Video Games China

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.

Welcome to Shanda Games Limited's fourth quarter and full-year 2011 results conference call. The conference call will be recorded and available for replay in its entirety. A copy of Shanda Games' fourth quarter and full-year 2011 results announcement can be found and downloaded from the Investor Relations website at ir.shandagames.com.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Highlights(1)

China will encourage listings of "culture industry" companies, according to a five-year government plan published by the state-run Xinhua News Agency. China will also promote mergers and acquisitions in the industry, Xinhua said. The "culture industry" includes publishing, film making, advertising, exhibitions, animation and games, it said.

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.

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.

Four of the top five are China-based (Gree is based in Japan).

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.

Business section: Investing ideas To help you analyze the key players in the industry, here is a list of the popular gaming companies trading on U.S. stock exchanges, some of whom are based in CHINA.

Changyou.com Limited ("Changyou" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: CYOU), a leading online game developer and operator in China, today announced that it filed its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2012.  The Annual Report is available on the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's Website at http://www.changyou.com/ir

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.