Yahoo to build largest Chinese-language gaming platform

Yahoo Inc.'s Taiwan unit, Yahoo-Kimo Inc., is working on a social gaming service that aims to become the largest Chinese-language gaming platform. The service will offer 42 free Web-based games upon its launch on August 3, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. While the 42 games will be related to management, nurturing, adventure and role-playing, it added the number of games will go up to 100 before year-end. The new service seeks to tap into a market of about five million gamers in Taiwan, accounting for 45.5 percent of the total Internet users there. Yahoo-Kimo indicated the new service was partly due to a lack of Chinese-language games online. It cited data showing Chinese-language games accounted for only 10 percent of the world's top 100 social games. A recent Yahoo-Kimo poll also found about 37.3 percent of respondents complained that there were too many English-language social games. Frank Chen, vice president and managing director of Yahoo-Kimo, said they realized the potential of the social gaming industry "and hope to create a new business model that will make an impact on the sector." "The collaborative plan is expected to reduce the burden of slotting fees for social gaming developers, helping them focus more on the development of Chinese-language social games," he said. Andy Lin, president of local online game publisher Gameflier International Corp., a partner of Yahoo-Kimo, added the gaming service will be available on smartphones and tablet PCs in the near term. — TJD, GMA News