Shanda
Encyclopedia
Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited is a Chinese
operator of online game
s and book publisher, based in Shanghai
, established in December 1999 by Chen Tianqiao
and Chen Danian. In 2005 it claimed to have 460 million registered accounts and an average of 1.2 million players at any given time. Its 2004 listing on the US-based NASDAQ
stock exchange raised $151.8 million USD
. In September 2001, Shanda published its first game, The Legend of Mir II (Licensed from a Korean company, WeMade Soft).
Shanda's published and operated games include AION, MapleStory
, The World of Legend
, The Sign, The Age, Magical Land
, Ragnarok Online
, D.O., Dungeons & Dragons Online, Bomb and Bubble, Shanda Rich Man, Warlord of the Three Kingdoms, GetAmped.
On February 29, 2005, Shanda announced a purchase of about 20% of the portal website SINA.com
, targeting digital media markets. However, Shanda did not gain control over the board of trustees. On February 8, 2007, Shanda sold 4 million shares of Sina for $129 million, after Shanda transformed into a digital entertainment portal.
. No longer able to operate The Legend of Mir 2
(Chinese: 热血传奇), Shanda developed game The World of Legend
(Chinese:传奇世界), which began operation in June 2003. Shanda transferred all user data from The Legend of Mir 2
into the new game, promising its customers that their character, points, armors and weapons will remain the same. Wemade Entertainment
deemed The World of Legend
to be a copy of Mir 2 and sued Shanda for copyright infringement in October 2003.
After a prolonged legal battle, the two companies reached a settlement on April 26, 2009.
Following Shanda's example, other Chinese on-line game operators also declared that their games will be free.
In reality, once Shanda games became "free," average customer spending increased from 30 Chinese yuan per quarter to 55 Chinese yuan per quarter. Shanda merely changed the way it charges for fees in its games.
Meanwhile, Shanda heavily promotes infamous writer Guo Jingming
and signed on plagiarist vivibear
as one of its new novelists despite of protest from readers.
The Legend of Mir II (Licensed from a Korean company, WeMade Soft).
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
operator of online game
Online game
An online game is a game played over some form of computer network. This almost always means the Internet or equivalent technology, but games have always used whatever technology was current: modems before the Internet, and hard wired terminals before modems...
s and book publisher, based in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, established in December 1999 by Chen Tianqiao
Chen Tianqiao
Chen Tianqiao , born 1973 in Xinchang County, Zhejiang, is a Chinese businessman. He is the board president and co-founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited. In 2010 Forbes listed him as the 10th richest individual in the People's Republic of China and the 828th richest in the world....
and Chen Danian. In 2005 it claimed to have 460 million registered accounts and an average of 1.2 million players at any given time. Its 2004 listing on the US-based NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
stock exchange raised $151.8 million USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
. In September 2001, Shanda published its first game, The Legend of Mir II (Licensed from a Korean company, WeMade Soft).
Shanda's published and operated games include AION, MapleStory
MapleStory
MapleStory is a free-to-play, 2D, side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by the South Korean company Wizet. Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, and each is published by various companies such as Nexon...
, The World of Legend
The World of Legend
The World of Legend is a fantasy MMORPG created by Shanda of China. The World of Legend is the first game of Shanda's trilogy, "The Genesis Of The Century", with The Age as their second and Magical Land as the last.-Game History:...
, The Sign, The Age, Magical Land
Magical Land
Magical Land is a fantasy MMORPG created by Shanda of China. Magical Land is the last game of Shanda's trilogy, "The Genesis Of The Century," with The World of Legend as their first and The Age as their second.-Game history:...
, Ragnarok Online
Ragnarok Online
Ragnarok Online , often referred to as RO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game or MMORPG created by GRAVITY Co., Ltd. based on the manhwa Ragnarok by Lee Myung-jin. It was first released in South Korea on 31 August 2002 for Microsoft Windows and has since been released in many other...
, D.O., Dungeons & Dragons Online, Bomb and Bubble, Shanda Rich Man, Warlord of the Three Kingdoms, GetAmped.
On February 29, 2005, Shanda announced a purchase of about 20% of the portal website SINA.com
SINA.com
SINA is an online media company for China and Chinese communities around the world. SINA operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, SINA Mobile, SINA Online, and SINA.net. SINA has over 100 million registered users worldwide...
, targeting digital media markets. However, Shanda did not gain control over the board of trustees. On February 8, 2007, Shanda sold 4 million shares of Sina for $129 million, after Shanda transformed into a digital entertainment portal.
Shanda Being Sued over Mir 2 Copyright Infringement
In 2003, a dispute over profit sharing caused relationship to fracture between Shanda and Korean game-developer Wemade EntertainmentWemade Entertainment
WeMade Entertainment Co., Ltd is an online games developer and service provider, based in Seoul, South Korea. They are the creators of the Legend of Mir series of MMORPGs, the two most successful being The Legend of Mir 2, and its sequel The Legend of Mir 3...
. No longer able to operate The Legend of Mir 2
The Legend of Mir 2
The Legend of Mir 2 is a sprite based isometric 3-D massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Korean-based Wemade Entertainment. There are currently five versions available; Korean Mir, Chinese Mir, Uzbekistanian Mir, Taiwanese Mir and North American Mir...
(Chinese: 热血传奇), Shanda developed game The World of Legend
The World of Legend
The World of Legend is a fantasy MMORPG created by Shanda of China. The World of Legend is the first game of Shanda's trilogy, "The Genesis Of The Century", with The Age as their second and Magical Land as the last.-Game History:...
(Chinese:传奇世界), which began operation in June 2003. Shanda transferred all user data from The Legend of Mir 2
The Legend of Mir 2
The Legend of Mir 2 is a sprite based isometric 3-D massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Korean-based Wemade Entertainment. There are currently five versions available; Korean Mir, Chinese Mir, Uzbekistanian Mir, Taiwanese Mir and North American Mir...
into the new game, promising its customers that their character, points, armors and weapons will remain the same. Wemade Entertainment
Wemade Entertainment
WeMade Entertainment Co., Ltd is an online games developer and service provider, based in Seoul, South Korea. They are the creators of the Legend of Mir series of MMORPGs, the two most successful being The Legend of Mir 2, and its sequel The Legend of Mir 3...
deemed The World of Legend
The World of Legend
The World of Legend is a fantasy MMORPG created by Shanda of China. The World of Legend is the first game of Shanda's trilogy, "The Genesis Of The Century", with The Age as their second and Magical Land as the last.-Game History:...
to be a copy of Mir 2 and sued Shanda for copyright infringement in October 2003.
After a prolonged legal battle, the two companies reached a settlement on April 26, 2009.
Gamer Self-Immolation Case
On April 2, 2004, a Mir 2 game player threatened to set himself on fire in the lobby of Shanda Customer Service Building. It was later revealed that Shanda considered some of the armors and weapons this customer bought offline with cash to be illegal and deleted them without the person's consent."Free Game"
On November 28 and 29, 2005, Shanda abruptly announced that its multiplayer online role-playing games Magical Land and The World of Legend will forever be free of charge.Following Shanda's example, other Chinese on-line game operators also declared that their games will be free.
In reality, once Shanda games became "free," average customer spending increased from 30 Chinese yuan per quarter to 55 Chinese yuan per quarter. Shanda merely changed the way it charges for fees in its games.
Shanda Literature
In July 2008, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited announced the establishment of Shanda Literature Limited. Former Sina Executive Editor Xiaoqiang Hou (Chinese:侯小强) became the CEO of this business unit. Shanda Literature owns three literature websites: Qidian, Hongxiu, and Jinjiang, capturing 80% of the market share in Chinese entertainment literature.Positions on Copyright and Plagiarism
Towards the end of 2009, Shanda Literature announced its intention to sue Chinese Search Engine Baidu.com for not excluding online pirated literature works in its search results. By providing links to pirated sites, Shanda Literature claims that Baidu.com violates its rights and reduces its profits.Meanwhile, Shanda heavily promotes infamous writer Guo Jingming
Guo Jingming
Guo Jingming is a Chinese author. His books are popular among young people in China, and he was the second best-selling writer in China in 2005. Guo has published 5 books so far. Also he is now the editor of the magazine 'I5LAND'.-Works:Guo's first book, Huan Cheng Guo Jingming (born June 6,...
and signed on plagiarist vivibear
Vivibear
Weiwei Zhang is a Chinese-Swedish author who writes under the pseudonym vivibear. Her stories include romance novels and time-traveling series for young adults, all published in Chinese...
as one of its new novelists despite of protest from readers.
Products
- Ez StationEz StationA game console developed by Shanda. It may be used as an IPTV...
, game console - Ez MINIEz MINIThe EZ Mini is a handheld game console developed by Shanda and manufactured by Mitac or Mio. It plays MP3/WMA music, DivX/MPEG4/WMV movies, and 2-D/3-D games. It also supports HTML, PDB, and TXT. Shanda develops MMORPGs, so people can play MMORPGs on the EZ Mini...
, handheld game console - Company of Heroes OnlineCompany of Heroes OnlineCompany of Heroes Online was a free MMO real-time strategy computer game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. The open beta for the game started on 2 September 2010 and closed on 31 March 2011. The game has no link with the original Company of Heroes series multi-player system and...
, MMO real-time strategy computer game - Chinese HeroesChinese HeroesChinese Heroes is an online video game in production. The project is being sponsored by the Communist Party of China. The game is being designed in direct competition for World of Warcraft. Although World of Warcraft is popular, the CPC does not support violence...
, online video game - MapleStoryMapleStoryMapleStory is a free-to-play, 2D, side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by the South Korean company Wizet. Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, and each is published by various companies such as Nexon...
- The World of Legend
- The Sign
- The Age
- Magical Land
- Ragnarok Online
- Dungeons & Dragons Online
- Bomb and Bubble
- Shanda Rich Man
- Three Kingdoms
- GetAmped.
- Super Star, First Online Karaoke Game
- Dragon Ball OnlineDragon Ball Onlineis a massive multiplayer online role-playing game being developed simultaneously in Japan and South Korea by NTL, set in the Dragon Ball universe, first introduced by the Dragon Ball Japanese manga in 1984...
The Legend of Mir II (Licensed from a Korean company, WeMade Soft).