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China Trend Watching

Gaming in China: Netease wins 3-year license for World of Warcraft

Chinese online game vendor Netease Inc announced that it has got the license to run Activision Blizzard Entertainment blockbuster video game World of Warcraft in China for the next three years […]

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Design Innovation Inspiration

Tim Brown’s “The powerful link between creativity and play” talk at TED

At the 2008 Serious Play conference, designer Tim Brown talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play — with many examples you can try at home (and one that maybe you shouldn’t) […]

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China Information Technology Software

Gaming in China: Overseas revenue of Chinese online games exceeds 100 million USD

Statistics released by China’s General Administration of Press and Publication show that the online games market in China realized actual sales of 18.38 billion yuan last year, up 76.6 percent from 2007. Moreover, it created 47.84 billion yuan in direct revenues for industries such as telecommunications and IT […]

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China Consumer Behavior

Gaming in China: 55.5 million Chinese play online games

China’s online game market has expanded noticeably. To date the number of online gamers in China has reached 55.5 million, a recent report said. Statistics show that, of the total number of online gamers, those under the age of 22 accounted for 52.5 percent, gamers with education backgrounds of junior college level and below made up 77.1 percent, those with no income accounted for 30 percent. Gamers in the group with an income are mainly concentrated at the income level of 1,001 to 2,000 yuan […]

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Design

Yves Behar’s “Creating objects that tell stories” talk at TED

Designer Yves Behar digs up his creative roots to discuss some of the iconic objects he’s created (the Leaf lamp, the Jawbone headset). Then he turns to the witty, surprising, elegant objects he’s working on now — including the “$100 laptop.” […]

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Design Innovation Software

Frantz Lasorne’s “Toys and Augmented Reality” video at ComputerLove

The project of Designer Frantz Lasorne combines the joys of virtual reality, and tangible toys. Using Augmented Reality Tangible User Interface via head-mounted glasses, and old toys, a new environment is created that allows childs to play new games.

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Design Innovation Software

Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry ‘Sixth Sense’ demo at TED

This demo — from Pattie Maes’ lab at MIT, spearheaded by Pranav Mistry — was the buzz of TED. It’s a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine Minority Report and then some […]

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China

Chinese People and Their Mobile Phones: Over 117 Million Mobile Internet Users in China

China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) recently released two reports on China’s mobile Internet, according to the reports, by the end of 2008, there were already over 640 million mobile phone users in China, and the number of users who access the Internet via mobile phone already exceeded 117.6 million, according to the Research Report on Behavior of Internet Access via Mobile Phone released by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) on February 18 in Beijing…

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China

Gaming in China: More chaperones in China’s Internet cafes

Young Chinese gamers won’t have to worry about Fel Orcs, Forest Trolls, and Warp Stalkers when playing the Burning Crusade, so much as they will the newly appointed security guards patrolling the aisles at their local Internet cafe. It’s campaign time again in China, and from July 1 through the end of September, the Chinese Ministry of Culture will be stepping up efforts to keep minors out of the nation’s cyber cafes. In Beijing alone, 107 additional security guards, as well as newly trained middle school teachers will be supervising 71 such hangouts.

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China Information Technology Software

Gaming in China: ‘real-name registration’ imposed for online games

The Chinese government will start real-name registration for online game players this year, said Zhang Yijun, director of the Chinese General Administration of Press and Publication‘s technology and digital publication department. It’s unclear if this means character names will be required to reflect the player’s real name, or if the account must use a name registered with the government. Zhang says at the end of 2008, an anti-addiction test was implemented on 59 online games run by influential Chinese game companies and the pass rate reached 95%. Only four companies were closed for failing to meet the standards…