Back in August, I wrote that World of Warcraft had returned in China, but featured content changes such as skeletons given fleshy bodies and piles of bones replaced with sandbags. Well, the game was only back in the sense that China allowed a closed beta with game operator NetEase to test the waters. Most Chinese gamers still could not access the game and NetEase could not charge any subscription fees.
Well, after much patience and behind-the-scenes controversy, WoW appears to be back on track.
Here are some business statistics that will make your head spin. According to Gamasutra, NetEase spent $146,455.77 per day to maintain its servers. Keep in mind the company was forbidden from charging any subscription fees at this time and the closed beta lasted from July 30 to September 14. $146,455.77 multiplied by 47 days comes out to $6,883,421.19 USD. $6.8 million dollars is a lot of money to be hemorrhaging while waiting on government regulators to stamp a seal of approval.
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