Published: November 18, 2009
CDC Games Receives Final Government Approvals for The Lord of the Rings and Now Readies for Open Beta and Commercial Launch
ATLANTA & BEIJING - (BUSINESS WIRE) - CDC Games, a business unit of CDC Corporation (NASDAQ: CHINA) and a
pioneer of the "free-to-play, pay for merchandise" model for online
games in China, announced today it has received final government
approvals for The Lord of the Rings : Shadows of Angmar (LOTRO) that
enables Open Beta Testing (OBT) to begin later this week with commercial
launch to follow one week thereafter.
The China government needs to approve all games before it can proceed
into open beta and commercial launch. With a successful Closed Beta Test
(CBT) now completed and these government approvals secured, CDC Games is
now ready for the final testing stage before commercial launch. During
its final phase of CBT, CDC Games reported a registration number of 2.2
million users accompanied by a high activation rate during the last week
of testing. Playing time steadily increased throughout the CBT resulting
in average play of four hours per session. During the last week of CBT,
LOTRO continued to rank in the Top 10 including number 1 and number 2
rankings for the highly anticipated games and downloads categories in
popular games sites and portals.
"We are delighted to announce government approvals of LOTRO by key
Chinese government authorities," said Jingqing Sun, chief operating
officer of CDC Games. "With those critical approvals, our open beta test
for LOTRO can now begin next week with commercial launch following
shortly. Based on our CBT test results, particularly average playing
time, we believe this game has potential for enormous and sustainable
success for the Chinese market. Our network performed steadily during
the CBT and we received valuable feedback from gamers to further improve
the game's performance. Overall, we are very confident of a profitable
market outlook for LOTRO in the Chinese market in the OBT and commercial
launch."
"We are very pleased that CDC Games has received the required government
approvals and are now readying LOTRO for commercial launch," said Jim
Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. "CDC Games and Turbine have
worked together closely to assure the game will be appealing to the
preferences of Chinese gamers and that it operates with the highest
level of technical proficiency. With this thorough preparation now
complete, we remain confident for the successful long-term prospects of
LOTRO in one of the world's largest game markets."
CDC Games holds the exclusive distribution rights in China for The Lord
of the Rings, which is the only massively multiplayer online role
playing game (MMORPG) based on the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The
Lord of the Rings is developed by North American-based Turbine, Inc., a
leading creator and operator of massive, persistent online worlds that
foster powerful social gaming communities.
About Turbine
Turbine, Inc. is a premier creator and operator of massive, persistent
online worlds that foster powerful social gaming communities. Turbine
has grown to become one of the largest privately-held online gaming
studios in North America. Turbine has created some of the world's most
popular and award-winning online games, including The Lord of the
Rings , Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited and Asheron's
Call. For more information on Turbine, its products and services,
please visit www.turbine.com.
About Middle-earth Enterprises
The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises f/k/a Tolkien
Enterprises (SZC), is the holder of worldwide motion picture, legitimate
stage, merchandising and other rights in the literary works of J.R.R.
Tolkien, including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
SZC has been producing and licensing films, stage productions and
merchandise based on the Tolkien works for more than 30 years. Its
headquarters are located in Berkeley, California, and its Middle-earth
Enterprises website may be found at www.middleearth.com.
About CDC Corporation
The CDC family of companies includes CDC Software (NASDAQ: CDCS),
focused on enterprise software applications and services, CDC Global
Services, focused on IT consulting services, outsourced application
development and IT staffing, CDC Games, focused on online games, and
China.com, Inc. (HKGEM:8006), focused on portals for the greater China
markets. For more information about CDC Corporation (NASDAQ: CHINA),
please visit www.cdccorporation.net.
About CDC Games
CDC Games is a market leader in online and mobile games in China with
more than 160 million registered users. The company pioneered the
"free-to-play, pay-for-merchandise" online games model in China with
Yulgang and launched the first free-to-play, pay for merchandise FPS
(first person shooter) game in China with Special Force. Currently, CDC
Games offers six popular MMO online games in China. For more information
on CDC Games, visit: www.cdcgames.net
THE LORD OF THE RINGS interactive video game (c) 2009 Turbine, Inc. and
patents pending. All rights reserved. Middle-earth Poster Map (c) 2007 The
Saul Zaentz Company, d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises f/k/a Tolkien
Enterprises (SZC), under license to Turbine, Inc. All rights reserved.
"The Lord of the Rings," "Siege of Mirkwood," Middle-earth Enterprises
logo, "The Lord of the Rings" and the names of the characters, events,
items and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of SZC
under license to Turbine, Inc. Turbine and the Turbine logo are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Turbine, Inc. in the U.S. and/or
other jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our
beliefs about the performance of CDC Games and The Lord of the Rings,
our beliefs regarding the potential of this game, our ability to project
future operating results based on closed beta test results, our beliefs
regarding the timing of the open beta testing for LOTRO, and the timing
of this game's commercial launch, our beliefs regarding our ability to
launch additional games in the future, our beliefs regarding the effect
of the upcoming holiday on consumers and the Chinese media, our beliefs
regarding our ability to capture market share with the launch of LOTRO,
our beliefs regarding the data we received during closed beta testing,
our beliefs regarding the value proposition of LOTRO, and other
statements that are not historical, the achievement of which involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If any such risks or uncertainties
materialize or if any of the assumptions proves incorrect, our results
could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements we make. These statements are based on
management's current expectations and are subject to risks and
uncertainties and changes in circumstances. There are important factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated in the forward looking statements, including the following:
(a) the ability to realize strategic objectives by taking advantage of
market opportunities; (b) the ability to successfully develop, license
and market other games; (c) the future growth of the online games
industry in the China market; (d) the possibility of launch and
development delays; (e) the development of competing products and
technology; (f) the popularity of The Lord of the Rings and CDC Games'
other games; and (g) the continuation of our contractual and other
partners to perform their obligations under agreements with us. Further
information on risks or other factors that could cause results to differ
is detailed in filings or submissions with the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission made by CDC Corporation in its Annual Report on
Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission on June 30, 2009 . All forward-looking
statements included in this press release are based upon information
available to management as of the date of the press release, and you are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward looking statements
which speak only as of the date of this press release. The company
assumes no obligation to update or alter the forward looking statements
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CDC Corporation
Investor Relations:
Monish Bahl, 678-259-8510
mbahl@cdcsoftware.com
or
Media
Relations:
Lorretta Gasper, 678-259-8631
lgasper@cdcsoftware.com
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