gdc-china-2009
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GDC China 09: Social evolution and Eastern vs. Western dynamics
Yesterday was the for the Game Developer's Conference in China, and one of the highlights included a speech given by Nexon America's vice-president Min Kim on Nexon's entry into the Western market and a call for more Chinese developers to make the leap across the ocean.Kim, who was born and raised in New York City and took frequent trips to visit his grandparents in South Korea, sees a connection between the gaming cultures on both sides of the ocean. His speech cited the original links between the American and Asian markets when it came to arcade culture, but how both sides began to diverge when console video games rose to power in American and Japan but not in mainland Asia.Kim's speech also goes into Nexon's first steps into the American market, the rise of social gaming, and Kim's interest in what he calls the "Penguin Army" -- the gamers who will soon out grow Club Penguin and move on to other games. For the full notes on his speech, check out the story over at Gamasutra.
Chinese agencies taking stake in online gaming
It's ironic that just as the GDC in Shanghai is getting into motion, the Chinese government is making some moves regarding the future of online games in China. It's a sweeping change, at that -- the General Administration of Press and Publication, the regulator of games in China, made a declaration officially preventing any foreign companies from operating a game in China, through joint ventures or otherwise. The move is fairly clearly intended to prevent any foreign companies from muscling in on China's lucrative online gaming market, but it's possible that liberal interpretations of "investors" might even include foreign players on Chinese servers. However, the GAPP's declaration isn't the end of the story. As it turns out, the Chinese Ministry of Culture is at odds with this announcement, claiming that the authority to make such decisions passed to them on the seventh of September. Tuo Zu Hai, the vice director of the Ministry of Culture's Market Department, said he was "shocked to hear the news", indicating that there was a communication lapse between the two agencies and the ultimate resolution is still up in the air. It's unsure of how much impact this will have on NetEase, whose recent acquisition of World of Warcraft was a major coup for the company and who would be directly affected if Blizzard was blocked from interacting with them. [ via GamePolitics ]
GDC China 09: Netease speaks on combating botters
GDC China 2009 is currently in high gear until tomorrow, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about some of the panels today! One of the highlights for the MMO industry was certainly the talk given by Yunfeng Lin, the design director at NetEase, on keeping up with botters and bot programs.NetEase, the operator of the three Westward Journey games, Flyff (and here's the American version of Flyff), and the 100 pound gorilla that is World of Warcraft, is in a very unique position to speak on the troubles botters present to online communities. Westward Journey and World of Warcraft both draw huge numbers of people in China, but that also means they draw a huge number of botters.
