As one of the largest ISP companies in China, Tencent witnessed substantial growth in the first quarter of 2011. Its revenues increased 50 percent over the same period from the previous year, amounting to RMB 6.34 billion. Revenues from online games totaled RMB 3.57 billion, a 77 percent increase over the same period from 2010. Ma Huateng, president of Tencent, noted that growth in the first quarter was driven primarily by its online games division.

According to market analysts, the global market for online games will maintain a high growth rate in the years to come despite the depressed state of the world economy.

China has become the largest online gaming market in the world, representing one third of global market share. Moreover, Chinese-produced online games have become worthy competitors of foreign franchises.

Sun Shoushan, vice director of the General Administration of Press and Publication, said that against a backdrop of a Chinese economy seriously affected by the current global economic downturn, online gaming had maintained an upwards growth trajectory to become a shining example of a successful internet industry.

Choosing Chinese

Ten years of robust development has created a healthy environment for a domestic gaming industrial chain. During the first half of the decade, the market looked to foreign games for inspiration, especially those from Japan and South Korea.

With the advent of the 11th Five-year Plan (2006-2010), the central authorities have taken to strongly supporting domestic cultural industries. Helped by a series of specific policies and measures, the capacity of Chinese gaming companies to create unique products has grown constantly. The focus nowadays is on game creation rather than on importing.

Foreign online games thoroughly dominated the market in the industry's early development. Now, however, the market share of domestic online games has surpassed that of imported games. In 2010, this domestic share was 60 percent of the total market, grossing RMB 19.3 billion for domestic enterprises.

According to Ding Lei, cultural affiliation attracts Chinese gamers to domestic creations. And with the myriad of stories and adventures recorded over thousands of years of Chinese history to choose from in creating their plots, domestic game producers are unlikely to run out of ideas any time soon.

Since entering the online games market in 2001, NetEase is one company that has emphasized creating games that embodied Chinese culture. For example, the famous games A Westward Journey Online (I, II, III) and Fantasy Westward Journey draw their plots from Journey to the West, one of China's classic novels. A Chinese Fairy Tale takes its inspiration from the fantastic Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio written in the Qing Dynasty. These games not only provide players with countless hours of entertainment, but also play a role in carrying forward traditional Chinese epics into the 21st century.

Creating an engaging game is an art form. Online games, with their multiple players, take on a life of their own. They become modes of expression through which tradition, knowledge and even strategic intelligence all factor into players' ability to progress to higher levels. A hit game successfully combines industry and culture to reward its players intellectually and its makers monetarily.