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The computer game industry is clearly growing in the direction of multiplayer, online games. Understanding the demands of games on IP (Internet Protocol) networks is essential for ISP (Internet Service Provider) engineers to develop appropriate IP services. Correspondingly, knowledge of the underlying network's capabilities is vital for game developers. Networking and Online Games concisely draws together and illustrates the overlapping and interacting technical concerns of these sectors. The text explains the principles behind modern multiplayer communication systems and the techniques underlying contemporary networked games. The traffic patterns that modern games impose on networks, and how network performance and service level limitations impact on game designers and player experiences, are covered in-depth, giving the reader the knowledge necessary to develop better gaming products and network services. Examples of real-world multiplayer online games illustrate the theory throughout. Networking and Online Games: Provides a comprehensive, cutting-edge guide to the development and service provision needs of online, networked games. Contrasts the considerations of ISPs (e.g. predicting traffic loads) with those of game developers (e.g. sources of lag/jitter), clarifying coinciding requirements. Explains how different technologies such as cable, ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and wireless, etc., affect online game-play experience, and how different game styles impose varying traffic dynamics and requirements on the network. Discusses future directions brought by emerging technologies such as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Service), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), Wireless LANs, IP service Quality, and NAPT/NAT (Network Address Port Translation/Network Address Translation) Illustrates the concepts using high-level examples of existing multiplayer online games (such as Quake III Arena, Wolfenstein Enemy Territory, and Half-Life 2). Networking

Perfect World Co., Ltd. PWRD +1.20% is a leading online game developer and operator based in China. Perfect World primarily develops online games based on proprietary game engines and game development platforms. Perfect World's strong technology and creative game design capabilities, combined with extensive knowledge and experiences in the online game market, enable it to frequently and promptly introduce popular games designed to cater changing customer preferences and market trends. Perfect World's current portfolio of self-developed online games includes massively multiplayer online role playing games ("MMORPGs"): "Perfect World," "Legend of Martial Arts," "Perfect World II," "Zhu Xian," "Chi Bi," "Pocketpet Journey West," "Battle of the Immortals," "Fantasy Zhu Xian," "Forsaken World," "Dragon Excalibur," "Empire of the Immortals" and "Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber;" an online casual game: "Hot Dance Party;" and a number of web games and social networking games. While a substantial portion of the revenues are generated in China, Perfect World operates its games in North America, Europe and Japan through its own subsidiaries. Perfect World's games have also been licensed to leading game operators in a number of countries and regions in Asia, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and the Russian Federation and other Russian speaking territories. Perfect World plans to continue to explore new and innovative business models and remains deeply committed to maximizing shareholder value over time.

China Online Gaming Market to Reach RMB57.7B in 2012: China's online gaming market size will reach RMB 57.7 billion in this year, according to a report out last month by Beijing-based market researcher AnalysysInternational, up 20.7% from last year, while webpage games will account for RMB 7.882 billion. Another report conducted by 17173.com, the gaming portal of Sohu, has found that more than 96% of gamers are willing to pay for online games. China Mobile Gaming Market Size: According to a report by AnalysysInternational, China mobile gaming market size stood at RMB 370 million in the fourth quarter of last year with 30.28 million mobile gamers. The market is picking up as the result of proliferation of smartphones and emergence of attractive mobile games.

"Over the past six years, EVE Online has attracted a large and enthusiastic player base in mainland China," said Jon Horddal. "Our partnership with TianCity brings the potential for explosive new growth in the Chinese market. We will work together to give Chinese players new opportunities to make their fortunes, create their legends and forge their own destinies along with legions of fellow gamers in the universe of EVE Online."

Changyou-the name means "uninhibited play"-operates 10 online games, but the most popular by far is Tian Long Ba Bu, a martial-arts juggernaut derived from a popular serial novel about the eight races of nonhuman demigods. Naturally, shareholders worry about customers tiring of the game one day, and whether the company has another blockbuster in its pipeline. Another concern: Competition among Chinese online games is rife, and concerns have increased that Changyou's stellar margins may wilt as it invests in the growing social or mobile platforms. Late last year, Changyou paid $162.5 million in cash to buy from its parent a Chinese game-information portal called 17173.com.

Offering online games, entertainment and lifestyle services to QQ users, while keeping the basic messaging service free, has helped Tencent boost revenue. Games accounted for more than half of the company's third-quarter revenue of 7.5 billion yuan.

China's online games market is worth 55.7 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) in 2012 and will reach 82.6 billion ($13.1 billion) yuan in 2015 on annual growth of 25 percent, according to a forecast out this week from Analysys International, which noted: "The impetus for the market comes from the economic development in 2nd and 3rd tier cities, the updating of bandwidth and operators' changes in game operation."

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.

NetEase said its localized version of Blizzard Entertainment's MMORPG World of Warcraft, along with titles like Fantasy Westward Journey and Westward Journey Online II, were the primary drivers for its online game services revenue in 2011.

Offering online games, entertainment and lifestyle services to QQ users, while keeping the basic messaging service free, has helped Tencent boost revenue. Games accounted for more than half of the company's third-quarter revenue of 7.5 billion yuan.

In China alone, it's predicted that 53% of the population will have access by the end of 2013, a count of 718 million people. This is up from the 35% of the population that had access by 2010, a count of 469 million users. As it stands, the country now has the largest online user base in the world.

China's online video game market has experienced a dramatic upsurge in 2011, generating revenues of nearly 43 billion yuan (6.82 bln USD), according to a report from China's National Copyright Administration.

The Taiwanese company has suffered falling revenues and increasing losses in recent quarters, which it has attributed to audience shifts from online gaming to mobile.

NetDragon's choice of where to list 91 Ltd may be affected by the different valuations Chinese technology companies attract in New York and Hong Kong. Valuations appear to be significantly higher in Hong Kong, according to a Bloomberg News report late last year. The report gave the example of Perfect World Co, China's fourth-biggest online games operator, which at the time was trading at 3.9 times its estimated earnings in New York, while smaller NetDragon Websoft was valued at 13 times in Hong Kong.

Analysts at Core Pacific Yamaichi praise Tencent's "strong momentum" in online games, noting that its homegrown titles are achieving steady growth. However, they highlighted League of Legends as "another masterpiece of Tencent to successfully replicate and fine-tune a popular foreign game into domestic Chinese market."

Noumena is the developer of Handymo, a cross-platform smartphone mobile game engine. The Handymo game engine, using its proprietary JavaScript-based development environment, supports all major smartphone mobile game platforms, including iOS, Android and HTML5, allowing for more rapid and cost-effective development of smartphone games, including 3D mobile massively multiplayer online ("MMO") games. By leveraging the Handymo game engine, Noumena has developed a number of successful "freemium" games for the iOS and Android platforms, including 3D Pool Master and Tank Fury HD 3D.