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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.
Chinese game industry saw $9.7 billion in revenue last year
Video games are a pretty big deal in China. How big? According to TechWeb the Chinese gaming industry brought in a whopping $9.7 billion last year, which marks a 35.1 per cent year-on-year growth rate from 2011. Online gaming accounted for 90% of total revenue, with mobile gaming and hardware making up the remaining 10%. The report also predicts significant future growth for China's games industry, with revenue expected to top $21.7 billion by 2017.
The Lawbringer: WoW in China
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Running parallel to the games we love and enjoy is a world full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? We've all heard about the now-infamous request for Blizzard and NetEase to remove all forms of skeletons and other material from the Chinese release of Wrath of the Lich King, which finally was released in China on Aug. 31, 2010. What on earth is going on with Blizzard, NetEase, China and all that jazz? This week, The Lawbringer looks at the general video game climate in China, talks a little bit about how things are different for WoW players in China, and helps clarify some of the craziness going on about that whole skeleton debacle.
Final Fantasy XIV, like Nixon, can in fact go to China
The Chinese market for MMOs is immense, but it's also a market that's proven remarkably resistant to foreign intrusion. (We don't need to recount the whole saga of World of Warcraft over there.) But in addition to launching nearly everywhere else, it looks as if Final Fantasy XIV will also be going into the Chinese market in a partnership with Shanda Games Limited. This comes after Square-Enix CEO Yoichi Wada had mentioned a year ago that the company wished to pursue business partnerships with companies inside mainland China. Shanda Games Limited will most likely be operating the servers for the game, which will remain separate from the "normal" servers -- the only region-locked servers that the game is currently set to have, as a point of fact. There's no word on when the game will launch, either, simply that it is in the pipeline for release thanks to the new partnership. The rest of the world, of course, will get to start enjoying Final Fantasy XIV on the 30th (or the 22nd with the collector's edition). [Thanks to FusionX for the tip!]
Chinese company bans gender-bending
You can frequently get asked to prove an awful lot in MMOs -- that you actually know how to beat this boss, that you really have insider access to the game developers, or perhaps most commonly that you are who you say you are. Aurora Technology over in China has apparently decided to cut out the middleman in the equation -- they're banning any male players who play female characters, requiring players to confirm their gender via webcam in order to enforce the ruling. The ruling currently only affects the Aurora-developed game King of the World, but there's always the possibility that this action could have further-reaching consequences. After all, Aurora is a subsidiary of Shanda, a company responsible for publishing Aion and Dungeons and Dragons Online in the region, which are names slightly more familiar to players on this side of the pond. China is a fair bit more litigious than the US when it comes to its online games, and the country as a whole has taken some surprising moves already. While this ordeal has been going on for over two years now, we can't help but wonder if this will herald the start of some rather restrictive policies. We're assuming that you'll need to provide pictures or it didn't happen.
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 ]
China's gold farming ban not really a ban
The other day, we reported on China's recent ban on trading real currency for virtual goods, and it was hailed as the end of gold selling in the MMO world. Unfortunately, it may not actually play out that way. While this would put a stop to some gold selling, it won't stop all of it thanks to a convenient little loophole.That loophole is the fact that their law has no jurisdiction over foreign transactions. While it absolutely can put a stop to these transactions on Chinese soil using Chinese servers and Chinese currency, Chinese goldfarmers can still happily (well, probably not happily) scrounge up gold on American realms and sell it to American players. Most likely, this new law won't have an impact on the gold selling industry whatsoever. The people being impacted are those crafting their games on a model of microtransactions rather than a subscription model. Developers, not gold farmers, will be harmed by this. A game like Free Realms is no longer a feasible option in China.
WoW China transition begins this month, will be down for weeks
JLM Pacific Epoch, the source that revealed this whole WoW China debacle to us in the first place, has continued their ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft situation in China. As reported previously, The9 is no longer in charge of WoW China. The whole thing has been handed over to NetEase, who is already running some of Blizzard's other overseas properties. The9's operations of World of Warcraft will cease on June 7th, and NetEase will bring operations back up late that same month. Yes, that's a few weeks without WoW in China whatsoever. Luckily, it's intended that character information will carry over from one provider to the next.No matter how much or how little you play the game, you have to admit that WoW being taken away for weeks sucks pretty hard. Of course, the fact that this might make it easier for them to get Wrath of the Lich King may ease the hurt a little. We here in North America (or even the EU or Oceania) may complain about downtime and lag and server instability, but we should consider ourselves lucky that gaming is a relatively painless experience in comparison to what our Chinese playmates need to put up with. Here's hoping that WoW in China remains strong after all of this, and not utterly barren due to people fleeing to Taiwan's realms.[via Massively]
Court awards real world money for seized virtual assets
As if today's earlier report out of China wasn't enough, here's more wackiness from the wonderful world of Chinese gaming... PlayNoEvil is reporting on a story that first appeared on Pacific Epoch's website about the Chinese gaming company Shanda Interactive. All this gaming goofiness started back in November 2006, when a player (named Zhang) in the game World of Legend first noticed six of his virtual items missing. He complained to Shanda who replied that the items were taken because of a police investigation regarding the sale of stolen virtual items. Well, Shanda failed to return the items once the investigation was over. Bad Move. The player sued the company and was awarded an apology and 5,000 Yuan ($680 US). Zhang originally sued Shanda in the Hunan Qiyang People's Court. Judge Milian wasn't presiding.But it doesn't stop there. Zhang plans to take Shanda back to court for a whopping 150,000 Yuan (that's a smidgen over $20,000 US) which he claims to have spent on the game over the last five years. That's a lot of Yuan. It will be very interesting to see what - if any - global legal ramifications come out of this. The fact that virtual things have been given a real world value by a court - even if it is Chinese court - may or may not be a good thing. We'll find out soon I'm sure since we all know the good ole U.S of A. is one seriously sue happy country. I bet there's more than a few people out there just dreaming up ways to sue Blizzard or NCsoft for something.
Chinese gamers compete for free design courses
Beginning this week, Chinese gamers who log in to the popular Japanese MMO Cronous will have more to compete for than just bragging rights. Beijing-based Mudgame Technology, host of Cronous, is teaming up with New Oriental Education & Technology Group, the China Center for International Educational Exchange, Game College, and Yanjing Brewery to provide academic assistance for aspiring game designers. Players will be tasked with finding specified items (textbooks? Yanjing beer kegs?) throughout the virtual landscape of Cronous. The top 20 treasure hunters will be invited to particpate in Game College courses valued at over US$1.25 million, while the top player will earn the opportunity to study game design abroad in Korea. It's refreshing to know that even in China beer and college share a special connection (like yin and yang).See also: Shaiya, Guild Wars most anticipated in China
Guild Wars China to be operated by The9
Chinese online gaming powerhouse The9 can now add Guild Wars to its growing catalog of MMO offerings. Already the World of Warcraft host in China, The9 has reached an agreement with NCsoft to operate Guild Wars for three years on the mainland, although it doesn't specifically state if this includes the Guild Wars sequel, Factions. The9 also hosts Webzen's popular MU and will begin operating the Korean developer's Soul of the Ultimate Nation in Q4 of this year.[Thanks, billsdue]
