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NetEase temporarily suspending WoW account creation in China

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 8th 2010 at 4:40PM }

Though the legal and political struggle between China's General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) and Ministry of Culture over whether World of Warcraft should be allowed in the country rages on, the game's operator, NetEase, is taking matters into its own hands. According to Reuters, the operator is suspending new user registrations for one week, starting today. During this time, NetEase execs will be waiting on pins and needles -- they recently re-submitted an application to operate WoW and The Burning Crusade directly to the GAPP.

In other words, you can probably expect another installment in the seemingly endless Chinese World of Warcraft saga within the next seven days. We can't wait!

China close to announcing punishment for WoW operator

by Justin McElroy { Jan 4th 2010 at 5:30PM }

JLM Pacific Epoch reports that, according to an unnamed source, the World of Warcraft struggle between China's General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) and Ministry of Culture (which has MMORPG operator NetEase stuck in the middle) may be near an end.

For those joining us late: GAPP said that it was illegal for NetEase to be collecting subscription fees on a game GAPP hadn't approved. NetEase continued collecting fees, because the game had been approved by the MoC when it was under the control of former operator The9. The exact opposite of hilarity ensued.

According to JLM's source, the two sides have reached an agreement and will announce the agreed-upon "punishment" in the middle of this month. Here's hoping NetEase isn't forced to relinquish all of its DKP.

[Via GamePolitics]

The9 posts 94 percent drop in Q3 revenues after losing WoW

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 27th 2009 at 12:30PM }

Mother of pearl! We thought it was safe to assume that Shanghai-based MMO operator The9 would lose a chunk of its revenue after handing the license for World of Warcraft over to competing company NetEase. By "a chunk" we, of course, meant "a fraction." Not "almost all revenue," which according to the company's Q3 2009 financial report, is how much it lost year-over-year after passing off the rights to run WoW.

To put it numerically, The9's revenues dropped 94 percent from the same quarter last year. A hit that big must have left a sizable dent in the ol' pocketbook -- however, we're guessing the company's board members take some small, spiteful satisfaction from the tribulations the game has brought to its new operators.

WoW 'rejected' in China, government at odds with itself over decision

by Randy Nelson { Nov 3rd 2009 at 1:00AM }

China's General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) has ordered NetEase, which has been operating World of Warcraft in the region since September, to cease collecting subscription payments and signing up new players for the game immediately, calling these acts "illegal behavior." According to a report by the site JLM Pacific Epoch, the GAPP (most recently in the news for outlawing foreign investment in Chinese online gaming) has suspended its review of the game and returned NetEase's application to operate it in the country.

For its part, NetEase claims it has yet to receive any sort of official decree from GAPP. At the same time, an official from China's Ministry of Culture is said to have stated that GAPP's actions are "not appropriate." The situation now becomes one of which agency has final say, and if it's simply "shut it down," why.

We're pretty sure this isn't the kind of Cataclysm Chinese WoW fans were hoping for.

[Via WoW.com]

Source -- GAPP Halts WoW Review
Source -- GAPP Says No for the Operation of WoW in China
Source -- NeatEase statement regarding announcement by GAPP

Chinese World of Warcraft servers are back online

by Griffin McElroy { Sep 21st 2009 at 4:00PM }

It seems like forever ago when we first heard that China's World of Warcraft servers were going dark to allow hosting duties to transfer from The9 to NetEase -- in all fairness, to the hardcore Blizzard enthusiast, being sans WoW can make three-and-a-half months actually feel like forever. However, according to a number of reports coming from the country, the transfer is finished, and Chinese MMO players are now able to return to their former Azerothian grind.

The title's new host, NetEase, spent a pretty penny keeping the game's servers up and running during the past month of closed beta -- approximately a million yuan (around $146,000) per day. We're not too worried about the company, however. From what we hear, China's a pretty large territory, and WoW is more addictive than chocolate-covered, heroin-soaked crack. NetEase is going to be just fine.

WoW has been offline for a month in China

by Griffin McElroy { Jul 8th 2009 at 4:00PM }

We all know by now that when stripped of their narcotic/online game, World of Warcraft players tend to react ... adversely. Now, imagine that reaction spread over a nation with 1.3 billion inhabitants. For a month. Sadly, that's the gruesome scene over in China, where WoW has been offline for over 30 days, turning the nation into a veritable ocean of flailin' and wailin'.

The culprit for the lengthy disconnect is NetEase, the company who recently took over the game's server maintenance from former web operator The9. Due to "some factors which are out of our control," the game's servers have been offline for a month -- meanwhile, other MMOs are kicking their Chinese ad campaigns into high gear, attempting to sway the jilted masses. Good luck with that.

NetEase snags the reigns of World of Warcraft in China

by Griffin McElroy { Apr 18th 2009 at 9:00PM }

As rumor has it, Chinese internet company NetEase has a totally huge crush on Blizzard. It made its first clear attempt at courtship last August by snatching up the rights to operate Battle.net in China, but a recent press release from Blizzard revealed the company's biggest, Say Anything-esque display of affection to date -- NetEase will be taking over operating duties for World of Warcraft when current operator The9's contract expires June 8.

Of course, if NetEase wanted to win over the hearts of the Chinese MMO-playing population, they'd push for the release of Wrath of the Lich King, which still hasn't dropped in the region. Chinese news site DoNews reports that NetEase has licensed Wrath, though they haven't made any formal announcements regarding its release.

[Via Massively]

China online gaming trends

by Alan Rose { Aug 2nd 2006 at 3:35PM }

BusinessWeek online recently ran an article that effectively summarizes major issues in the burgeoning Chinese gaming industry, including MMO addiction, Internet population growth, and the increasing quality of China's homegrown titles. Also, the horse armor debate may soon find new life overseas, as there are plans for several Chinese game operators to switch from a subscription-based revenue model to the sale of virtual goods and other downloadable content "needed to advance various games".

The article is supplemented by a slideshow that showcases China's hottest online games, one of which hails from the States -- Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach. This is consistent with vendors I visited during a recent trip to Shanghai who claimed that DDO was among their bestsellers.

See also: