Activision to Bring New, Free Version of 'Call of Duty' to China

Makes you wonder who the bad guys will be in the Chinese edition of COD.  Separatists, Freedom fighters?  Good ole fashion "evil doers" from the Central Asian Republics is what my gut feeling tells me.

Consumers in the U.S. frequently line up to pay $60 apiece for each year's installment of Activision Blizzard Inc.'s biggest franchise, "Call of Duty." But when the war-simulation shooting game reaches China's shores later this year, Activision will take a different tack: giving it away for free.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304211804577504523702318662.html

The Santa Monica, Calif., company is responding to the peculiarities of the fast-growing Chinese market, where game consoles barely have a presence and people typically gather in PC-laden Internet cafes to play free games that are supported by sales of virtual goods.

The new, free version of "Call of Duty" will be available online only to Chinese videogame players. Activision will try to make money by selling items to help users play the game, such as enhancements for their weapons or extra gear.

To help bring the game to market, Activision signed a multiyear exclusive licensing agreement with Tencent Holdings Ltd.,  a popular Internet company in China that offers games, social networking and e-commerce.

The China version isn't simply a rehash of existing titles: It's completely new, with a different design and storyline that took two years to produce, Activision said. The company created the game at a studio in China to ensure it would appeal to gamers' tastes there, said Bobby Kotick, Activision's chief executive.

"The game is incredible," Mr. Kotick said. "How you play, what you play, customization of weapons, the types of characters, the equipment you use, the game modes, and the maps are all unique to the Chinese market."

The game is being fine-tuned for PC gamers' use in China's Internet cafes, Activision said. And while there will be an intricate storyline for the game—as is typical with many games from the series—Activision also is including the popular multiplayer options, with specialized digital shootout locations that were designed with Chinese players in mind.

The game will go into public testing later this year, following regulatory reviews.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

"Civilian" version of PLA's first person shooter Glorious Mission coming out in 2012

It features polished graphics with China being invaded by BlackWater  Xe Services LLC

Evil western PMC's working for US Imperialism to invade China are the ideal antagonists for that game, I would say.
Politically correct enough not to violate the "harmonious world"-narrative of the CCP too much, and still, by being westerners, satisfying the bloodlust of the fenqing audiences.
--Hongjian

Saturday, May 14, 2011

"Glorious Mission" the first PLA made First Person Shooter

Review by Hongjian:

"The Nanjing MR recently introduced a Modern Warfare-esque military ego-shooter made by Giant Network Technology Co. Ltd. featuring the PLA vs. the US Army named "Glorious Mission" (光荣使命).

The setting is anything but harmonious, but the game itself looks pretty well made. Graphics definitely on par with at least the COD series, and it seems to be more a combined-arms military shooter styled after Operation Flashpoint. Sounds pretty good to me - especially for a Chinese-made game..

I wonder if one could get a copy somewhere and test it.."

http://news.ifeng.com/mil/video/detail_2011_05/12/6354705_0.shtml
http://games.qq.com/a/20110513/000182.htm#p=5