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Chinese electronics company sues Blizzard over fonts
An electronics company in Beijing has sued Blizzard, claiming that they allegedly used five copyrighted fonts in World of Warcraft. Founder Electronics wants 100 million yuan for the alleged infringement, which is apparently the largest amount ever asked for by a Chinese company in a copyright case (Founder claims the loss cost them 1 billion yuan). The case is sitting in front of the Beijing High People's Court, and the9, which is the Chinese company that runs WoW there, is considering their options.I'm assuming that means the9's Chinese version of WoW, which would mean the fonts themselves are for Chinese characters, so there's probably no fonts that English-speaking users would recognize ingame. However, Founder is apparently known for creating some of the most popular fonts in China, so the odds that someone at the9 used one of them (or at the very least one that looked like one of them) are probably pretty good (the picture on this post is from a Founder event, not a Blizzard event, so the obvious use of the Founder font there doesn't count). Of course it's up to the High Court to decide whether the infringement actually took place or not-- no word on how long the judgment will take.
The9 changes WoW in China to appease censors
Hoping to stay ahead of the Chinese censors, The9 (which handles operation of World of Warcraft in China) has tweaked the visual apperance of the Undead race in the game in hopes of allowing the game to pass the new Chinese censorship review. As anyone who's played the game for long knows, the Undead models are part flesh and part skeleton, with bones sticking out in various places. The9 has modified Undead models to show no skeleton, thus making the race less scary and more likely to pass review. I know plenty of Undead players in the US who would love their toons not to have such a bony appearence -- but as a cosmetic issue rather than an issue of the Undead being scary.What do you think -- are the Undead just too scary?[Via Razorwire]Update: Added an image linked by commenter Zhun.
EA buys 15% of The9
You may recall some rumors back in April suggesting that EA was planning on buying a piece of The9 -- a company that handles the management of several MMOs, including our own World of Warcraft, on Chinese shores. While the rumors seemed to come from a credible source -- Chinese newspaper Shanghai Securities News -- EA denied that any such deal had taken place, stating only, "There is no signed agreement with The9." Until, of course, this week, when we find out that there is.Our friends at Joystiq are reporting that EA is purchasing a 15% stake in The9 and making The9 the sole publisher of EA's FIFA Online in China. What exactly does this mean for Blizzard? Perhaps nothing at all. EA doesn't own near a majority share in The9 -- and with World of Warcraft being a significant part of The9's business, it would seem ludicrous for them to make any major move against it in favor of their new friends at EA. But in EA's quest to grab their own share of the Chinese gaming market, EA now owns a piece of the competition.
EA invests in The9
Electronic Arts has acquired a stake in Chinese publisher The9, Gamasutra reports. The US-based publishing powerhouse will have 15% of the The9's common stock, which amounts to US $167 million. The two companies also announced a licensing agreement that makes The9 the sole publisher of FIFA Online in mainland China.EA had previously half-denied reports of an investment, saying that at the time there was "no signed agreement with The9." Rumors of an investment date back to at least September 2006. EA Asia Online president Hubert Larenaudie stated that he believes this is "another significant step" in building EA's presence in Asia. It is unclear how this arrangement might affect The9's relationship with EA rival Vivendi, who licenses the massively popular World of Warcraft to the publisher.
EA denies reported investment in The9
According to official newspaper Shanghai Securities News this weekend, Electronic Arts was said to have reached a deal with Chinese MMO provider The9 to purchase a 19% stake in the company for about US $200 million. The newspaper cites unnamed sources and say that the two companies had reached a basic agreement but makes no mention of whether or not the deal has been finalized. EA spokesman Jeff Brown has told Reuters that "there is no signed agreement with The9," while declining to elaborate further. However, having no signed agreement currently does not mean that the company is not in the process of working toward the outlined deal. Could the report be wrong or is EA playing coy? We'll just have to wait and see. The9 has the rights to operate World of Warcraft, Guild Wars and Hellgate: London to China. The paper also reported a deal that would allow The9 to run EA's FIFA Online in China. Such an agreement has been rumored since EA named Hubert Larenaudie, with strong ties to The9, as president of EA Asia. See also: Joystiq interview: Hoyt Ma, The9 [Via WoW Insider]
EA buying 19% of The9? They say no.
Several sources, all citing the Shanghai Securities News, were reporting yesterday that EA was planning on purchasing a 19% share of The9, a Chinese MMO company that operates World of Warcraft, Huxley, Guild Wars, and Hellgate London in mainland China. And on GameDaily BIZ, analyst Michael Pachter speculated that ths may have been the first step towards a complete acquisition of The9. However, EA is denying the deal, stating simply, "There is no signed agreement with The9." Of course, EA's denials don't imply that there might not be a deal in the works -- but we'll have to stay tuned to see if there's some truth to this rumor after all.
PepsiCo to sponsor Guild Wars in China
The cola wars took an interesting turn today, and Chinese online gaming host The9 showed they have flexible loyalties when it comes to carbonated beverages. The Shanghai-based developer successfully partnered with Coca-Cola (and pop group S.H.E.) in 2005 to promote the launch of World of Warcraft, and now PepsiCo wants a piece of China's MMO action.As part of a new marketing agreement, Pepsi and The9 will co-sponsor a national Guild Wars tournament and pimp over 10,000 Internet Cafes using decor based on NCsoft's popular fantasy setting. Cafe chaperones will now have to work twice as hard to keep sticky soft drinks away from the PCs. Beta testing for Guild Wars China begins in two days.
Guild Wars beta testing to begin in China
As if Chinese gamers didn't have enough online gaming to occupy their leisure (and work) time, The9 has announced Guild Wars China will begin closed beta testing on Nov. 29. One of the most anticipated games on the mainland, Guild Wars attracted 200,000 applicants on the first day of beta registration last week. Maybe an aspiring Chinese clan will unseat South Korea's reigning Guild Wars champs The Last Pride at the next world tournament.The9 also hosts World of Warcraft and Webzen's Soul of the Ultimate Nation, but it is unknown if the Shanghai-based developer's Guild Wars deal with NCsoft also includes the Factions and Nightfall expansions.See also: Nightfall world premiere sets Guild Wars record
Shaiya, Guild Wars most anticipated in China
According to new research from Chinese gaming portal 17173.com, Guangdong-based distributor Optisp (EVE Online) is home to the most anticipated online game in China, the Korean import Shaiya: Light and Darkness. WoW distributor The9 is hosting two of China's other highly anticipated Korean titles, Guild Wars and Soul of the Ultimate Nation. The fever over Shaiya is reportedly due to some racy ads that prompted Chinese censors to request less suggestive promos. I'm sure the two half-naked women prominently featured in the game's propaganda had nothing to do with that. 17173 has collected some in-game screen shots and wallpapers of Shaiya's physical embodiments of "light" and "darkness" (can you guess who's who?).See also: China online gaming trends
EA names new president of Asian operations
Electronic Arts has tapped former Vivendi Universal executive Hubert Larenaudie to be the new president of EA Asia. Larenaudie became the president of VU Games' Asia Pacific operations two years ago, and it's rumored that the strong ties he developed with The9 during that time will result in the Chinese publisher licensing EA's popular FIFA series. See also: EA's plan to rule Asia EA's admirable beginnings remembered Joystiq interview: Hoyt Ma (The9)
SUN is most anticipated game in China
According to the latest poll from Chinese gaming site, 17173.com, Korean developer Webzen's Soul of the Ultimate Nation is the most anticipated game in China. Other titles in the top ten include Guild Wars and Granado Espada (both will be operated by WoW host The9), as well as Kingdom of Warriors, Ragnarok Online 2, and Rohan. Analysts are predicting China's online gaming market will approach $1 billion in annual revenue within the next year, surpassing Korea. In response to this gaming boom, major publishers such as Electronic Arts, NCsoft, Take-Two, and Ubisoft have opened development offices in Shanghai. Webzen is currently putting the finishing touches on MMO-shooter Huxley for the North American market, but has also opened an office in Shanghai to produce Kingdom of Warriors.See also: Disney, Shanda bring online content to China
Burning Crusade Coming to China
In some news that doesn't quite fit in with the recent rumors of discontentment between Blizzard & Chinese publisher The9, MMORPG Blog reports today that Blizzard & The9 are now in talks to release the first WoW expansion on Chinese shores in early 2007.Recent rumors have Blizzard being unhappy with their partnership with The9 & there has been buzz of them searching for a new Chinese publisher. Hopefully, a deal can be worked out somewhere that will allow Chinese players access to all the content of the upcoming new expansion.
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]
Possible Chinese Warcraft Boycott
You might imagine that playing Warcraft in China would be the same as playing it anywhere else - we all have to deal with long queue times, server lag, and less than helpful GM responses. However, Chinese players are considering a boycott of Warcraft, and its Chinese distributer, The9, until performance improves. The9 seems to be pushing off the problems to Blizzard, explaining repair delays on the difficulty of coordinating with Blizzard, which does not have a presence in China. [Thanks, Dave]
China threatens mass boycott of WoW
Unstable servers have prompted Chinese World of Warcraft players to take action. Game unions have threatened to quit playing WoW, as players continue to post their complaints on Internet forums and make personal calls to fellow members to join the cause. In China, WoW's servers are maintained by The9, which charges gamers by the hour to play WoW. The9 is incapable of solving technical issues related to the game without Blizzard's help, but is currently investigating the server issues. Gamers have cited "severe time delays, long-queue times, and frozen servers" as the primary causes of concern. In the fourth quarter of 2005, WoW's concurrent user count in China peaked at 530,000 players.
Joystiq interview: Hoyt Ma, The9
Online gaming is so popular in China, the country has more than 100 online game operators. One of the most successful is Shanghai-based The9, which focuses primarily on MMORPGs. In 2003, they launched MU Online, which attracted over 15 million subscribers within two years.The9 is also in charge of running Blizzard's international hit World of Warcraft (WoW) for Chinese gamers--who account for more than half of the game's 5.5 million worldwide customers. On a recent visit to Shanghai, Alan Rose from Joystiq had a chance to meet with Hoyt Ma, The9's Senior Marketing Manager for WoW. We talked about his job and the growing popularity of gaming in China.
