Rift Expanding to China

[Puremallace]

Source: http://venturebeat.com/2012/02/09/tr...game-to-china/

Trion Worlds teams up with Shanda to take Rift online game to China

Chasing World of Warcraft in its biggest market, Trion Worlds is announcing today that it will launch its Rift online fantasy role-playing game in China in a partnership with Shanda Games.

In an interview, Trion Worlds chief executive Lars Buttler said that the move is the next logical expansion for Rift, which garnered more than 1 million registered users in its first four months on the market after its debut in March 201. After five years of development, the launch of Rift was one of the first real challenges to Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft, which has ruled the massively multiplayer online game market since 2004. WoW generates more than $1 billion a year for parent company Activision Blizzard, which reports its earnings today. But Buttler said that European and U.S. revenues for Rift have topped $100 million.

The China expansion is an attempt to put more pressure on Blizzard, but it is a pretty big undertaking. Buttler said that Shanda was his first choice for launching the game in China, where government rules require foreign online game publishers to partner with a domestic Chinese game company. He said that the exact launch details and pricing haven’t been set yet.

On Feb. 1, Redwood City, Calif.-based Trion also announced that it would offer “Rift Lite,” a version of the game that will allow anyone with a Trion account to experience the first 20 levels for free. The move is similar to one Blizzard Entertainment took in June 2011 with its hugely popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, which has more than 10 million paying users. Rift currently costs about $30 at retail and $15/month for the subscription plan.

Buttler said that he predicts that 2012 will be a great year for game companies, with a lot of expansion and transformation as online gaming gathers even more momentum.

Buttler declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal, but he said that it is one of the “biggest licensing deals ever in China.” He said the partnership is a broad one that will allow Shanda to launch an exclusive version of Rift that is localized in Chinese. He said that Trion will learn a lot from the deal, and was proud to show that online gaming isn’t just about Asian games moving into the U.S. market. He believes the appeal of games such as Rift, which has a dynamic environment and ever-changing storyline, is universal.

“We are setting the standard,” Buttler said. “This is gaming at the deep end” in contrast to shallow online games on social networks. Alan Tan, chief executive of Shanda Games, promised a “blockbuster launch” for Rift in China.

Trion recently raised $85 million in a strategic round of growth equity financing. Later this year, Trion plans to launch a third-party publishing platform dubbed Red Door. Other Trion Worlds gaming coming soon include End of Nations and Defiance. The company has more than 500 employees.

[Deleted]

That's really great.
The subscription numbers will increase by alot, but doubt it will be as much as 10 million.
I don't think we will find those numbers in any MMORPG ever again.

[Puremallace]

That's really great.
The subscription numbers will increase by alot, but doubt it will be as much as 10 million.
I don't think we will find those numbers in any MMORPG ever again.

Blizzard gets about 6 million of those 10million from China. The idea is simple really and it comes down to population density. China has 2 billion people in something the size of Texas. America has about 250million.

The numbers and metrics are just bigger. The real question is how do you get a death themed game to work in a country where death themed games are not really allowed. The Chinese version of WotLK is very different then what we had here.

It will be a spike in sub numbers for sure without a doubt.

[Fiana]

The move is similar to one Blizzard Entertainment took in June 2011 with its hugely popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, which has more than 10 million paying users.

It is the only phrase I was able to find in this post about 10m subscribers. And its not about rift.

[Puremallace]

It is the only phrase I was able to find in this post about 10m subscribers. And its not about rift.

Addition

China + solid mmorpg = subs

China + bad mmorpg = still equals subs

Also the provocative title got you to click on it and comment :O

[Deleted]

This is good news, nice to see them keeping the momentum going. The more the merrier, winwin for us all.

[Deleted]

It is the only phrase I was able to find in this post about 10m subscribers. And its not about rift.

No you read 10m players not Subscribers. Blizzard have always been rather disingenuous when going on about numbers.

Have to say it can only mean good things for Rift.

[Stede]

China has 2 billion people in something the size of Texas. America has about 250million.

There's well over 300 million people in America, far fewer than 2 billion people in China, and China is a lot bigger than Texas.

[smelltheglove]

im hoping good competition will improve the mmo market as a whole

[Puremallace]

There's well over 300 million people in America, far fewer than 2 billion people in China, and China is a lot bigger than Texas.

Actually if you view a map of where the majority of the Chinese population is centralized it is a pretty freaking small area. A lot of China is mountains and farmland. They have a 2?? child rule for a reason.

[Spotnick]

Blizzard gets about 6 million of those 10million from China. The idea is simple really and it comes down to population density. China has 2 billion people in something the size of Texas. America has about 250million.

You realize China is bigger than the USA right? Maybe you need a geography refresh? And population is 1.3 billion vs 312 millions for the US.

I wonder when Texas got that big.

[Deleted]

Lol, too bad that doesn't do jack for the game's quality. Good game btw, between you and me it's slightly better than swtor, but it's not that...IT.

Thanks for your opinion.
It's alot better than any current MMORGP. Both qualitywise and funfactor.

[Yem]

Hmm... Rift will not beat Tera in the Asian market, since Tera online is way better in term of graphics, innovative gameplay... and just the game overall :/
But hey, good luck to them, like someone said, competition is good for every player of every mmo out there !

[Stede]

Actually if you view a map of where the majority of the Chinese population is centralized it is a pretty freaking small area. A lot of China is mountains and farmland. They have a 2?? child rule for a reason.

Yes, and there isn't 2 billion people in the whole country, much less in that Texas sized area...

https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/ch.html

[Chickat]

I'm very happy for them. I don't actually play rift, but more competion in the market imo is a good thing. Heres to better quality games for all of us

[vep]

Blizzard gets about 6 million of those 10million from China. The idea is simple really and it comes down to population density. China has 2 billion people in something the size of Texas. America has about 250million.

The numbers and metrics are just bigger. The real question is how do you get a death themed game to work in a country where death themed games are not really allowed. The Chinese version of WotLK is very different then what we had here.

It will be a spike in sub numbers for sure without a doubt.

I wouldn't say it's a death themed game. I'd say it's a DBZ themed game. AKA good against evil. That's always a selling point.

[Deleted]

Hmm... Rift will not beat Tera in the Asian market, since Tera online is way better in term of graphics, innovative gameplay... and just the game overall :/
But hey, good luck to them, like someone said, competition is good for every player of every mmo out there !

Tera already failed on the korean market.
That's really bad considering it's a asian made MMORPG.
Playing the Tera beta and I can say that Rift is way better overall, you see what I did there.
It's all a matter of personal oppinions.

Love how some are promoting MMORPGs that aren't even released yet in threads about other games.. :P

[Yem]

It is Tippable, and i do not pretend it's not. But if my opinion doesn't interest you, why are on this forum ? Just talk to your mirror
Back on the topic, i did not know that Tera failed on korean market, and i'm going to look for numbers right now (well if you already have some of them, you can spare me the search ! )

[Deleted]

This is awesome news, i dont think i've ever known myself be happy for big companies when they announce things like this but with Trion i truly believe that they'll turn all these profits into new content and great customer service.

[Puremallace]

I wouldn't say it's a death themed game. I'd say it's a DBZ themed game. AKA good against evil. That's always a selling point.

lol notice the difference between original Dragonball and DBZ they had to remove the Communist Pig and Bulma flashing her private. Find the original episode 1-20 from DB and see what I mean.

Well anyways the idea is more people to sell the game too!