Online game giant eyes China market

With its eyes on the mainland prize, NCsoft has also launched its medieval adventure game on a trial basis at lineagechina.com

From Kristie Lu Stout
CNN Tech Correspondent

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- A land of knights, elves and ogres sounds like another "dungeons and dragons" fantasy world. But for Korea's NCsoft, it's a goldmine.

The online game giant expects to top $54 million in profit this year thanks to its wildly popular medieval adventure, "Lineage."

The game has become an obsession for South Korean youth, but the company now has its sights set on winning over the army of Internet users in China.

"Lineage" is a massive multi-player world, where 3 million global users pay a monthly fee to descend into dark dungeons and slay dragons.

The game is already a number-one seller in Korea, and NCsoft is moving fast into Taiwan, Japan and the United States.

Through its joint venture with Taiwan's Gamania, "Lineage" has managed to capture the attention of Internet users in Hong Kong and mainland China.

RESOURCES • Lineage China    MORE STORIES • Beijing Internet cafes reopen    TECHWATCH More stories from Kristie Lu Stout

"The purpose of the (joint venture) is to take the success and experience of the two companies in the Korean and Taiwan markets, take that cooperative relationship and use Hong Kong as a central point to tap into the China market," says NC Gamania CEO Pili Sun.

NCsoft has a 51 percent stake in the joint venture, which has signed on 10,000 "Lineage" subscribers in Hong Kong over the last year.

Gaming trial

With its eyes on the mainland prize, NCsoft has also launched its medieval adventure game on a trial basis at lineagechina.com.

With Internet use surging in China, NCsoft has said it's banking on the mainland market.

According to the China Network Information Center, China has the third largest Internet population in the world after the United States and Japan, with more than 45 million citizens logging on.

But for many Chinese cyber-gamers, their path to the net has been cut off.

After a fatal fire in Beijing last June, the government launched a crackdown on cyber cafes limiting access to online games.

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