China Giant Launching ZT Online for Mobile Phones

From PC to cell phones, ZT Online is making history. The new technology used is a first for mobile phone gaming. According to an article posted on ChinaTechNews.com, "Unlike common mobile phone online games, the mobile version ZT Online uses a part of the gaming data of the PC version to enable synchronous role creation, level upgrades, and interactive chats with the PC end. In addition, to make it a better option for the mobile phone users, the new mobile version ZT Online will introduce nearly 200 original story missions."

China's Giant Launching ZT Online for Mobile Phones

2010 was a tough year for the Chinese gaming industry. Stocks have fallen by double digits since the first of the year. Giant Interactive Group, one of the top 9 companies however, was an exception, only down about 5.8%. The maker of ZT Online was one of the top performers in the Chinese gaming industry. With the release of ZT Online for mobile phones, the company may stop the losses.

Why is this such a big deal? An article by Doug Herman, DigitalEastAsia.com, explained why the release of this game matters. "While the launch of mobile games and apps may not seem like a tremendous achievement, this announcement is an important step for the company:

* This is Giant's first launch of a mobile phone game,
* The game will reportedly integrate with a gamer's online activities from their PC use,
* The mobile game will integrate "synchronous role creation, level upgrades, and interactive chats with The PC end" as well as add "nearly 200 original story missions",
* The company is partnering with undisclosed phone companies to embed the new game into a line of phones that will presumably be marketed to gamers.

The release of a game for mobile phones doesn't seem like big news. The game won't be available for gamers outside of China. But the importance of this announcement is that it shows how Giant is positioning itself for stability in the market place. ZT Online is declining in usage, but with the new mobile version, the company stands to recover a bit from the stock losses of 2010.

Are you a gamer? Do you care about a game that isn't available anywhere but China? Should we keep posting blogs about these games? Let us know what you think.