Netease – TX2 – Interesting Interview

Some times one comes across an interview that says much about how a company is ran. The more I follow Netease, the more it reminds me of a startup in Silicon Valley in the 80’s.

Netease maintains two web sites for TX2, one is called official TX2 site and the other is called TX2 Users site. The following article is on the TX2 users sites:

http://tx2.163.com/2007/3/19/693_173898.html

It is an interview with the Netease’s product manager. I will translate part of the interview that I think is interesting. Note that the sentence inside the parenthesis is my thoughts.

……

Question: Did the open beta meet your expectation?

Answer: Better than what I expected. The users came out with many game-playing issues that weren’t expected by the game designers. We are busying correcting these issues. On the other hand, THE NUMBER OF PLAYERS WERE NOT AS MANY AS WE EXPECTED.

(Now we know why Netease hasn’t announced the PCU yet. On the other hand, unlike most Chinese game companies, Netease is not shy about announcing her shortcomings to the players).

……

Question: What are some of the major features that will be added to the game?

Answer: In the short term, gang war; in the medium term, school and money tree; in the long term, commerce group, dungeons, and battleground, will be added.

(As can be seen, there are a lot of PvP features. Some of them are especially designed for large scale gang warfare. In addition, TX2 also will have quests in the form of dungeons.)

…….They discuss many game-playing features here………….

Question: Finally, could you say something to the players?

Answer: Ah, let me say something I really mean. If you believe TX2 will get better and better, please stay. But if you believe TX2 is a trash, please leave.

(Ah.., certainly talks like a geek who hasn’t had a day of class in marketing. Personally, I think it is a breath of fresh air. But how will it play in China is anyone's guess!)