CDC Games Provides Update on Key Performance Metrics for Q1 2008 Investor RelationsNews Events
CDC Games Provides Update on Key Performance Metrics for Q1 2008 BEIJING, ATLANTA , April 3, 2008 -- CDC Games, a business unit of CDC Corporation (NASDAQ: CHINA), and pioneer of the "free-to-play, pay-for-merchandise" model for online games in China, today announced key performance metrics for certain of its commercially available games during the first quarter of 2008. Since the settlement of the dispute with Mgame, the developer of Yulgang, and the resumption of technical support and comprehensive marketing activities, CDC Games has seen a sharp rebound in the key metrics for this widely popular game in China. Average daily revenue for Yulgang since the resolution of the Mgame dispute on March 5, 2008, compared to prior average daily revenue during Q1 2008, increased by approximately 208 percent. The upcoming release of Yulgang 2.0, expected to be launched by the end of April 2008, is anticipated to provide an additional uplift in player volumes and average daily revenues. This rebound, coupled with the company's progress in the diversification of revenues through new games in China, has fueled strong revenue growth during Q1 2008 for CDC Games overall. Yulgang accounted for 34 percent of average daily revenue for Q1 2008 in China with the newer games, Special Force, Shaiya, MIR III, EVE Online and Shine Online, accounting for approximately 66 percent of average daily revenue. Total registered users across the company's online games in China grew by almost 13 million or approximately 10 percent, from approximately 127 million at the end of Q4 2007 to approximately 140 million at the end of Q1 2008. Special Force, launched in China in July 2007, continued to exhibit strong growth. Compared to Q4 2007, key metrics for Special Force in Q1 2008 were:
"We are very pleased with the improved performance of our online game portfolio in China and particularly in the strong recovery of Yulgang and continued growth of Special Force," said John Huen, chief operating officer of CDC Games. "We have now diversified our revenues and we will be highly focused on using the momentum established during Q1 to continue to grow these established games. We have also now established the critical mass that we believe is needed to effectively launch new games in China. The launch of a new game requires a significant up-front investment for any publisher, and we believe that we have the distinct advantage of an established base of players for marketing and the ability to spread our infrastructure and maintenance costs across the entire portfolio." Huen added, "We have completed the integration of our two games platforms in China, the 17games platform and the Optic platform acquired in June 2007. In doing so we have streamlined the combined operations by eliminating redundant functions, consolidating technical support, customer service and marketing, and combining our purchasing power. These benefits have resulted in a more effective operation and are expected to improve our operating margins going forward. We hope to finish Q2 with positive cash flow for CDC Games." During Q1 2008, CDC Games also continued to further diversify revenue through the expansion of its international operations. Key components in this strategy are the new operations in the U.S. and Japan markets. As both the US and Japan Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games markets are relatively new and immature with the free-to-play model that has developed quickly in Asia, significant education and investment are still required. CDC Games International (CGI) and CDC Games USA have focused initial efforts on building communities of players for their games. We believe that the success of these early-stage objectives is best measured by total unique game players, average play time, average concurrent user base and peak concurrent user base growth. Minna de Battle in Japan has grown its base of total unique players to more than 39,000 during Q1 2008, while Lunia in the US has grown its base of total unique players to more than 42,000 during the same period. Most recently, ACU for Lunia has grown by more than 70 percent and PCU has grown by more than 25 percent during March 2008, indicating increasing market momentum. Both Minna de Battle, averaging 2.5 hours per player per day, and Lunia, averaging 3 hours per player per day, show healthy game play times. "We are very pleased with the early momentum we are gaining with both Minna de Battle in Japan and Lunia in the U.S.," said Jeffrey Longoria, president of CDC Games International. "These games are still immature but expected to grow rapidly, as is typical of the free-to-play model, and require significant investments in marketing to attract and retain players as we build toward critical mass. Our efforts thus far have been successful and we will continue to focus on building strong communities and social elements for our players. As we do so, we will also be laying the foundation for launching additional games, such as 'Digimon RPG', later in the yearApril" About CDC Games About OGAAP Founding members of the OGAAP alliance include CDC Games; CCP, the Iceland-based developer of EVE Online; Ons On Soft Co. Ltd., the Korea-based developer of Shine; Sonokong Co. Ltd., the Korea-based developer of Shaiya, and Come on Baby; T3 entertainment, the Korea-based developer of Audition online game; and Wemade Entertainment, the Korea-based developer of Legend of Mir II and MIR III online games. About CDC Corporation Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Investor Relations Public Relations  |