Electronic Arts purchased around 15 percent of The9 for US$ 167 million, and gave The9 the license to operate its marquee online sports game FIFA Online. The9 also announced it has licensed online music game Audition 2 from Korea. China's three Nasdaq-listed online game companies all announced first quarter earnings last week, but all three announcements were overshadowed by The9's announcement of an strategic investment from Electronic Arts and two The9 game licensing deals. The two new games are The9's latest attempts to gain a foothold in China's online casual game market. The9's first attempt at the casual games market was in summer 2005, when it launched its first and only in-house developed simple MMORPG Joyful Journey West. The game is a simple 2D platformer based on China's literary classic Westward Journey. Both FIFA Online and Audition 2 must challenge first movers for market share in China. Soccer is the second most popular sport in China, after basketball. With street basketball game FreeStyle already the most popular sports casual game in China, FIFA Online will likely play second fiddle to FreeStyle as well.   You can buy cheap wow gold here ,we have cheap wow gold for sale !

In the short term, The9's best hope of expanding its revenue sources beyond World of Warcraft is through Webzen's MMORPG Soul of Ultimate Nation (SUN) (pictured). The9 recorded 400,000 peak concurrent players for the game during open beta. Commercial operation of SUN started on May 24, under a free to play, pay for items model.Although rumors of the EA investment have been circulating for several months, the investment was still surprising, as it was a departure from EA's recent strategy of investing in content. Nearly all of The9's revenues come from its licensed MMORPG World of Warcraft, and the company's in-house content development capability is anemic.  Audition 2 must compete against its predecessor Audition in China. Audition is currently operated by 9you in China, with around 800,000 peak concurrent users. Based on Audition's success, 9you has aggressively marketed its brand. The company has been name sponsor for two TV music talent programs and has hosted numerous concerts in China as well.  Buy cheap wow gold here !