Category Archives: China

Monster Hunter Online publisher and Riot Games owner Tencent has posted its Q1 financials, pointing to a prosperous year for the Chinese online gaming company.

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Niko Partners expects the Chinese online market to bring in $11.9 billion in 2013 despite a decline in casual, MMO and social gaming. The market in this sector grew from $10 million in 2001 to over $9 billion in 2012. The analyst firm expects growth to slow between now and 2018, but still expects it to add over $2 billion in total revenue each of those five years. The firm also noted that titles such as League of Legends and online shooters are rather popular with 18-24-year-old males, helping revive the Internet café sector. Thanks, GI International.

Monster Hunter Online is a new free-to-play MMO heading to China. Capcom has just announced the game along with a debut trailer and screens.

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Kotaku is carrying a report of a Chinese gamer who was seriously ill following a gaming marathon. The 36 year-old man spent the weekend of Chinese New Year gaming all night, sleeping all day, and drinking with friends in the evenings, and suffered a minor stroke thereafter. As always, it’s not video games that are the villain here, but the extraordinary periods spent on one activity. Moderate your gaming hours as you would any other pursuit, with plenty of breaks, sensible sleeping and diet, and a good life balance. End mum mode.

Nintendo has nominated four problematic territories in an appeal to the US government to counter video game piracy.

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An interesting business tidbit: Venturebeat reports new data out of China suggests Android has overtaken iOS in terms of popularity as a gaming platform. The news is just one in a recent string of statistics and figures suggesting Google’s platform is gaining serious ground on Apple’s almost ubiquitous iOS. The Chinese market is flippin’ enormous and of rising importance to the industry, especially in the mobile, social, and free-to-play spheres.

This morning we reported on a rumour that the Chinese government is looking to lift its 13-year ban on videogame consoles. As a result of speculation surrounding the alleged move, Sony and Nintendo’s stock has risen sharply thanks to their proximity in the East, and their interest in the region.

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China’s ruling bodies are said to be reassessing the country’s blanket-ban on videogame consoles, some 13 years after the ruling was first made law.

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China’s games industry grew 35.1% last year, with combined revenue of $9.7 billion. The country’s latest stats show that online gaming is the leading market-driver, accounting for 90% of the total figure.

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Blizzard Entertainment’s Battle.net World Championship takes place this weekend, during which the world’s top 32 StarCraft 2 players and top 10 World of Warcraft Arena teams will be vying for the title of world champion.

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Chinese gamers may be one step closer to using consoles today, as Sony has been awarded the China Compulsory Certificate for its PlayStation 3 in the country.

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Nintendo of America’s senior director of corporate communications, Charlie Scibetta, has issued a statement regarding Nintendo’s investigation into underage laborers working at and assembly plant in China.

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China has had a long-standing love affair with traditional fantasy MMORPGs, but it seems like that relationship is starting to break down, as droves of gamers flock to action-heavy gaming experiences instead. An analyst at Niko Partners has shed light on the exodus.

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Mists of Pandaria has been approved for release in China by the Chinese government. According to figures crunched by the Chicago Tribune, 60% of China’s 540 million people play games on the Internet, which is a potential 324 million players which World of Warcraft could garner a subscription from. Mists of Pandaria released in the west on September 25, but there isnn’t an announced date for China as of yet. Thanks, PCGamesN.

Guild Wars 2 is heading to China, courtesy of developer ArenaNet and KongZhong Corporation, in what is one of the largest western licensing deals in the country.

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Microsoft has launched a Chinese language Xbox Live site with information on the gaming service and Windows 8.

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Dungeon & Fighter, as it’s known in China, surpassed 3 million maximum concurrent users in June of this year. Dungeon Fighter Online, as it’s known outside of China, is developed by Nexon, and it’s last concurrent record was 2.6 million users. The free-to-play MMO was released four years ago, and the game was released on Steam June 28. Thanks, GI International.

Video game industry veterans Gareth and Martin Edmondson have struck a deal that will enable their mobile games company, Thumbstar, to distribute games in China, whilst protecting IP copyright.

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Tencent, the China-based Internet, mobile, and telecommunications company, has announced it has acquired a minority stake in Epic Games. “Tencent’s investment will empower Epic to help us do even more of what we do best, which is making great games and game technology, said Epic president Michael Capps. “Their expertise in the global online gaming market is second-to-none, and the opportunity to work with them to bring richer experiences to players all over the world is irresistible. Epic is excited to be full steam ahead on all of its current plans for this generation of games and the next, with the support of a fantastic partner that believes in our strategy and shares our dream.” Epic will continue operating independently while further expanding its franchises across multiple platforms. The deal is expected to close within one month and terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The Warface development team seems quite pleased with the reception the free-to-play shooter is getting in Russia.

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