BullRaid

[flota]

A Fast-Growing Chinese Gaming Outfit Looks Cheap

By Jack Hough
February 8, 2007
ONLINE VIDEOGAMES in China are increasingly free. They're also making more money.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPGs as they're known, allow participants to build characters, form friendships, wage battles, collect loot and so forth. The most popular of these in China is the "World of Warcraft," made by America's Blizzard Entertainment but operated in China by Shanghai-based The9 (NCTY1). It uses a typical fee structure: Players pay upfront for the game and for over extra for ongoing monthly access.

But 84% of the new games released last year in China were "free to play" titles. These generally take one of two forms. Some offer limited versions where players can dabble but are charged for access to expanded content. Some are outright free, but sell items within the game like weapons, real estate and character abilities. They are plenty profitable. The shift to "free" games last year sent revenue per user in China 44% higher to $26, reckons Brean Murray Carret & Co., a New York investment bank.

http://www.smartmoney.com/stockscreen/index.cfm?story=20070208intro&afl=yahoo