Little over a year after launch, Chinese online games operator The9 has announced its Game Zone boasts 10 million users, with more than 1,000 games set to be available before the end of 2012.

Said users have amassed a total of 12 million downloads to date, with The9 having partnered with 880 developers – half of which are based in the west – to bring mobile games to the Chinese market.

Going local

The9 doesn't just host titles via Game Zone – which is powered by OpenFeint – but also helps localise games for the Chinese market, both in terms of language translation as well as cultural and monetisation improvements.

"Until now, foreign developers have been hesitant to bring their apps over to China - they know there’s money to be made, but they have been unsure how to go about it," said head of The9's mobile business unit Chris Shen.

"Local partners play a vital role in helping global developers face challenges in the Chinese market, such as opening official distribution channels, fighting against piracy, and optimising monetisation."

Top developer on board is HyperBees, which has amassed 800,000 downloads for Speedx 3D.

Other star performers include Erwin Jansen's Mortal Skies, which has seen more than 600,000 downloads, and SkyZone's 9, which has hit 300,000 downloads.

[source: VentureBeat]