Giant Interactive & Chinese Gaming
fudawei
January 10, 2008, 09:11 PM posted in General DiscussionI had never heard of this until a few days back. I was glancing through some financial articles -- looking for some Chinese investment opportunities, figuring that a reasonably solid stock there might be a nice hedge against potential recessionary pressures here in the US in the coming months. I'm tracking some nicely performing companies, like Aluminum Corp (ACH) and China Mobile (CHL) and PetroChina Co. (PTR) ... and I see a fascinating article on GIANT INTERACTIVE (GA).
This is an online computer gaming company out of Shanghai. It's getting quite a bit of positive buzz here, but it's still under the radar. NOW ... let me make clear ... I'm not looking for any stock advice and I'm not offering any. I'm just explaining how I came to hear about this Giant Interactive. I know next to nothing about these companies, which is why I'm still reading up on them. Nor is this the proper forum to discuss the matter.
But it IS the proper forum to discuss aspects of Chinese culture. And that is what I'm curious about. If I read this article correctly -- online gaming is fast becoming a major phenomenon in China. This is something I never would have guessed, but now that I think about it -- it does make a certain amount of sense. Role-playing games are particularly popular (according to my source).
Is this true?
helenaoutloud
January 11, 2008, 12:41 AMMaybe I just don't know where the good English stuff is online, but I've noticed that it's easier to find good media sources in Chinese. Now I've just gotta get fluent enough to use it properly. ^_^
fudawei
January 11, 2008, 02:57 PMFascinating Xiaohu; and you're (of course) right about Western perceptions. Why wouldn't they have their own version of EverCrack? Silly of me to assume it was a Western obsession. I would be curious to hear a first-hand account by someone who is a devotee of these games. Surely one of the Chinese on CPOD have played.
marcelbdt
January 11, 2008, 07:01 PMHere is a very negative report on ZT online which I understand is run by Giant Interactive. I cannot tell you if this article is fair or completely unfair. http://www.danwei.org/electronic_games/gambling_your_life_away_in_zt.php
fudawei
January 11, 2008, 10:30 PMWOW ... that was a really marvelous article, Marcel.
xiaohu
January 10, 2008, 11:11 PMFuDaWei: Online MMORPGS are HUGE in China. Internet cafe's are more prolific than liquor stores here and Chinese people wile away many many hours at the local internet cafe gaming online. China is not as backwards as we westerners think, and in many ways they are more technologically advanced then we are here. For example Mobile Phone technology, clearer reception and fewer dropped calls than we here!