Tuesday, November 08, 2005

The Escapist - Outsourcing to America: "No, to see the real threat to American industry, we need to look across the Himalayas into China.
China's one billion-strong nation is on the grow, and they've caught the industrialization bug something fierce. As factories sprout up in what were once farming fields and gas prices soar to transport goods across a landmass bigger than the continental U.S., children are being educated with a very Eastern approach to Western production. Think of post-war Japan, only with ten times as many people. The Chinese government is quickly warming up to the idea of tipping the scales of commerce in their direction, and within the next century, it's likely they're going to have a shot at doing it.
And, remarkably, they're taking a stab at gaming.
They're investing $1.8 billion dollarsin online games over the next five years alone. Consider the fact their population is quickly moving into the digital foray; that only means more customers for everybody. Combine that with their recently passed laws to curb online gaming 'addiction.' What do you see?A change in development paradigm; all of a sudden the gaming market is flooded with people forced into casual gaming, and the Chinese government is buying for $1.8 billion worth of games to fit that standard. If American companies can even hope to capture the hearts and minds of the Chinese populace, it means they're going to need to show up at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., with some very revolutionary ideas on how to make a good online game. And it has to be more than a money grab if they want to remain in the land of a thousand dynasties for any discernable length of time.
But the Chinese aren't going to pay for games developed externally. Why would they? Part of a country's investment in homegrown production is the return will potentially increase their GD"

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