by ZeroAerey25 . on Nov 19, 2007
Something fishy is going on here.
According to China Business News site Interfax China, World of Warcraft may be moving to a free to play model in China-- or are they? Days after The9 CEO Zhu Jun suggested that they were looking into something like that for the Chinese version of WoW, official statements from the company were released contradicting those remarks.
"The9 is discussing with WoW designer, American online game company Blizzard Entertainment, over the possibility of making WoW free to play for Chinese users. It is possible that the market could be even larger if we do so," Zhu elaborated in a quote carried on the Web site of Chinese newspaper Tianjin Daily.
However, The9 was quick to backtrack today, when Zhao Yurun, deputy director of The9's marketing and public relations department, told Interfax that reports of any free-to-play plans for WoW were "speculation" and "rumor" on the part of media and gamers, despite the quotes from The9's CEO. Zhao declined to comment further.
Speculation that The9 would make WoW free-to-play began when Giant Interactive, The9's competitor and operator of hit game ZT Online, successfully listed in the United States. At the time, some Chinese media reports predicted that the free-to-play model would become dominant due to intensifying competition.
So what's the deal? Read the story at Interfax China and then tell us what you think about it.