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World of Warcraft increases fees in China
It's going to be a little more expensive to vacation in Azeroth from China in just a couple of weeks. MMO Culture noted that Chinese publisher NetEase is jacking up World of Warcraft's fees for the first time ever in the region. As of October 16th, the fee will go up by about 45% to become 30¥ for 2700 minutes and 15¥ for 1350 minutes. Instead of paying a flat subscription per month, Chinese players purchase blocks of time to access World of Warcraft. NetEase handles a bundle of properties in China including World of Warcraft and reported an increase in profits for the previous quarter. However, Blizzard pointed at Asia as the location for a "disproportionate" amount of the 800,000 subscribers lost earlier this year.
World of Warcraft's Chinese partner sees increase in profit and revenue
Earlier this month, Blizzard claimed that a "disproportionate" amount of its 800,000 lost World of Warcraft subscribers were from the east. While that may be, China is doing quite well with the studio's games. Gamasutra reports that Blizzard's partner in the region, NetEase, posted a "modest rise" in both profit and revenue during the second quarter. The company reported revenue of $376.6M, a rise of 13% from last year. This financial summary includes NetEase's own titles along with World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Hearthstone. Hearthstone was singled out as a "strong earner" due to its recent launch in the region. Both Blizzard and NetEase are working to bring Diablo III and Heroes of the Storm to the country in the future.
Diablo III is going to China
If you're a Diablo III fan in the US, you've been able to play the game for quite some time, delving into seas of monsters and beating your way through fields of enemies. If you're a Diablo III fan in China, you're anxiously awaiting the game to actually be released locally. So it's good news to hear that Blizzard is working with NetEase to bring the game over to China's shores. No official release dates or prices have been announced at this time, nor has any information about whether or not this release will include the Reaper of Souls expansion for the game. It seems likely that the release will include all of the upgrades the game has experienced since its 2012 launch, but even that's just speculation. NetEase is the company that has already brought World of Warcraft and StarCraft II to the nation's gaming audience, so it's likely that players can expect the game without too many delays.
Heroes of the Storm heading to China
Blizzard has a troubled history with releases in China, but that isn't stopping them from bringing Heroes of the Storm to Chinese shores in partnership with NetEase. Currently, NetEase operates three Blizzard titles in China -- World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Hearthstone -- as well as Battle.net services. Heroes will face stiff competition from already established MOBA titles like League of Legends, but the popularity of Blizzard characters and properties on Chinese shores definitely suggests the game has star potential. Heroes is currently in technical alpha, and the announcement gives no hint of a release date, domestic or international. But while waiting for release, interested parties can visit Heroes of the Storm's Chinese website for more info or sign up for the beta on Battle.net.
Blizzard sues Hearthstone copycat
Blizzard isn't taking kindly to a Chinese ripoff of its Hearthstone and is suing to protect its upcoming online card game. Blizzard and its Chinese partner NetEase filed a suit against mobile game Legend of Crouching Dragon and its developer Unico to the tune of $1.65 million and possible closure of the game for an infringement of intellectual rights. Legend of Crouching Dragon uses characters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms and bears a striking similarity to the design and function of Hearthstone. The mobile game has been in beta for both Android and iOS platforms.
WoW Archivist: WoW in China, an uncensored history
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? A few weeks ago, we learned that ten men had been sentenced to two years' imprisonment in China for hacking WoW accounts and selling the stolen gold. It was not the first time that hackers have been punished by the state in China. The relationship between WoW and China has often been contentious, going back to the early years of the game. While most players there have simply tried to enjoy the game they love, censorship, politics, and illicit activities have all had an impact on their experience. As we wrap up the Mists of Pandaria expansion, let's not forget that so much of the culture, history, and geography of the expansion was inspired by the real legends and landscapes of China. Today, let's look at the history of WoW in China -- a history as rife with conflict as Pandaria's own. Pop stars and cola fuel WoW's launch From the earliest stages, Blizzard had little reason to doubt that WoW would be a hit in China. When the beta signups became available in April 2005, approximately 100,000 people signed up in the first hour. The beta achieved 500,000 concurrent players. For the Chinese version of WoW, Blizzard partnered with Shanghai-based company The9, who could better handle localization, support, and customer service. The9 launched the classic version of the game on June 7, 2005. Coca-Cola partnered with The9 to promote the game. For their ads, Coke brought in pop stars such as Taiwanese band S.H.E. (already covered by WoW Archivist), Super Voice Girl winner Li Yuchun, and Olympic gold medalist Liu Xiang. Although -- or perhaps because -- the TV ads broke China's rules against showing game content on TV, the cross-promotion was a huge success. (As a side note, Pepsi later struck back with a partnership with Guild Wars the following year. Reportedly, Guild Wars' closed beta was delayed a week in China after Coca-Cola complained about The9's deal with their biggest competitor.) Within the first month, The9 reported 1.5 million active WoW players in China. Although many Chinese citizens had already been playing on Western realms, this was still a huge achievement at the time for a Western MMO in China. Unlike the West, most gamers in China play in Internet cafes, and MMO subscriptions are almost always handled on an hourly basis. At launch, WoW authorization keys cost 30 yuan and gametime cards were 0.45 yuan per hour. That converts to about $4 for game access and 6 cents per hour. Like their Western counterparts, China's realms had their share of launch problems. Long queues and lag plagued realms in the East, too. By early 2006, players had grown increasingly dissatisfied with The9 and threatened a boycott. The9 claimed that difficulty with communicating with Blizzard was behind poor realm performance. Soon enough, poor realm performance would be the least of players' concerns.
Hearthstone heads to China with NetEase
NetEase is the company who brought World of Warcraft, as well as Starcraft II to the Chinese market. They have worked with Blizzard since 2008, and provide online services including other online games outside their partnership with Blizzard. Their latest announcement, the Wall Street Journal reports, is that Hearthstone will join WoW and Starcraft in NetEase's catalogue of games. You'll also remember NetEase from their amazing World of Warcraft Mah-Jong set, which WoW Insider featured a little while back. Unfortunately that never made it to the worldwide market, as the special edition of 1,000 was all the sets that were ever made. Hopefully, Hearthstone will be another great success for NetEase's collaboration with Blizzard, as other CCGs and TCGs enjoy considerable popularity in the market, with fully translated cards for games such as Magic: The Gathering available and national tournaments taking place regularly.
Dragon Sword trailer focuses on action combat
Dragon Sword, a new title by the Chinese company NetEase, has put out a new trailer highlighting its action combat technology. Slated for release some time this year, the game is built around an in-house engine, Next-B, that's being touted as one of the most advanced 3-D engines yet. The game features non-target combat action, open PvP, castle sieges, and large-scale fights against huge boss monsters. Skip below the cut to check out the combat technology video.
Blizzard and NetEase renew license deal for WoW in China
World of Warcraft may be bleeding subs in America thanks to newer competition, but don't tell that to Chinese publisher NetEase. The firm just renewed its licensing deal with Blizzard, which will cover localization and operation considers through 2015. NetEase operates WoW in mainland China (and has since 2009); it also handles Warcraft III, Starcraft II, and Battle.net distribution duties. GamesIndustry.biz notes that the deal was consumated "just ahead of the launch of the fourth WoW expansion, Mists of Pandaria, which is widely regarded as being designed with the Chinese market in mind."
World of Warcraft profits on the rise in China
Sister site Massively reported earlier today that World of Warcraft isn't just doing fine in China, it's doing extremely well. According to Gamasutra, the Chinese WoW operator NetEase just posted its Q3 revenue for the year, and the profits are doing nothing but rising. This is a little surprising given the information from the Activision Blizzard investor call earlier this month, which reported a loss of subscribers, mainly in the east. Regardless, NetEase posted revenues of 2.0 billion Chinese yuan, up 39.8% -- a substantial number. In China, it seems that World of Warcraft is still a force to be reckoned with, dropping subscriber numbers or not.
World of Warcraft is doing quite well in China, thank you very much
Earlier this month we heard the news that World of Warcraft's subscriber base took yet another substantial hit, although Blizzard was quick to say that most of these losses were coming from eastern countries like China. It's odd then that we've just received word that World of Warcraft is on the rise in China following an extremely profitable third quarter. NetEase, which operates World of Warcraft in the region, announced that its Q3 earnings were actually up over the same time last year. Both revenues and profits for WoW in China are on the upswing, marking a 39.8% increase year-over-year. NetEase said that it pulled in $308.3 million in revenues, out of which $128.2 million is pure profit. Subscriber hit or no, WoW continues to be a major force in the Asian market, and with numbers like these it's hard to imagine it going away any time soon.
StarCraft 2 open beta begins in China on March 29
Just as we experienced here in the United States, mainland China is about to undergo a beta testing period for StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty. Ever since striking a deal back in 2008, Blizzard and NetEase have been working to bring the game to the country -- on March 29, that deal will come to fruition. Anxious gamers in the region can pre-load the beta client -- provided they have a Battle.net account or at least a willingness to register -- which will grant access to all of StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty's multiplayer modes. Upon the conclusion of the unspecified beta period, Blizzard and NetEase will launch the game commercially, allowing players to buy 30-day access passes to the game for a suggested price of RMB 20 ($3.04). It's in line with a pricing structure that Blizzard outlined a year ago. To pre-load the Chinese beta client, head on over to Blizzard's site.
Wrath of the Lich King: China's version
China is rejoicing at the release of Wrath of the Lich King (finally!), but the game they will be playing looks a little different from the version everyone else is playing now. Chinagame.178.com, a Bejing-based English site for gaming news has posted an interesting article with some screenshots of just what will be changing in Wrath. Included are shots of the before and after purging of skulls from various items in the game, as well as some surprising model changes. The censorship issue isn't exactly a new one -- changes have been made to the game dating all the way back to when The9 was handling the property. But it's still interesting to see exactly how an expansion like Wrath, which is centered around a storyline involving the Lich King, master of the undead, has been adapted to make it suitable according to China's requirements. It does make me wonder though -- what's Icecrown Citadel and the final fight against the Lich King himself going to look like? Is China going to miss out on Marrowgar's bonestorms? Check out the full article for screenshots and commentary. [Thanks, Gabriel!]
Analyst: Call of Duty Online could make $100 million in its first year
Rumors have been flying around about a subscription-based Call of Duty game for some time now -- Activision boss Bobby Kotick loves the idea, because he loves money, and the company's other subscription-based game, World of Warcraft, is quite the cash-printing machine. So why not go down that road? Many still believe Activision will, including Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey. With the publisher's plans to break into China and Korea, Hickey told IndustryGamers he sees Call of Duty as the perfect platform for accomplishing that goal and strengthening ties with NetEase, the online powerhouse of the Chinese market. "We expect the Company [NetEase] could extend their relationship with Activision Blizzard, by establishing an additional license to operate Call of Duty Online in China and Blizzard's unannounced MMO, which will likely leverage their Battle.net platform," he said. "The eventuality of COD in China could bring an additional +$50 to +$100 million in sales and +$0.15 to +$0.30 in EPS in its first year of operation." EPS, to clarify, is short for "earnings per share." Who knows what's in store for the future, but for now, rest assured: you won't ever have to fork over extra cash to play Modern Warfare 2 online.
NetEase loses WoW director, Li Riqiang
World of Warcraft in China continues to walk a rocky path. NetEase, the company currently licensed to operate WoW's The Burning Crusade expansion in China, lost Li Riqiang, a senior director for the WoW business unit on the 24th of February, 2010. There is no word on why he left, and the company is keeping mum on details about the departure and his replacement. This comes on the heels of a 62% jump in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2009 generated since NetEase was able to light up the TBC servers after resolving their disputes with the government, which had prevented them from launching the service in China until September 2009. That revenue increase was accompanied by lower profit margins, however, as NetEase must pay hefty licensing fees to Activision Blizzard. The fact that there are still Chinese players who are willing to play an obsolete and no longer maintained version of the game is a little strange to me-- many Chinese players simply started over on Taiwanese servers. Judging by the amount of red tape that's being wrapped around anything to do with Blizzard, I suspect we'll see Cataclysm released before Chinese players can play Wrath of the Lich King without connecting to a server in Taiwan.
Chinese World of Warcraft project chief resigns
Just when it seemed that NetEase had finally gotten things under control to operate World of Warcraft in China, it's hit another potential road bump. The company released an official statement to Chinese press announcing the resignation of project chief Li Riqiang, according to JLM Pacific Epoch, a research firm that focuses on China. The statement did not give a specific explanation for Riqian's departure nor did it name a possible replacement to fill the seemingly important vacancy. Since taking over World of Warcraft operations in China from The9, NetEase has faced a series of difficulties. It seemed like the company had finally gotten back on track, however, as NetEase was recently approved to run World of Warcraft and the Burning Crusade expansion. It's as yet unclear how Li's absence might sour that good fortune. [Via GI.biz]
NetEase approved to operate World of Warcraft in China
Is it ... possible? Can it be? Has the seemingly endless struggle to get World of Warcraft back online in China finally ended? Digital East Asia reports that China's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) has approved NetEase's request for a license to operate the game and its expansion pack, The Burning Crusade. The government body issued a statement saying NetEase "has taken necessary corrective measures" to address GAPP's issues with the game. (We're assuming a few more monsters got deskeleton-ized.) Though Chinese WoW players should be able to get back to their regularly scheduled grinding soon, it's unlikely that they'll ever gain access to any of the game's future expansions. But ... that's okay. They don't really add anything cool to the game. Death Knights? Pssh. Werewolves? More like Snorewolves, right? [Via Massively]
NetEase starts road back to operating World of Warcraft
It's time for World of Warcraft players in mainland China to break out the party hats and streamers, because things are finally... well, they're not entirely back on track, but they're at least a blessed sight closer to being back on track. Digital East Asia is reporting that NetEase has finally obtained the license to operate World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade in China after a struggle spanning an insane amount of time. On the down side, yes, that does appear to be the last expansion, rather than the present one. On the up side, it means that the seemingly interminable bickering between government agencies has finally been sorted out, and players can finally get back to the business of enjoying the game. No word, however, on what this may or may not mean for Wrath of the Lich King, which has allegedly run afoul of Chinese censors. The entire fiasco may be clearing, but it may have far-reaching consequences even beyond the MMO arena. A recent Chinese fan video has been making the rounds and getting mentions in the Wall Street Journal for its summary and satire of the entire mess, with some rather sharp critiques of censorship and the government's actions in the affair. This post contains background and links to subtitled versions of the video on YouTube, which might prove interesting to those who've been following the madness since the beginning.
Burning Crusade approved in China
NetEase is finally approved to release the Burning Crusade in China, which probably means that they are accepting new accounts again. This is months after being caught in the crossfire between the quarreling GAPP (General Administration of Press and Publications) and MoC (Ministry of Culture) over NetEase's rights to operate WoW at all. Now that they are only one expansion behind and with Cataclysm set for the latter half of this year, this gives NetEase time to get Wrath of the Lich King approved before they fall behind yet another expansion. In the meantime, many Chinese players have turned to Taiwanese servers to get their Northrend fix.
World of Warcraft in China remains hopelessly mired
In much of the world, current complaints about World of Warcraft center around the resolution of the storyline of the latest expansion and whether or not it's had a negative effect on MMOs as a whole. In China, current complaints about World of Warcraft are more focused on the fact that the game is still mired knee-deep in government infighting to try and make it playable again. After the last salvo, it seemed as if an end was close in sight... but as it turns out, NetEase has been forced to suspend any new player registrations for a week. The studio is re-applying for a license to host World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, with no mention being made of Wrath of the Lich King, which doesn't bode very well for the hopes of that expansion ever seeing release in China. Having been stuck in the middle of two squabbling agencies for quite some time, and with no clear resolution in sight, it seems like a stretch to assume that the expansion will be released in China before the next one is due to arrive stateside. Our condolences to Chinese players affected by the latest round of bickering, and we can only hope that this long struggle will soon come to a conclusion.
