Weekly Twitter Posts
CNNIC released latest data
and China's Internet users rose by 31% from January to June 2010 to 420
million.
8:30 AM Jul 16th
via CoTweet
RT @Kotaku Why
Are Consoles Banned In China? http://kotaku.com/5587577/
6:16 AM Jul 16th
via CoTweet
Zynga is getting more
serious about China as it purchased 2 Chengdu studios recently, after
buying 1 in Beijing in May http://bit.ly/axXsqf
7:00 AM Jul 13th
via CoTweet
More regs for Chinese online game co's: now they must avoid sex and vulgarity as themes in ads for their games http://bit.ly/c5gB5Mabout 7 hours ago via CoTweet
Google Says Chinese Government Renewed Its Internet Licensehttp://bit.ly/aOJZQsabout 9 hours ago via CoTweet
Apple's Invasion of China Begins With This Shanghai Apple Storehttp://tcrn.ch/9mG2hi10:30 AM Jul 7th via CoTweet
Tencent acquired 7 Korean online game devs for total of 18.464 bil Korea Won, reported Donews.com http://bit.ly/cPJ7jr1:30 PM Jul 6th via CoTweet
Morgan Stanley says PCU of NetEase's FWJ hit 2.6 mil on 7/4 and game will make up 30% of NTES revenue for 2010http://bit.ly/bM5by411:30 AM Jul 6th via CoTweet
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Niko has long said
that China and Asia were leading the way for the distribution of video games
with the online games business model, and specifically with the success of free
to play F2P and microtransactions. Over the past year this model has made
bigger strides into game markets in the West as well. First there was Dungeons
and Dragons Online, which after switching from a subscription-based business
model to the F2P model, the franchise's revenue grew 500 percent after its
change-over. Moreover, for nay-sayers, DDO allowed users to still pay a monthly subscription
for unlimited access to all content. With the F2P model, they opened access to
all gamers but allowed the option to buy specific items on an individual basis.
Then Turbine also put The Lord of the Rings Online to go F2P and in order to
soothe current users, set up a system so that existing subscribers were
automatically enrolled in a VIP program.
Now that CCP Games is openly supporting micro-transactions and the F2P business
model, it is good to see that the approach to MMOs is now being lauded instead
of dismissed as in years past. The F2P model began in South Korea around 2004
and has spread steadily across Asia, now (finally) making its way to the West.
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If you didn't get
to see it, make sure you check out Kotaku's interview with Lisa Cosmas Hanson,
managing partner of Niko Partners, about the ban on consoles in China. Consoles
and their video games have been banned in China since 2000, although the iQue
brand has been a legal alternative in the area. More important has been the issue of
rampant piracy for consoles across the nation. All of the information we have points to the
success that MMOs and MMORPGs have had in China over the years and it leads us
to believe that if and when consoles are approved for legal sale in China, the
distribution of game software will be done via an online service model similar
to PC games.
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Surprisingly,
Shanda Games' chess and card game subsidiary Hangzhou Bianfeng Software
Technology is charging fellow competitor Hangzhou Quwan Digital Technology for
copyright infringement, in a market where it seems that the copycat mentality
is the norm. The claim is that the latter's "San Guo Zhan" is similar to
Shanda's licensed "San Guo Sha" (Killers of the Three Kingdoms.) The kicker?
Hangzhou Quwan, the defendant, has responded that both games are "borrowed"
from an Italian desktop game called "Bang!" So the irony is that regardless of
how this is resolved, both are still infringing on copyrights from abroad. We
know from our focus groups that all three titles are quite popular among Chinese
gamers. It will be interesting to see how this case turns out and how
intellectual property rights are distributed in China's chaotic legal scene.
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Niko News is just part of the market intelligence experience offered by Niko Partners to help you better understand the thriving video game market of China.
Niko
Partners is the premier provider of market intelligence and custom
research services on China's video game industry. There are more than 70 million Chinese gamers eager to play hit titles on systems with the
latest technologies. With Niko Partners market intelligence services,
you can get to know these gamers, find Chinese partners, and use our
actionable market data to build and execute your strategic plan.
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If you have any questions or if you have a project that could use our assistance, please let us know at info@nikopartners.com or contact Megan Carriker at 336-326-5595 or megan@nikopartners.com
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