Overview

The9 Limited (The9) is an online game operator that conducted its operations through The9 China, a direct wholly owned subsidiary of GameNow.net (Hong Kong) Limited (GameNow) in China. The9 offered a self-developed online virtual community game the9 City during the year ended December 31, 2000. Its business is primarily focused on operating massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), including World of Warcraft (WoW) and other games in China. In 2005, 98% of its total revenues were attributable to the operation of WoW in China, including game playtime, merchandise sales and other related revenues. The9's other products and services mainly consist of its online virtual community named the9 City, game operating support, Website solutions and advertisement services, short messaging service (SMS) and sales of its Pass9 system. Additional Information from Reuters

Financials (In millions of CNY)

Key Elements

• NCTY is experiencing rapid growth in online game market
• Exclusive holder of Chinese rights to operate “World of Warcraft” (smash hit in United States)
• Most Chinese players are using Internet Cafes
• Average of 280K users playing the game at once with peak usage of 595K
• Fourth quarter peak was 670K users
• NCTY is ready to introduce new games to the market such as Guild Wars, Soul of The Ultimate Nation and Huxley
• Also the company has exclusive rights to Ragnarok 2 and Emil Chronicle. Both are online.

Charts

3 Month Chart

1 Year Chart

5 Year Chart

News

• 7 Highly Rated Stocks on Sale (at Motley Fool)
• Not a Perfect World in China (at Motley Fool)
• Why Activision Must Renew The9's World of Warcraft Contract (at Seeking Alpha)
• UPDATE - Perfect World profit misses Wall Street; shares fall (at Reuters)
• 5 More Top Growth Stocks (at Motley Fool)
• Let's Play a Game in China (at Motley Fool)
• Today's 5-Star Movers (at Motley Fool)
• The9 Drops 20% As NetEase Inks Deal With Activision (at Barron's Online)
• Sector Snap: Chinese Internet stocks mostly dip (AP)
• Tomorrow's Monster Stocks (at Motley Fool)
• Let the World Make You Rich (at Motley Fool)
• Earnings roundup: Dionex, Kite Realty (AP)
• 9 Things to Like About The9 (at Motley Fool)
• The9 shares tumble after 2nd-quarter results (AP)
• The9 Ltd downgraded by Brean Murray (Briefing.com)

Source:  Yahoo Finance

Ownership