Inside Perfect World Entertainment

North American gamers probably aren’t too familiar with Perfect World Entertainment, beyond their association with Runic Game’s Torchlight and the handful of Asian MMOs the company is trying to bring to North America. But this seemingly small MMO company is really quite big in China and analysts that pay attention to the sector (and like to invest money) have got their eyes all over Perfect World, despite its challenges - in China, of course.

Perfect World Co. Ltd. went public roughly 4 years ago and has beaten earnings estimates for most of its existence, carving out its own little niche in the lucrative online gaming space in China. Perfect World is no small player either, with a $2 billion market capitalization and a long-term plan to have a global presence - hence its North American and European operations. In the latest quarter the company raked in $86.4 million in revenue, compared to $55.9 million the same quarter last year. That’s pretty amazing for a company most North American gamers know nothing about.

But the company, like many others that have a business model that relies heavily on the lucrative Chinese MMO market, faces some serious challenges. Those challenges include government oversight and possible censorship of content, a rather crowded field of competitors (CDC Games, Shanda Games, The9, NetEase, etc.) and an unknown level of growth in China. Here and in places like Europe it faces the challenge of getting Western gamers interested in MMOs that are decidedly Asian in style. One secret weapon the company has is the upcoming Torchlight MMO, which will also serve the Chinese market if it can get by the Chinese Ministry of Culture.

In North America the company has 3 free-to-play MMOs in operation (Ether Saga Online, Perfect World International, and Jade Dynasty) as well as Runic Games single player action RPG, Torchlight. You can learn more about the company and all these games by visiting perfectworld.com.

Champions Online Nemesis Event

If you have played Champions Online (I have, see my train wreck of a review for details) then chances are you inevitably created a nemesis to dog your every step. This arch enemy that you create yourself from scratch will prove to be even more difficult next week when Cryptic Studios launches the Nemesis Confrontation event.

The event gives players the chance to team up with other players to take down their nemesis, who is a bit more aggressive than usual. But the added twist is that your buddy’s nemesis will team up with your nemesis to provide double trouble. You most hated villains are apparently going to try to cause a rift in the fabric of reality to destroy the Champions universe. In addition to all the minions associated with your nemesis, you’ll have to deal with new enemy types in a new location.

The event begins on Tuesday, Nov. 24, and extends into the weekend after Thanksgiving. The weekend of Nov. 27 and 28th will also be a free play weekend, so those that have given up on the game can return for the fun. Watch your back, Pizza Delivery Dude - I might be coming for you next week.

Find out more at Champions-Online.com.

China’s Ministry of Culture tightens grip on MMO industry

It’s tough for a Western game developer, working with partners in the region, to maintain creative control of its product in China. And it is getting tougher every day. The Chinese government announced late Wednesday night that it will tighten regulations on online games even more.

China’s Ministry of Culture said in a circular that it would require game operators to re-examine the content of the games they offer to make sure it doesn’t contain and “obscene or violent content” or anything that might be considered “lowbrow.” But what it really means is that the Ministry of Culture wants to stamp out any themes that go against the government’s socialist views. The circular also said that operators must limit the number of virtual marriages and player-versus-player combat sessions in these games.’

The circular says as much plainly enough: they want game operators to “enhance socialist values” and hire “specialist” to monitor content. No doubt these “experts” will be provided or recommended by the Ministry of Culture.

The changes will affect a lot of operators including Shanda Games, NetEase, The9, CDC Games, Tencent Holdings etc. Most of these companies will simply comply with these requests. But do game developers in North America, Europe and other parts of the world want the Chinese government to say what it can and can’t have in its games?

On the other hand, Blizzard learned the hard way that you can’t win against the Chinese government when it tried to switch operators (from The9 to NetEase). Now World of Warcraft is no longer running in that region.

As harsh as this truth is, it should be troubling to any MMO creator who wants to maintain their original vision and have it running in China.
Operators in the region have no choice. NetEase’s Chief Executive Officer William Ding said in an earnings call on Thursday, that, while he had not seen the full details of the circular, his company is willing to comply..

China’s online game industry is incredibly lucrative and growing; by the end of 2009 it should record growth between 30 - 50 percent, with estimated sales revenue of 24 - 27 billion yuan (that’s $3.5 - $4 billion USD). The total number of online game players is estimated to be more than 50 million.

Warrior Epic: Battlegrounds goes live

True Games has launched an open beta test for Warrior Epic: Battlegrounds, the online focused action RPG’s first expansion. The expansion includes brand new PVP gameplay, an all-new HUB City, a New Region (Trogken Swamps), dozens of new items and much more. This new expansion marks the first project for True Games Interactive’s new development studio in Beijing, China.

The second new studio that True Games has opened this year, the Beijing studio has been working on the latest Warrior Epic content, while the Austin, Texas studio is developing a new intellectual property. The new Beijing studio will continue to work on future updates of Warrior Epic.

Some of the key features players can expect in Warrior Epic: Battlegrounds include all new player vs. player gameplay (via all-new objective-based PVP enabled maps), a central HUB for players to meet and form groups and guilds, a new region called Trogken Swamps to explore, new quest, new monsters, new items and more.

The beta test for Warrior Epic: Battlegrounds starts today and is available to current and new players. Find out more at www.warriorepic.com.

National Parenting Publications Awards honors Wizard101

The family friendly MMO, Wizard101 was recently named an Honors Award winner in the 2009 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) Children’s Products competition. Full results were announced November 1, 2009, in more than 40 regional parenting magazines across the country and online at Parenthood.com. This award recognizes video games available for children that are safe and fun.

“This multi-player online adventure game encourages social activity and collaboration among players,” said NAPPA judge Alex Chisholm. “While other online fantasy games may be too mature for some kids, Wizard101 hits a nice balance among fun, adventure and competition as players are summoned to help save Wizard City.”

Congrats to the makers of this game, which is in fact something safe and fun you can play with your children. You can learn more about Wizard101 by visiting www.wizard101.com.

ijji.com inches towards 10 million registered user mark

Update: An earlier report said that ijji.com had hit the 10 million registered user mark, when in fact the company was moving towards that milestone. The story now reflects that fact.

Original Story: Online games portal ijji.com, claims that it is nearing the 10 million unique registered player mark. ijji.com is home to several online games including the fantasy MMORPG, Soul of the Ultimate Nation, an extreme drift racing game called Drift City, a massively multi-player online game that mixes fantasy with technology called Gunz The Duel and an online action game called Soldier Front.

The company today launched a new logo, which you can see to the left of your screen. Yeah, not so exciting.

ijji.com’s portal will soon include the Unreal Engine 3-powered games Huxley: The Dystopia, a massively multi-player first-person shooter (MMOFPS), and Alliance of Valiant Arms, a multi-player online first-person shooter (MOFPS); in addition to the World War II-era MOFPS KARMA: Operation Barbarossa.

Find out more at ijji.com.

Fallen Earth MMO getting an iPhone app

FALLEN EARTH and Icarus Studios, developers of the self-titled massively multiplayer online game (MMO), Fallen Earth, announced today the development of a cross-platform iPhone application, which allows players to connect into the live game server and interact with the game remotely via their iPhone.

Through the new iPhone application, players will have access to Fallen Earth, and allow Fallen Earth players to view their in-game character stats, mutations and trade skills as well as provide access to equipped and stored items. Players will also have be able to view maps for each of the three sectors in the 1,000 square kilometers of the game’s landscape.

The app is scheduled for release in Q1 2010, and will feature real-time management of several key in-game systems like players’ crafting queues, recipes, craft items, commerce at the Auction House as well as the ability to interact with friends, Clan members and other online players through multiple chat channels, mail and private messaging.

Find out more about this app and the game by visiting www.fallenearth.com.