NetDragon Websoft

NetDragon Websoft
Traded as SEHK: 0777
Genre massively multiplayer online games[1]
Founded May 1999 (1999-05)[1]
Headquarters Fuzhou[2], China
Number of employees
3299 (in 2014) [3]
Website http://ir.netdragon.com/
NetDragon Websoft
Simplified Chinese 福建网龙计算机网络信息技术有限公司
Literal meaning NetDragon (Fujian) Computer Network Information Technology Co Ltd

NetDragon Websoft is a Chinese company that develops and operates massively multiplayer online games in addition to making mobile applications.[1] The company debuted its first product in 2002.[1]

Some self-developed games it operates in China are based on Western IP, such as properties of Disney, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft.[4] Other games based on its own IP are distributed in CIS nations, the Middle East, North Africa, Portugal, Russia, and Vietnam, etc.[5] Some games are also available in English.

Prior to selling this side of the business to Baidu, the company created a mobile phone app store stocked with self-created games and applications. NetDragon had differentiated itself by eschewing selling apps through the distribution channels of others instead creating its own;[6] in essence making consumers download an app to download an app but allowing them exposure to other Netdragon offerings in the process.

Sale of 91 Wireless

In August 2013, NetDragon’s sold its app store, 91 Wireless, to Baidu for $1.85 billion in what was hailed as the biggest deal ever in China’s IT sector.[7] As the company controlled less than 58% of 91 Wireless, Netdragon took an estimated $1.06 billion from the sale.[8]

The mobile applications available through this store, many of which are "91" branded, are quite disparate and include more than mobile games–running the gamut from fortune telling to wealth management.[9]

CSR

The company sponsors the Fujian NetDragon Youth Business Foundation, which helps entrepreneurial youth achieve their dream of starting a small business.[10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Company Overview". Netdragon Websoft Inc. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  2. "FAQ". Netdragon Websoft Inc. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  3. "FAQ". Netdragon Websoft Inc. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  4. For games based on Electronic Arts IP, see both "NetDragon Enters into Agreement with EA to Develop New Online Game -- Dungeon Keeper Online". Electronic Arts. December 1, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2012. AND Alexander, Leigh (July 23, 2009). "EA, NetDragon Partner On Chinese Ultima Online". gamasutra.com. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  5. For Middle East and North Africa, see "NetDragon Sets the Bar for Arabic-language Region's Online Gaming Market." China Weekly News. NewsRX. 2011. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
    • For Russia and CIS nations, see "NetDragon's 'Eudemons Online' Headed for Russia." China Weekly News. NewsRX. 2009. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
    • For Indonesia, Malaysia, and Portugal, see "NetDragon Launches English Expansion Pack for Eudemons Online - 'The Divine Path'." Science Letter. NewsRX. 2009. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
  6. "NetDragon Websoft : mobile gaming is booming". L’Atelier. L’Atelier BNP Paribas. November 26, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  7. Paul Carsten (14 August 2013). "Baidu says agrees to buy Netdragon's 91 Wireless for $1.85 billion". Reuters.
  8. "NetDragon Signs Merger Pact between Baidu and 91 Wireless." Manufacturing Close-Up. Close-Up Media, Inc. 2013. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
  9. "Netdragon Websoft Inc (0777.HK): Full Description". Thompson Reuters. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  10. "NetDragon Fujian Honored with 2008 'National Outstanding Award for Internet Cultural Enterprise'." Internet Weekly News. NewsRX. 2009. HighBeam Research. 24 May. 2014
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