Shanda Sees Earnings Boost From Chinese Online GamingShanda Sees Earnings Boost From Chinese Online Gaming

Chinese-headquartered online game operator Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. has released its second-quarter fiscal earnings, reporting a significant up-trend. Net income rose from 141 million yuan ($17.4m) in last year’s second quarter, to 223 million yuan ($26.9m) this year. Though the company also makes casual games, online games in particular experienced growth, with revenues from that sector having risen 72 percent from the same period last year, and 5.7 percent from the last quarter, to 66.7 million yuan ($56.m). Total revenue rose from last year’s figure of 287 million yuan ($35.4m), to 539.5 million yuan ($65.2m) this year. Shanda Interactive operates or will operate such online games as Dungeons and Dragons Online, and The Legend of Mir II in the mainland Chinese market, and recently acquired the Chinese rights to popular Korean MMORPG Ragnarok Online. In the casual market, the company is known for developing games such as Three Kingdoms, and operating the multi-territory 3D action game GetAmped.