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News

  The9 To Launch World of Fight After Losing Warcraft License
by Kris Graft [PC, Console/PC]
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May 4, 2009
 
The9 To Launch  World of Fight  After Losing  Warcraft  License

No World of Warcraft license? No problem.

After losing the lucrative license to operate Blizzard's hit MMORPG in mainland China last month to rival NetEase, Chinese online game operator The9 announced World of Fight, an online game that some are already speculating to be a blatant rip-off of WoW.

The9 has launched a website for WoF at www.wofchina.com, only one letter away from the official Chinese WoW site at wowchina.com. Definite similarities can be seen between the logos for WoW and WoF.

However, despite the speculation that WoF is a blatant rip-off of WoW, there is little else to compare between the two games besides the website. There is no gameplay footage or screenshots yet available for WoF.

The WoF website says the game is "soon to come," according to the Wall Street Journal's China blog.

Even the initial similarities may draw the ire, or at least concern, of Blizzard. Gamasutra has contacted the studio for comment, as well as reps for The9.

In April, The9 lost the rights to host WoW in China to NetEase. The9's contract expires in June.
 
   
 
Comments

Alan Rimkeit
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I wonder how it will take for Blizzard Activision to sue The9. It looks like they might have some standing from what we have seen too.

Ian Fisch
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Good luck suing a company in China for copyright infringement. Tell me how that goes.

Alan Rimkeit
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Hey, I never said it would work, I just wonder when they will. I agree though. They will need a metric ton of luck to do it. My bet is they will wait to see if this is even successful or not. If it is not they have nothing to worry about. If it is then they have something substantial to sue.

Of course they could never sue knowing it is most likely hopeless.

Eric Zhou
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I was learned that EA has 15% share inside the9.

Alan Rimkeit
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"Eric Zhou

I was learned that EA has 15% share inside the9. "

Is this true? Where did you learn this? If that is true then a lawsuit is defiantly going to happen. It opens a door for it big time.


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