Current State of China’s Online Gaming Industry and the Obstacles in Development

This paper aims at identifying the current state of China’s online gaming market, and exploring the obstacles that keep China from developing this industry further on the basis of analyzing the value chain of online gaming industry. In the meanwhile, a case study will be made about the domestic leading online gamer—Shanda corporation, a listed corporation on NASDAQ. And in the end some conclusions will be made on how to assess the online gaming industry in China and how to remove the obstacles in accelerating the development of online gaming industry in China

The Future and Development of E-Sports

E-sports have been growing exponentially since the launch of StartCraft in 1998. Their growth was first observed in South Korea, where the national government incorporated it into the cultural mainstream. South Korea established several e-sports competitions, which encouraged the youth’s widespread acceptance of e-sports. The culture quickly spread to other nations, such as neighboring China. With the proliferation of smartphones, consumption of esports increased in countries such as India and Africa – this technology led to the introduction of e-sports in new regions. The Chinese government was also researching 5G to increase the consumption of e-sports in the country, where government policy plays a significant role in such consumption. Accordingly, infrastructure must be constructed to support participation in e-sports. The policies surrounding e-sports are key to its growth and development. Since existing global federations lack control of all e-sports stakeholders, vital regulations that establish and govern a common arena are not followed. This allows large firms to monopolize tournaments and leagues. Consequently, small firms struggle to penetrate the industry. Additionally, sponsors for e-sports events are very challenging for the organizers. This is mainly attributed to the variation in players’ skills and tournament quality. Quality teams and leagues, such as Liquid Team and League of Legends, will attract many sponsors. Like traditional sports, e-sports teams need stadia to increase their revenue collection. They can also establish their own e-games and leagues, thus disrupting the monopoly of the publishers. Furthermore, developing young e-sports talents offers a promising future for e-sports. Organizations such as the North America Scholastic e-sports Federation (NASEF) are key for transforming young talents into pro-gamers. Establishing a single umbrella body for all e-sports activities will offer necessary guidelines on nurturing young talents

Big Box Backlash: The Stealth Campaign at the World Trade Organization to Preempt Local Control Over Land Use

As communities across the United States and elsewhere are increasingly successful in their effort to limit "big box" store expansion and destructive retail practices through transparent and accountable measures at the local level, Wal-Mart and other retailers have pursued rules at the World Trade Organization (WTO) which threaten to preempt, or at the very least chill, these local laws. These rules are part of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). In 1994, the United States committed retail and wholesale distribution, as well as the hotel and restaurant sectors, to the terms of the GATS, one of 17 Uruguay Round agreements enforced by the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO). The GATS expansive "market access" rules are geared toward facilitating the entry of foreign service providers into the U.S. market by incorporation or acquisition of U.S. firms. These GATS rules forbid limits on the number of services suppliers, as well as measures that would reduce the value of a service transaction or limit the number of employees. Policies containing economic needs tests, like that in the city of Los Angeles for very large retail operations, are explicitly forbidden. Unless the United States takes action to fix this problem in the current round of negotiations, local governments could see challenges to state and local land use laws brought before WTO tribunals, which are empowered to authorize trade sanctions against countries that refuse to conform their domestic policies to WTO dictates. Across the country, state and local officials are working to put laws in place to protect their communities, their environment, their wage base and tax dollars by putting land use limits on "big box" retailers, as well as retail chains and other development projects they deem destructive to the community or the environment or out of step with local needs and planning

Online Film in China

The most recent major sale of a US film company was announced at the beginning of November 2016: “Wanda buys Dick Clark Productions”.1 Who would have predicted this announcement ten years ago? The Chinese Dalian Wanda Group is about to buy Dick Clark Productions for about one billion USD; and with it the broadcasting rights to television programs that attract tens of millions of viewers every year: The Golden Globe Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards and the New Year countdown celebrations in New York. The latter, with an estimated reach of more than a billion, has become an iconic image of New Year’s Eve festiv- ities

Cultural analysis of the video game industry: a comparison between the West and China

The growth of the video game industry and the recent rise of China as an economic superpower appear almost in parallel time. China has a very large video game market, with one of the largest player bases in the world. However, Chinese culture is quite different from that of the Western world, mainly due to its socialpolitical and cultural context. While the industry may look at this abundant and promising market as a guaranteed opportunity, not understanding the culture could spell failure. In the world of video games, success means hard work and adapting products to certain markets is essential. In this context, this dissertation aims to provide a better understanding of how video games are adapted, taking into account different cultures and some existing challenges. It mainly seeks to describe the Chinese cultural context, which is extremely important for this industry, but also addresses the socialpolitical context with direct influence on the product, namely the regulations existing in China. In addition, specific cultural items and the challenges of localization will be discussed. In a practical approach, differences are presented between the international (Western) version and the Chinese version of several video games. The objective is to demonstrate that these differences do, in fact, exist, as well as to present possible explanations for this fact. Based on the differences found and a study of the reasons why they exist, it will be possible to have a better understanding of the various reasons why these same differences exist, whether for cultural reasons, due to laws, or other reasons.O crescimento da indústria dos video jogos e a recente ascensão da China como superpotência económica surgem quase em paralelo. A China tem um mercado de vídeojogos bastante vasto, com uma das maiores bases de jogadores do mundo. No entanto, a cultura Chinesa é bastante distinta da do ocidente sobretudo devido ao seu contexto sociopolitico e cultural. Embora a indústria possa olhar para este mercado abundante e promissor como uma oportunidade garantida, o desconhecimento do contexto pode significar o fracasso. No mundo dos vídeojogos, o sucesso significa um trabalho árduo de adaptação dos video jogos tendo em conta os diferentes mercados. Neste contexto, esta dissertação tem como objetivo proporcionar uma melhor compreensão de como ocorre a adaptação dos video jogos, tendo em conta culturas diferentes e alguns desafios existentes. Procura descrever sobretudo o contexto cultural chinês, de extrema importância para esta indústria, mas também aborda o contexto sociopolitico com influência direta no produto, nomeadamente os regulamentos existentes na China. Para além disso, serão discutidos itens específicos da cultura e os desafios da localização dos jogos. Numa abordagem prática, apresentam-se diferenças entre a versão internacional (ocidental) e a versão chinesa de vários vídeo jogos. O objetivo é demonstrar que essas diferenças, de facto, existem, bem como em apresentar possíveis explicações para esse facto. Com base nas diferenças encontradas e um estudo sobre as razões para as mesmas existirem, será possível ter uma melhor compreensão sobre os motivos a que levam a este acontecimento, seja por questões culturais, devido a leis, ou por outra razão

Causes and Effects of Online Industry M&A between International Internet Giants and Local Companies—Evidence from China

This paper aims at identifying the inside reasons of M&A(Merger and Acquisition) of online industry in China between international Internet giants and local companies and exploring the basis on which online industry can develop steadily and thus have a successful and sustainable business model. In the meanwhile, a case study will be made by analyzing the causes of the merger of Yahoo China into Alibaba from the perspectives of both parties. Then, this paper points out the possible effects of this merger on China’s online industry. In the end, some conclusions will be made on how to build up core competence in online industry in a unique business circumstance in China. US Internet giant Yahoo ended its six years of independent operations in China since August 2005 and joined forces with Chinese leading e-commerce company Alibaba.com. Yahoo China will transfer all operations in China including an Internet portal, e-mail services, instant messaging, Internet search services and its keyword services to Alibaba as well as paying US$1 billion for a 40 per cent stake in Alibaba. This Merger is not only a single commercial buying case but also a symbol for creation of new revenue model in China

Cultural Industries and Innovation-An Empirical Analysis

The multitude of research work on Creative industries speaks to the importance of this sector of the knowledge-based economy. Creative industries worldwide have witnessed rapid growth in the past decade and this has prompted more interest in this sector. Research on innovation in creative industries on the other hand has been rather limited, although several studies have indicated useful approaches to the management and organization of innovation relevant to the creative industries, however empirical studies in this respect are still far from comprehensive, hence prompting this empirical research on the impact of innovation on productivity in Creative Industries with a focal point on China Online Game Industry. This paper empirically studies the links between innovation and productivity at the firm level in Creative Industries using Chinese Online Game Industry as the focal point of its analysis. This paper bases its analysis on the recommendations of the Oslo Manual, this approach provides a way to achieve a high level of comparability within the Industry, it also provides standard definitions and indicators of innovation. The paper went further to adopt the scoring matrix approach in order to capture and delineate the various dimensions, dynamics and key features of online gaming enterprises in China. Indicators adopted in the analysis were selected based on literature review and statistical analysis. The empirical approach is based on data obtained from enterprise-based surveys of innovative activity in Chinese online game firms. The paper applied an econometric model of Research and Development, innovation and productivity interrelations at a firm level similar to that of Crépon, Duguet, and Mairesse (1998) for France, to the micro data obtained for China online gaming industry

Regulating online games in China: policy, practice, innovation, and change

The policy and practice of media regulation in China is quickly evolving to cope with the regulatory challenges presented by the rapid development and convergence of new media technology. These challenges include the increasing economic power of international and private stakeholders within this space, as well as the constantly evolving uses of highly converged media. Online games are a central part of this evolving dynamic, which is characterized by strong tensions between producers and operators, government regulators, and users of online games. This research explores the changing dynamic of online games regulation in China as it responds to the forces of internationalization and privatization. It also seeks to identify critical issues for policy development in China that are raised by the new and innovative ways that this media is being used. It draws from and contributes to scholarship from a number of disciplines, but primarily approaches the research from a media studies and area studies perspective. The thesis is presented in five chapters. Chapter I begins with a discussion of emerging practice in online games and its wider policy implications. This is followed by a literature review and an explanation of the methodological approach, which included: case study methodology, participant observation, and key informant Interviews with policy, legal, and game industry experts in China. The core research is then presented in three chapters. Chapter II is a detailed contextual narrative that describes China’s online games policy and places it in historical perspective. Chapter III is an exploratory analysis of key institutions, stakeholder interests, and interactions that shape practical regulation of online games in China. Chapter IV presents a focused analysis and discussion of the gold farming case. The thesis concludes with a summary and discussion of research contributions in Chapter V. The final discussion highlights how the thesis contributes to knowledge in three key areas: new media in China, policy studies of China, and media convergence