Rumor: Tencent to Spend RMB 300 Mln in MMO Promotion
Donews, 7/05/12
A source at Shenzhen-based internet company Tencent (0700.HK) revealed on July 5 that the company gave away 5 mln "Q Coins" over a two-hour period in order to promote its self-developed 3D MMORPG Legend of Yulong. Outlay on marketing and promotion during the game's open beta testing period will total more than RMB 300 mln.
Tencent has employed a number of promotional techniques since beginning the OB of Legend of Yulong on June 16, including offering users 100 Q Coins every time their in-game characters level up. Following the opening of the in-game "Q Coin Mall" for Legend of Yulong on July 5, gamers can now redeem the Q Coins they received by leveling up. Over the two and a half hours between 11:30 AM on July 5, when the in-game store opened, and 2:00 PM the same day, gamers spent more than 5 mln Q Coins at the store. A Tencent spokesperson said that the company has budgeted RMB 300 mln for efforts to promote the game, and could increase the budget in the future.
According to Tencent, a team of nearly 500 employees spent almost five years developing Legend of Yulong. Industry insiders estimate that development costs may have approached RMB 200 mln.
According to monitoring figures from another Chinese internet company, PCU figures for Legend of Yulong may already have broken 400,000.
Keywords: Internet marketing open beta MMORPG Tencent PCU 0700.HK Legend of Yulong self-developed game 3D game online gaming
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