2014/02/04News
KLab Partners with Major Chinese Online Game Company, Shanda Games
KLab Inc.（TSE Prime Market: 3656）
Tokyo, Japan – February 4, 2014 – KLab Inc., a leader in online mobile games, announced that they have established a partnership agreement with Shanda Games Limited, a Shanghai-based online game company. The new business alliance will bring Love Live! School Idol Festival, a blockbuster rhythm game for smartphones developed by KLab and Bushiroad, to mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Love Live! School Idol Festival Entering the Chinese Market
Japanese anime boasts a high level of popularity in the Chinese market, with many series airing on national television. The Love Love! anime series is currently being broadcast on Chinese television. The special international showing of μ's→NEXT Love Live! 2014 ～ENDLESS PARADE～ which is scheduled to air in Hong Kong and Taiwan on February 8 and 9 of this year is stirring up excitement among the large number of Love Live! fans in China.
350 million Simplified Chinese smartphones were sold in the Chinese mainland market in 2013. By 2014, this figure is expected to reach 450 million. With past records of the market tripling in size from 2012 to 2013, the Chinese market for mobile games is expected to continue expanding at a rapid rate.
Sales of Traditional Chinese smartphones, centered in Taiwan, reached over 15 million devices with a penetration rate of over 70%. In 2013, the mobile market generated TWD 5-6 billion (JPY 65-75 billion). The market doubled in size moving into 2014, as the total revenue generated reached TWD 10 billion (JPY 130 billion).
Love Live! has already garnered a significant amount of attention in the Chinese market. The anime’s popularity, together with the rapidly accelerating growth of online mobiles games, has played a significant role in KLab’s decision to release Love Live! School Idol Festival in Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Plans call for a Simplified Chinese version to be released in Mainland China, and a Traditional Chinese version to be released in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau.
Partnership with Shanda Games
The new partnership outlines the roles for both companies in the Chinese market release of Love Live! School Idol Festival as follows.
KLab and Bushiroad
1. Planning and development for Love Live! School Idol Festival
2. Technical support for service provision
3. Providing programs, game demos, and other information and resources required for service
Shanda Games
1. Localization for Love Live! School Idol Festival (Traditional and Simplified Chinese translations of in-game text and necessary adjustments for platforms involved in the localization process)
2. Publishing for all platforms
3. Game operation and customer support provision
4. Marketing and promotional activities
KLab and Bushiroad will work together with Shanda Games to create a framework that will help Love Live! School Idol Festival to succeed in the Chinese market.
About Shanda Games
- Company Name:
- Shanda Games Limited
- Headquarters:
- Shanghai, China
- CEO:
- Xiangdong Zhang
- Website:
- http://www.ShandaGames.com
Shanda Games is one of the largest online gaming companies in China with a history of success in developing, operating, and marketing online games. In addition to MMORPGs, the most popular gaming genre in China, the company also provides a number of casual games, browser games, and mobile games. The company’s sphere of influence extends beyond titles developed in-house. Shanda Games has worked with some of the most world-renowned developers in the gaming industry, and is currently operating multiple titles that it has co-developed or published for other companies.