Stopping short of saying that World of Warcraft should not be allowed to operate, the director of China’s General Administration of Press and Publication has labeled the popular Western-made massively multiplayer online role-playing game as “unhealthy.”
In a statement published by China-based online games portal 17173, General Administration of Press and Publication director Song Jianxin said experts have discovered unhealthy content in World of Warcraft, which is being operated in the mainland by NetEase.
Song said World of Warcraft is too violent and filled with horror, has too much blood and gore, and provides a detailed description of how to make biological …read more

After a month of speculations, Blizzard Entertainment has finally broken its silence on China’s investigation into the joint venture between the Western gaming giant and NetEase, a China-based online games operator.
According to online games portal 17173, Blizzard Entertainment co-founder and president Mike Morhaime clarified that the joint venture between Blizzard and NetEase would focus on providing technical support to World of Warcraft and wouldn’t be involved in other aspects of operation.
An article on 17173 also tagged The9, former operator of World of Warcraft in China, as the culprit behind the dissemination of rumors that the joint venture was established to …read more

There is talk that NetEase, the current license holder in China of the highly successful World of Warcraft franchise, is encountering difficulty in getting the Wrath of the Lich King expansion past censors.
World of Warcraft’s previous China-based licensee, The9, had similar issues hounding the game’s update. In February 2009, The9 issued a statement denying rumors that the launch of Wrath of the Lich King would be postponed indefinitely.
In April, Blizzard Entertainment, developer of World of Warcraft, granted the license to the game to NetEase. The only thing left unchanged is the status of Wrath of the Lich King with China’s …read more

Rumors abound that the Chinese government is investigating the joint venture between Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase, which recently bagged the rights to operate World of Warcraft in China.

Here’s the lowdown from China-based online games portal 17173:
An unnamed insider claims China’s General Administration of Press and Publication has appointed Shanghai’s News and Press Bureau to investigate a joint venture established by NetEase and Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games and Activision merger Activision Blizzard.
The Chinese government forbids foreign companies from operating online games domestically through joint venture or sole investment. If NetEase and Blizzard’s joint venture is found in violation …read more

That’s a lot of moolah, and I’m sure the online games industry in China will rake in even more revenue in years to come, considering most of its homegrown titles are slowly moving into other regions and countries.
Take, for instance, Perfect World Co. Ltd., which has been, aside from The9 and NetEase (because of the controversial changing of the guard for Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft franchise, in headlines worldwide. The success of Perfect World Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of the China-based online games developer and operator, in publishing games in North America is testament to the growing strength …read more

Nothing seems out of the ordinary, just an online games operator launching a new server for one of its most successful massively multiplayer online role-playing games—that is, if not for the fact that The9 has already lost control of World of Warcraft in China.
About a week ago, MMOtaku reported a rumor that The9 had lost the license to the popular Western MMORPG franchise, which developer Blizzard Entertainment awarded to NetEase, another China-based online games operator. This supposedly tall tale was later confirmed by all three companies—Blizzard, NetEase and, surprisingly, The9.
Now comes news that The9 has opened a new server for …read more

NetEase isn’t wasting any time. A week after news that it has secured the rights to operate World of Warcraft in China, wresting it from the clutches of online games operator The9, NetEase is starting recruitment for technical and managerial personnel to handle the world-renowned massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Blizzard Entertainment of the United States.
Here’s the nitty-gritty from China-based online games portal 17173:

Source: China Daily
The official website of NetEase has recently posted a recruitment ad for customer service of World of Warcraft in China.
NetEase is mainly looking for game master, customer service specialist, trainer, GM leader, customer …read more

If the latest online games industry news from China is to be believed, then all I can say is, “What in the Nine Hells happened?”
Check out the headline on China-based online games portal 17173:
The9 May Have Lost Control of World of Warcraft in China
Late yesterday, multiple sources reported that The9, the operator of World of Warcraft in China, had broken up with Blizzard Entertainment. NetEase, another Chinese game operator, is more likely to get the license instead, which will take over the operation of World of Warcraft in China this June.

The site goes on to say that it got it …read more