Netease said to be licensed foreign online game Starcraft Online

BEIJING, Jan 29, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- NTES | news | PowerRating | PR Charts -- China's leading online game operator Netease.com Inc. (NTES.NASDAQ) is likely to make its first step on being licensed to operate overseas online games in the near future.

Caijing Magazine reported that the first foreign online game to be operated by Netease, which used to rely on independent R&D, will be Starcraft Online, developed by US-based Blizzard, quoting an industry insider as saying.

Netease CEO Ding Lei didn't confirm the market saying, adding that the company is observing many online games and has not signed any formal license contract.

On an industry meeting earlier this month, Ding disclosed that Netease will strive to provide more game products by being licensed foreign games and co-developing games with foreign partners.

Over the past two years, Netease has failed to launch any new game gaining success, except for Chinese literature "Journey to the West" -themed games independently developed by the company.

Investors are looking to new products that could contribute to business growth, rather than how much success old games have achieved, an industry insider was quoted as saying.

Marketing Supervisor of Netease, Li Riqiang noted that Netease needs to make evaluation concerning adaptability of foreign online games to the Chinese market and the company is not willing to pay too expensive license fee. That's the reason why Netease is late in licensing foreign games.

Market observers hold that introduction of foreign game would help Netease expand its product pipeline, meanwhile the company will also face increasing operating costs due to revenue sharing and license fee concerns. Enditem (?)

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