Netease to Open Beta TX2 today, China - stats/analysis

from the Over in the East dept

On August 26, NetEase (NTES) will release the open beta version of Tian Xia II (TX2), one of its in-house developed 3D games. The open beta will be officially launched on September 20, accompanied by a large-scale advertising campaign. This article discusses TX2's 4Q09 outlook and potential risks, and shows the game's recent trends of Peak and Average Concurrent Users (PCU and ACU).

TX2's PCU will be substantially boosted by aggressive advertising. TX2 is the focus of NetEase's advertising campaign in the second half of 2009, and more than RMB 100 million ($14.6 million) will be allocated to TX2's promotion, according to reports by Sina and Nanfang Daily. My tracking shows TX2 has already reached 160K PCU without much advertising (see chart below). I estimate the heavy advertising surrounding the open beta will propel TX2's PCU to at least 250K in 4Q09.

TX2 players' spending and stickiness will increase significantly. The huge size of TX2's open beta patch (1G - larger than many single games) indicates rich new contents will be added. Currently, TX2's revenues rely heavily on four systems/features: Treasure Box, Soul Pearl (Yuan Hun Zhu), Dresses, and Riding Animals. I believe the open beta version's abundant new contents will diversify TX2's revenue sources, and boost players' spending to a higher level in 4Q09. In addition, the large amount of new contents will increase players' stickiness in 4Q09 because they are likely to spend much time on exploring new maps, tasks, instances (Fu Ben), etc.

TX2 still faces potential risks. Although TX2's game design significantly imitates World of Warcraft (WoW), its skill system, task system, and profession balance still have a long way to go compared with WoW. I believe the open beta version will only partially solve this problem, and a lot of additional R&D efforts are required to improve TX2 after it enters open beta. Although aggressive advertising will boost TX2's PCU in the near term, such PCU levels will not be sustainable if NetEase's R&D efforts on TX2 fail to keep up with the growth in concurrent users.

Thanks to Seeking Alpha.

Germany's Gamigo signs Interzone Futebol for Europe - also Gamescon trailer

from the Kick Stuff dept

Interzone's 11-a-side MMO footy game signed by gamigo

gamigo AG and Interzone Entertainment have announced that Futebol will be released in German and English by the end of this year, with French, Spanish, Turkish and Polish language versions following in 2010. Futebol is an online game which features team-based multiplayer matches, with every character on the pitch (playing field) controlled by a different player, including goalkeepers who, until now, have always been AI-controlled. During the match, players will improve their skills and unlock new skills and moves. Players will also improve their personal rankings and their team's rankings, earn money through salary or sponsorship, and customize their character at creation, during game play, and by buying virtual items from Interzone's online store. A trailer is now locally mirrored.

BigWorld @ GDC/GamesCom Cologne 2009 next week

from the Will you be There? dept.

Contact details here.

Navy Legend : in-game screens

from the Blow them out of the water dept.

Navy Legend CG trailer for BigWorld powered MMO

from the Awesome vids dept.

BigWorld features seven games at China Joy 09

from the Far East dept.

This July's 'China Joy' - Shanghai's equivalent to E3 showcased a number of MMO titles either released or close to release from some of BigWorld's Chinese licensees.

1. 天下贰 Tian xia II http://tx2.163.com/
2. 创世西游 Chuang shi xi you http://csxy.163.com/
3. 创世Online Chuang shi Online http://cs.gyyx.cn/
4. 侠客列传 Xia ke lie zhuan http://www.t2xk.com/
5. 三国群英传OL2 San guo qun ying zhuan OL2 http://sg2.uj.com.tw/
6. 海陆传奇 Hai lu chuan qi http://www.dahaizhan.com/
7. 鬼吹灯OL Gui chui deng OL http://gui.uqugame.com/

Metaversum launches Twinity Singapore - Straits Times

from the Germans in the Far East dept.

THIS National Day, Orchard Road may be a hive of activity - both in the real and virtual worlds.

Twinity's maker, a virtual world developer, is launching an online realisation of Singapore's iconic shopping strip on Aug 9, where users can make virtual friends, visit online galleries, go shopping and even set up online businesses.

As part of the launch, and in conjunction with the Republic's 44th National Day, the virtual area will host several events. These include:

A live video stream of the parade from the Marina Bay floating platform.

A virtual performance by home-grown band Electrico of this year's theme song, which it will perform at the parade too.

The Pledge Moment, where users can congregate to take the national pledge together at precisely 8.22pm, alongside people in the physical world.

Twinity's maker, German company Metaversum, has already put out a virtual replica of Berlin. Virtual Singapore is the second location to be launched, while London is on the cards.

The difference between Twinity and other virtual worlds, such as Second Life, is that it represents real places. For instance, virtual Orchard Road, which has been in development for over a year, features the Marriott Hotel with its green pagoda roof and even the Electronic Road Pricing gantry in front of it.

Its creation was supported by a grant from the multi-agency Interactive Digital Media Research and Development Programme Office (IDMPO), hosted by the Media Development Authority of Singapore.

IDMPO's programme director Dennis Sng said: 'Singaporeans will have a whole new experience of National Day celebrations this year. Singaporeans living overseas can also participate in the celebrations through the virtual world.' While still in its beta testing phase, Twinity has 130,000 users and Singaporean membership has recently doubled, a spokesman for the company said.

More over at the Straits Times.

Trailer for a BigWorld powered game from http://gui.uqugame.com/ 《鬼吹灯》online高清视频 -

from the Finally, tentacles! dept.

Gamearts : Grandia Online character creation and posturing overview!

from the Make the Eyes a bit bigger dept.

Wargaming - tantalizing glimpse of World of Tanks

from the Too much reflection dept.