One way or another, the lure of the Chinese market is playing an increasing role in the expansion plans of all companies.

The announcement of a new storefront specifically aimed at the Chinese audience by Glu Mobile follows Rovio's revelation that it intends to launch Angry Birds in the region as part of its 1 billion fans plan.

Android's continued success in China has also resulted in a determined effort by PapayaMobile to export titles from the US and Europe into the market through its Gateway to China program.

Moving market

Whatever the fundamentals, each move is designed to accomplish the same thing: tap up the growing number of smartphone consumers across China.

Glu's effort comes about as a result of a partnership with Chinese media firm TOM Group.

The storefront, which is set to launch with a social gaming focus, will utilise TOM's expertise in the cloud, as well as its e-commerce infrastructure.

"This partnership with TOM Group is a significant step in our global strategy and will accelerate our smartphone growth in China," said Glu president and CEO Niccolo de Masi.

"glu.cn is scheduled to launch in Q4 2011 and we believe it will become quickly recognised by the Chinese gaming community as the leading destination for high quality smartphone and tablet games."

Deep foundations

"The collaboration marks a key milestone for TOM Group in unlocking the value of its cloud-based cross-device open platform," added Ken Yeung, TOM's CEO.

"It also evidences the materialisation of our strategy to become a landing platform for our international partners to localize their technology and applications and tap into the Chinese market."

Since its acquisition of Chinese developer MIG in 2007 (albeit for a pricey $40 million which took over three years to pay off), Glu has had a presence in the market; something it's sure to leverage with this deal. 

[source: PR Newswire]