over powered.
 
Lots of great things about gaming and about mobile but the laptop isn't going to replace the desktop for awhile. I won't say never because they both have their cycles, no different than camera's. Right when we thought digital was the answer, film camera's are making a resurgence. Just goes to show you that every market has it's' followers and the company that positions itself to be able to accommodate all of them will have caught lightning in a bottle .......
 
I would be surprised if smartphones are even around 10 - 15 years from now. If AR sticks off there's no point in having phones anymore.
 
That's not true. Mobile takes graphics quality down even farther than consoles. Which is fine until they bring mobile to cross platform with both console and PC. Having a PC is then pointlessly over powered.
There is such a big step right now in graphics power between the average mobile phone and decent gaming PC (even current-gen console) that mobile can't be the excuse. Games would get ported to mobile (which doesn't lower the high end target).
It has to be developed separately if you want more "realistic" graphics. Every trick and hack and saving has to be made specifically for mobile to look more realistic on the smaller screen (though, some of which might even be used to help it look and perform better on more powerful platforms).

And considering the lack of controls available to mobile, you're not going to hear of mobile games being ported to console and PC for serious gamers (on the basis of the dumbed down controls) anytime soon.
 
The so-called mobile gaming is a disgrace to the true spirit of PC gaming. Maybe this sounds exaggerated, but it did start the freemium, pay-to-win formula BS. Plus the creeping in of mobile-level graphics to PC - *cough*PUBG*cough*

This is not true and a severe misinformation:

- The first Pay 2 Play game ever was Wolrd of Warcraft, on the PC
- League of Legends introduced micro transactions way before phones could even play games different from snake or tetris
- Elder Scrolls Oblivion was the first ever game to have a paid DLC, and it was on PC aswell (a armored Horse was one of the items)
- countless free to play games on PC always had micro transactions, to give you perks/advantages, from urban terror, fifa online, etc

So as you can see it didn´t start on the mobile. I remember that when WoW released with a paid subscription I said that it would be the start of something dark. People paid loads anyway to the point of it being the most played PC game for 5 years.

The problem is/was never the platform. The problem is the people. Vote with your wallet. I never buy DLCs, pre orders, micro transactions etc.

As for Asus, I couldn´t agree more with the 2nd comment on this article. Asus been releasing crappy products lately and they still ask a lot of money for them. Their entire Prime, Tug and even some Strix boards have shocking bad VRMs, and the recent VG248QZ frame skip fiasco is just another situation to add in.
 
Lots of great things about gaming and about mobile but the laptop isn't going to replace the desktop for awhile. I won't say never because they both have their cycles, no different than camera's. Right when we thought digital was the answer, film camera's are making a resurgence. Just goes to show you that every market has it's' followers and the company that positions itself to be able to accommodate all of them will have caught lightning in a bottle .......

Laptops sell more than desktops or desktop parts. A lot of people usually do not realize this. Most computers you will find on people houses are laptops, not desktops. The mobility, "hassle free" maintenance (people think ofc, this is not true), convenience, looks, students, workers that spend 8h per day on a desk/chair and don´t want to do the same at home, etc. A lot of factors to explain this.
 
The so-called mobile gaming is a disgrace to the true spirit of PC gaming. Maybe this sounds exaggerated, but it did start the freemium, pay-to-win formula BS. Plus the creeping in of mobile-level graphics to PC - *cough*PUBG*cough*

This is not true and a severe misinformation:

- The first Pay 2 Play game ever was Wolrd of Warcraft, on the PC
- League of Legends introduced micro transactions way before phones could even play games different from snake or tetris
- Elder Scrolls Oblivion was the first ever game to have a paid DLC, and it was on PC aswell (a armored Horse was one of the items)
- countless free to play games on PC always had micro transactions, to give you perks/advantages, from urban terror, fifa online, etc

So as you can see it didn´t start on the mobile. I remember that when WoW released with a paid subscription I said that it would be the start of something dark. People paid loads anyway to the point of it being the most played PC game for 5 years.

The problem is/was never the platform. The problem is the people. Vote with your wallet. I never buy DLCs, pre orders, micro transactions etc.

As for Asus, I couldn´t agree more with the 2nd comment on this article. Asus been releasing crappy products lately and they still ask a lot of money for them. Their entire Prime, Tug and even some Strix boards have shocking bad VRMs, and the recent VG248QZ frame skip fiasco is just another situation to add in.

/facepalm

Dude was talking about pay to win, not pay to play (as you put it). You clearly misread his comment there.

Yes PC / Console did have the first paid DLC in the oblivion horse armor simply because mobile didn't even exist at the time. That's a single sample size though and isn't deterministic of the market or any trend. If you were to take the ratio of PC games with micro transactions and compare it to mobile micro transactions what you'd likely see is mobile having more then six times or more the number of games as a ratio. That's just the way the mobile market works.

I really don't see what point you are trying to make. Are you saying that PC games have more micro transactions then mobile game because if so that's an argument you won't win. I have thousands of PC games and only 2 of them have micro transactions. I only have 5 mobile games and all of them have micro-transactions. On top of that, none of those PC micro-transactions provide anything other then cosmetic bonuses while on the other hand the mobile games offer advantages and powerup over other players. Thus the point the other commentator was making, pay to win.

In this case the problem is the platform. It has limited power budget, low end hardware, and the use case of the games is limited. A phone is designed to go anywhere, which means the experiences have to be tailored with that in mind. No point in investing in a orchestra for a phone game musical score as no one is going to properly listen to it (nor could they with the ambient noise). Phone games are simply and designed to be played in sessions of 10 minutes or less. All game devs have to take these factors in mind when making games for the phone which is exactly why despite smartphones being out for awhile now there aren't any games that even come close to what you get on any console or PC. I'd take a PS1 over a modern phone for gaming, that's how bad mobile gaming is.
 
Lots of great things about gaming and about mobile but the laptop isn't going to replace the desktop for awhile. I won't say never because they both have their cycles, no different than camera's. Right when we thought digital was the answer, film camera's are making a resurgence. Just goes to show you that every market has it's' followers and the company that positions itself to be able to accommodate all of them will have caught lightning in a bottle .......

Laptops sell more than desktops or desktop parts. A lot of people usually do not realize this. Most computers you will find on people houses are laptops, not desktops. The mobility, "hassle free" maintenance (people think ofc, this is not true), convenience, looks, students, workers that spend 8h per day on a desk/chair and don´t want to do the same at home, etc. A lot of factors to explain this.

Source?
 
More like ARM vs x86, I don't know, I guess they made the decision because maybe x86 has been a letdown to them for too long...
 
If this means more money for Asus to experiment and innovate in the PC space, then I'm all up for it.
 
Any merchandise that does not support itself would never make it through production, much less marked up for profit. Mobile does not pay the way for PC. It never has and never will. Manufacturers will stop production before that point.
 
Laptops sell more than desktops or desktop parts. A lot of people usually do not realize this. Most computers you will find on people houses are laptops, not desktops.

Source?
He is right about that though : 2018 = 94.4m Desktops / 162.3m Laptops / 150.3m Tablets
https://www.statista.com/statistics...forecast-for-tablets-laptops-and-desktop-pcs/

As for the above argument, it may not have "started" on mobiles, but they've definitely gone "full r*tard" with it to a stupid degree. Eg, mechanics that encourages gamers to "rent" to the tune of $20-$50 micro-transactions in clones of the same simple Match 3 games like Bejeweled, Luxor, Zuma, etc, that could be bought outright for $5-$10 from PopCap during the 2000-2005 era, and hardware / horsepower / screen size doesn't even enter the equation for that stuff. What's happened with people blowing regular purchases on "Candy Crush" whilst Bejeweled 3 is $2 in a Steam sale is 100% on the stupidity of gamers / the gaming equivalent of "low information voters" becoming the new mainstream. Honestly, if mobile gamers can't even figure that out, then God help everyone for the "future" of designed-for-mobile cross-platform gaming...
 
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He is right about that though : 2018 = 94.4m Desktops / 162.3m Laptops / 150.3m Tablets
https://www.statista.com/statistics...forecast-for-tablets-laptops-and-desktop-pcs/

As for the above argument, it may not have "started" on mobiles, but they've definitely gone "full r*tard" with it to a stupid degree. Eg, mechanics that encourages gamers to "rent" to the tune of $20-$50 micro-transactions in clones of the same simple Match 3 games like Bejeweled, Luxor, Zuma, etc, that could be bought outright for $5-$10 from PopCap during the 2000-2005 era, and hardware / horsepower / screen size doesn't even enter the equation for that stuff. What's happened with people blowing regular purchases on "Candy Crush" whilst Bejeweled 3 is $2 in a Steam sale is 100% on the stupidity of gamers / the gaming equivalent of "low information voters" becoming the new mainstream. Honestly, if mobile gamers can't even figure that out, then God help everyone for the "future" of designed-for-mobile cross-platform gaming...

He said desktops and desktop parts. Your link only includes retail desktops. It doesn't even include custom desktops let alone PC parts sales.

I really wish people would properly read before making an incorrect statement.
 
If you own a X86 laptop OR a desktop less than 8 years old and it prevents you from installing ANY operating system from DOS to Windows XP, then you are NOT a power user

If you own a mobile device that locks you into a specific O.S. or app store, then you are NOT a power user

If you are prevented from closing the backdoors forced upon you in the name of telemetry, you are NOT a power user

If you let ANY Corporation rename it's illegal spyware to DRM just to get around the Law and Lock you into a never ending treadmill of misery by using extortion and blackmail tactics in their one-sided Licensing Agreement, you are NOT a power user

If you can close the backdoors, stop the spying and install ANY compatible software you like, then you too just might be a power user!

The definitions you people ascribe to power users are beyond rediculous

A brilliant prophet once said......
Power users are not locked into restricted systems that define what they cannot do!
 
He said desktops and desktop parts. Your link only includes retail desktops. It doesn't even include custom desktops let alone PC parts sales.

I really wish people would properly read before making an incorrect statement.

You mean like you? Because you didnt read what logi said too. He just said the micro transactions started on pc and not mobile and thats right. You prefered to round circles and talk about the fact that mobile has more p2w games. No one said otherwise. He just corrected the "mobile created micro transactions*, but you " didnt read".

Also I work at caseking store here in Portugal and laptops are the best selling product. I do not have a source for this, is up to you. If you think there are more gaming rigs than laptops you are delusional.

The average joe has a laptop, not a full tower PC. Thats more for power users or gamers. We are not in the 1990s anymore.
 
You mean like you? Because you didnt read what logi said too. He just said the micro transactions started on pc and not mobile and thats right. You prefered to round circles and talk about the fact that mobile has more p2w games. No one said otherwise. He just corrected the "mobile created micro transactions*, but you " didnt read".

Also I work at caseking store here in Portugal and laptops are the best selling product. I do not have a source for this, is up to you. If you think there are more gaming rigs than laptops you are delusional.

The average joe has a laptop, not a full tower PC. Thats more for power users or gamers. We are not in the 1990s anymore.

lol and I agreed with him on that topic.

All you've done is prove my point twice. Please read the comment next time.
 
I bought a beautiful ASUS device, beautiful screen anyway, very sharp.

That was it! Until after several months I was informed that I needed to do a upgrade from Asus. I did it and the stupid device continually kept re-booting. I called their service dept and asked them to help me stop it and to get it back to the original settings. They were so very slow in helping me, first claiming that I had damaged the machine, I did not.

I must have had 30 to 50 emails back and forth. They were unable to do anything. Finally I took it to several local computer repair places and they told me point blank that Asus is junk, that I should throw it out.
Still I continued trying myself to fix it, until finally after months of trying myself I was able to come to a compromise of using it in a mode that is not able to fully work.

I hope with the new CEO they will change their crappy help desk and put out a decent product meaning one that not only looks nice, but has good internal components.

Until then, I would NEVER recommend asus instead remember the letters are:: they make an *** out of U....
 
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