Category Archives: China

Chinese World of Warcraft provider NetEase has reported significant increases in sales and profit since taking over from The9.

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The ESA has named Brazil, China, France, Italy and Spain as the five countries with “extraordinarily high” levels of online game piracy.

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French website GameBlog has found an online site for an amusement park in the Wunjin district of China called World Joyland, and according to translations from G4 the park’s theme is based on Blizzard games.

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Sony Computer Entertainment is reportedly expanding into China, opening facilities in the city of Guangzhou and tentatively planning a local launch of the PlayStation 3, previously unavailable to mainland Chinese residents except by import.

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Nintendo has managed to secure a release of 3DS in China via distributor iQue, according to a Gamrade report.

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A report issued by iResearch has concluded that  China’s Web game market will more than double to $750 million by 2013 as Internet usage expands along with the casual game space.

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Spicy Horse boss American McGee said today the China-based developer will expand from 80 to 160 staff in the next year-and-a-half.

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Blizzard and local operator NetEase have beaten the Chinese bureaucracy machine to finally peg a release date on WoW expansion Wrath of the Lich King.

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Chinese developer Handseeing Information Technology has told Chinese newspaper Xinhau it’s in acquisition talks with Apple, meaning the Silicon Valley firm would be able to create its own iPad and iPhone games should Handseeing agree to a price.

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Microsoft’s confirmed that Kinect won’t be going on sale in China this year. Or at any point, for that matter.

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China’s Ministry of Culture is to announce some new restrictive regulations on MMOs and other online titles from August 1.

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Runic Games’ Torchlight has sold 500K copies through digital and retail on PC.

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China’s gaming population is set to explode in the coming years, if analyst firm Niko Partners is to be believed.

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Microsoft has said that it’s to investigate reports that workers in a Chinese factory making its mice, cameras and Xbox 360 controllers are being subjected to a harsh workplace environment.

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World of Warcraft’s Chinese boss has resigned his post.

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NetEase has suspended registration of new accounts for World of Warcraft in China.

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SCE Hong Kong’s is bringing Final Fantasy XIII to China in May.

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Research firm Analysys International has predicted that online game revenues in China will hit around ¥73.1 billion yuan ($10.7 billion) within three years time.

Growth is expected due to internet penetration which is currently at 27 percent, and revenues for the game industry are predicted hit close to ¥26 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) this year and grow 41.2 percent each year for three years.

By 2012, China’s online game sector will have 230 million online gamers compared with the current 69 million, said the firm.

That’s a load of online gamers.

More through Edge.

Shanghai-based MMO operator, The9, has reported that Q3 sales dropped 94 percent after loosing World of Warcraft to NetEase in China.

However, the company remains optimistic, as revenues for Soul of the Ultimate Nation, Jiu Zhou Zhan Ji, Granado Espada, and FIFA Online 2 increased 55 percent compared to the previous quarter, while attracting 3.4 million active users when compared to last quarter’s 3.2 million active users.

While that is good news for the company, it just goes to just how massive the WoW beast really is no matter where you go.

More through Gamasutra.

The General Administration of Press and Publication in China, a regulatory authority, has ordered NetEase to cease operating World of Warcraft in the area due to the new version of the game lacking in approval.

According to Reuters, the hammer has come down due to an apparent “governmental turf war” between the agency (GAPP) and the Ministry of Culture, which also oversees the online gaming sector.

“Millions of Warcraft players will suffer the most,” said Leon Li, vice president of Chinese mobile Internet firm KongZhong. “But if you take a long term view of the industry, many of these Warcraft gamers may migrate to other games, so for the other Chinese online game companies, it is a good thing.”

NetEase launched the game commercially September 19 and the GAPP was upset that it launched without its approval.

Loads more drama through the link.