The booth of The9 Ltd at the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference in Shanghai. [Photo / China Daily]

 

SHANGHAI - The9 Ltd, a leading online game operator and developer in China, is poised to release a new game as part of its strategy to rebound after the big loss of World of Warcraft (WoW).

Developed solely by Red 5 Studios, a newly acquired game developer in the United States, the upcoming product, Firefall, is projected to surpass both the user base and the revenue generated by WoW, said Tony Park, The9's vice-president.

Firefall, essentially a shooter game, is designed by a full-strength lineup largely composed of former executives and seasoned developers from Blizzard Entertainment Inc, the gaming company that created WoW, a landmark product in Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) history.

"Led by Mark Kern, Red 5's CEO and a leading WoW producer, the team is ready to present a vivid virtual world through Firefall, and we expect the gamers to be eager to preview it," Park told China Daily in a recent interview.

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Park said Firefall is unlike other online games in terms of its dual-track functionality - the simultaneous support of player-versus-environment and player-versus-player modes in a shooter game - which is a pioneering move in the online game industry.

The game, set to debut by the end of 2011, has been displayed at major gaming shows and undergone beta testing in the United States.

According to Park, avid gamers who were intrigued by its innovative game-play labeled it "WoW carrying guns".

Firefall will have its own booth at China Joy, the largest gaming and digital entertainment exhibition in the country, in Shanghai at the end of July.

The9 operates - directly, or through affiliates - licensed MMORPGs including Soul of the Ultimate Nation, Atlantica and Kingdom Heroes 2 Online on the Chinese mainland. But it reported a dramatic drop in revenue in 2009 after Blizzard retracted its license to run WoW in China.

The Nasdaq-listed firm saw its market value shrink overnight from its peak of $1.52 billion to $3.78 million in 2009.

The setback prompted The9 to make a strategic shift. Having a cash flow of about $215 million, largely from running WoW, The9 invested about $20 million in a majority share of the California-based Red 5 Studios early last year in a bid to combine world-class gaming expertise with Chinese experience.

"The company is dedicated to developing its own intellectual property, so that you do not worry about potential partner changes, as we've experienced before. Besides, the move is conducive to strengthening adherence in our user community," Park said.

Online gaming has been a significant growth area in other digital segments over the past few years, but Park reckoned the industry in China is facing severe homogenization, which implies games lack genuine originality in their content and gameplay.

This can partly be attributed to the gamers' style, Park said, as most Chinese users are result-oriented and usually favor taking the fast-track to go to a higher level.

To remain competitive, Park said it is important to stay ahead of the curve. "By acquiring the world's best team, the genre of our game has gotten to be so feature- and content-laden that it should be a pioneering experience for all gamers, and hopefully will expand our user base."

The vision to go global is equally reflective in Firefall's free-to-play charging model, which is a breakthrough in the Western gaming markets.

As free online games increasingly pop up in China, the micro-transaction model (you pay only to acquire certain equipment for your character, as opposed to the time subscription model) is an inspiration the team got from the Chinese market.

"Most of our team members have in-depth understanding of Chinese users' consumption habits, and that is why we opted for this model. Meanwhile, I believe free-to-play will gain traction in the West, especially amid the recession, as consumers pinch their pennies," Park said.