My last post on DT2 can be found here:
http://chinese-net-gaming-stock.blogspot.com/2008/07/ntes-two-new-games-went-into-closed.html
My last post on FF2 can be found here:
http://chinese-net-gaming-stock.blogspot.com/2008/05/ff2-game-information.html
My last post on TX2 can be found here:
http://chinese-net-gaming-stock.blogspot.com/2008/07/ntes-ceo-predicted-pcu-of-more-than-1.html
My last post on XYW can be found here:
http://chinese-net-gaming-stock.blogspot.com/2008/07/ntes-two-new-games-went-into-closed.html
It is exciting time for NTES. All its major games are going to be out at about the same time.
TX2 went into Closed Beta on 6/6/2008. It is open to everyone and the game characters won't be deleted. Actually, it had already started commercialization already. The game is doing well and is growing steadily. It didn't grow like a block-buster. But that was planned. NTES was not looking for explosive start, but rather slow and steady growth until it reaches PCU of 1 million in 1 year (according to Netease's CEO).
It already started charging for in game items already. More excitingly, starting with a couple of weeks ago, players can now buy treasure boxes. This is similar to GA's ZhengTu game. The treasure boxes are really just online lottery system. It function like online gambling. It is like a slot machine. Every times it opens, items with different values rotates. The probability of getting really good item is very low, but also very tempting. Therefore, it is hard for players to only buy one. They buy one after another until they hit a good item. It may not have very good reputation. But players just can't stop spending money on those.
XYW started Closed Beta on 7/5/2008. In this game, NTES follows the traditional definition of Closed Beta by limiting the number of players. It will delete the game character after the Closed Beta. There is also no commercialization.
DT2 is a new free-to-play game. It went into Final Internal Beta on 7/21/2008. It is not clear whether NTES will kill off DT. It maybe possible that NTES will have both games operating at the same time, with DT2 the free-to-play game and DT the paying game.
Usually, the Internal Beta is limited to players working for NTES. But NTES uses outside players for this Beta. It is limited to about 1000 invited guests. The game characters will of course be deleted after the current beta testing.
Most likely, after the Internal Beta, DT2 will have Closed Beta and Open Beta.
FF2 is a pretty interesting game. It went into Closed Beta on 7/22/2008. It is open to everyone. But the game characters will be deleted. I don't believe it will be commercialized at this point.
I think FF2 will prove to be a very popular game. It will be cater to young players and female players. It might not be able to get a lot of money per players. But eventually, it could be a 5 to 10 million per quarter game.
Now, I am going to make a table on the characteristics of Beta testing on all four games:
| Game | Date | Type of Beta | # of players | Delete game Character? | Commercialization |
| TX2 | 6/6/08 | Closed Beta | Open | No | Yes |
| XYW | 7/5/08 | Closed Beta | Limited | Yes | No |
| DT2 | 7/21/08 | Internal Beta | Limited | Yes | No |
| FF2 | 7/22/08 | Closed Beta | Open | Yes | No |
As can be seen from the above table, it is all over the map. There is no consistency in how NTES determines what is Closed Beta and what is Internal Beta. It is probably up to the chief game designers of each game to decide what he/she wants.
It may be confusing to the investors. But as long as NTES comes out with great games, that is all I care.
With all these major title coming out at about the same time, the next few months is going to determine the future of NTES.
Finally, one can download the official trailer of DT2 from the following address:
http://czdldt2.163.com/dt2/dt2_1024.wmv
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