Kingsoft to expand online game biz
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-02-29 09:25

Kingsoft Co, one of China's biggest software companies, has announced aggressive plans to expand its online game business after its successful launch of the country's first homemade online game last year.

With around 80,000 paying players of "Legend of Knights Online" at peak hours each day and rising, Kingsoft chief executive Lei Jun said the company would invest 50 million yuan (US$6 million) this year in research and development (R&D) of five new online games by increasing its game studio from the present one to three.

"Our goal is to have 200,000 simultaneous players for the game within the year," said Lei. "We are striving to become the country's biggest online game developer in three years."

At present, the Shanghai-based Shanda Networking is the country's largest online gaming company. It is preparing to go public in the United States as its games have brought in huge profits from China's 13.8 million online players.

As a domestic flagship office software provider, Kingsoft has long been known for its decade-long rivalry with the world's largest software giant, Microsoft, in the Chinese office software market. But now, it has decided to shift its major concern to digital entertainment such as the profitable online gaming.

The company will also start R&D on cellphone games, a potential gold mine for China's IT industry described by market analysts.

"Kingsoft's movements in online gaming last year were only a trial," said Lei. "We'll come up with the real thing this year."

China's online gaming industry has expanded rapidly in the past two years and attracted many companies like Kingsoft and also Sina, Sohu and Netease.com, the three biggest domestic Internet portals and listed in the Nasdaq index, to the business.

The 2003 China Game Industry Report released last month said China's online gaming industry raked in 1.3 billion yuan (US$157 million) last year and is expected to bring in 6.7 billion yuan (US$807 million) in 2007.