EA to Offer Second Online Game in China

Posted 27 July 2006 @ 11:41 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Electronic Arts, the world's largest video game publisher, said on Wednesday it had licensed its first online game for distribution in China, a top market for such products.

The announcement -- the second such one this month comes nearly two years after Electronic Arts entered China with a flourish, disclosing plans to make China its global center for online game development with a 500-person studio that would help it generate $1 billion in Asian revenue by 2010.

The company had been virtually mum in the market since then, although it was reportedly in talks at one point to buy a local online game operator, in a deal that failed to materialize. Under its new agreement, Electronic Arts' Chinese partner, Guangdong Tian Yue Network Technology Development Co. Ltd., will offer the fantasy-themed game "Tales Runner" in China under license from South Korea's NOWCOM.

Earlier this month, Electronic Arts announced that it and Tian Yue would bring a stable of casual online games grouped under the "Pogo" name to the Chinese market, becoming the first Electronic Arts-branded offering in China. At that time, Electronic Arts called the Pogo announcement "the first step of the strategic alliance" between the two partners.

Electronic Arts and other foreign game publishers have found it rough going in China, despite the market's rapid growth and potential, due to government policies that favor home-grown players like market leaders NetEase.com Inc., Shanda Interactive Games Ltd. and The9 Ltd.

China's online game market is expected to generate about $900 million in revenue this year, nearly double the $500 million in 2005, according to various estimates.

Gamers like the online format over home-based systems like Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's (6758.T) PlayStation because of its pay-as-you-go nature, in a nation where most people can't afford consoles that cost hundreds of dollars. Game developers also like the online format because of its multi-player, multiple-location nature, which makes titles more difficult to copy in a country where piracy is rampant.