Competitive gaming is huge in China, where the booming
country's youth play immersive online fantasy games. That
spunk and spirit, apparently, can also be found in its
regulators.
China's Ministry of Culture and China's General
Administration of Press and Publications are butting heads
over
Activision Blizzard 's (Nasdaq: ATVI)
World of Warcraft. One regulatory agency is arguing
that Activision partner
NetEase.com (Nasdaq: NTES) should stop
signing up new accounts for the multiplayer fantasy game
until it is granted approval. The rival regulatory body is
countering that NetEase's paperwork for the title is just
fine.
The regulatory wrangling would be somewhat amusing if it
wasn't for the dark cloud that is looming over the industry.
Regulators are
tightening the screws, cracking down on foreign ownership
and forcing developers to jump through more hoops in the
approval process.
Activision Blizzard's popular title even went dark in
China for a few months, when the company decided to
switch licensing partnersfrom
The9 (Nasdaq: NCTY) to market leader
NetEase.
If investors have the same competitive zeal as Chinese
regulators, the key players offer compelling valuations.
Company
11/4/09
2010 EPS
2010 P/E
NetEase.com
$39.58
$2.89
14
Shanda (Nasdaq: SNDA)
$49.33
$3.77
13
Changyou.com (Nasdaq: CYOU)
$30.68
$3.19
10
Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD) Continued... |