Steve at PlayNoEvil is, I think, as interested in the Chinese MMORPG Zhengtu Online as I am: the game is breaking (or re-writing) a lot of MMORPG rules and currently ruling the domestic MMORPG roost in China. While nosing around PNE, I discovered that — on the heels of the announcement that Zhengtu hit over 2.1 million peak concurrent users — China Daily took a look inside Giant Interactive (developer/operator of Zhengtu) and its tracksuit-wearing CEO. Of particular interest are their marketing strategies:

[CEO Shi Yuzhu] chose the second- and third-tier cities as the battlefield. "Most gaming firms focus on major cities, but in fact second- and third-tier cities are a gold mine," he says. "If you want to post posters in the Internet cafes in big cities, you will be charged (by the owners). But in smaller cities, it can be free and you receive a warm welcome from the owners."

In large cities consumers tend to play more games at home, while Internet cafes are the preferred sites for most in smaller cities and rural areas.

Shi now has a 2,500-strong marketing team, which regularly checks whether ZT Online's posters are posted on the walls of the Internet cafes across the country and sell prepaid cards to players to enable them to gain points required to play games. That is quite different from other companies' practices of promoting games mainly in cyberspace.

And how is Giant Interactive trying to attract more women to their stable of games?

He is also hiring a number of attractive female players to play in Internet cafes. "We are giving them virtual golden coins worth 6,000 yuan per year, which are equal to 500 yuan in the real world, to encourage them to play and stay in the games," he says.

His ultimate goal is to make the game more fun and lure more male players, especially first time gamers.

"In fact in China's cyberspace many male players are very willing to pay the bills for their female counterparts", he says.

It's an interesting look at a very interesting company. Time will tell if Giant can keep this momentum going.

Breaking the rules [China Daily via PlayNoEvil]

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