SHANGHAI, China, April 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Giant Interactive Group Inc. (NYSE: GA) (“Giant” or “the Company”), one of China’s leading online game developers and operators, announced today that peak concurrent users (“PCU”) for its hit game, ZT Online, reached 2,102,118 at 8:42PM (Beijing Time) on April 26, 2008. This represents a new reported PCU record in the Chinese online game industry.
Mr. Yuzhu Shi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Giant, commented, “Although our flagship game ZT Online has been commercially launched for over two years now, we have continued our enhancement efforts of the game via constant improvements and new feature releases, in accordance to our focused strategy and our five year R&D game enhancement plan for ZT Online. As a result, we are very pleased to see that our player numbers have continued to grow substantially within a short period of time. This is an excellent testament to our strategy and R&D plan, and we expect to continue our enhancement efforts for ZT Online moving forward.”
Mr. Xuefeng Ji, General Manager of the ZT Online Business Unit, commented, “Our robust R&D strength, as well as our deep understanding and constant analysis of our gamers has enabled us to introduce new gameplay features in accordance with gamers’ preferences. For example, ZT Online has pioneered features such as the ‘salary system’ for non-paying accounts to stay more competitive against their paying rivals. Recently, we have also introduced the Neighboring Friends expansion pack to display the physical locations of the gamers in order to promote social networks and to expand our overall community. Leveraging upon our proprietary server technology, ZT Online shards can now encompass over 40,000 concurrent players. For example, one of the shards named ‘Tian Ma Zai Xian’ alone has sustained 43,297 PCU recently, which to our knowledge, represents a new reported PCU record for a single shard within the Chinese online game industry. This expanded in-game community has attracted many new players to join, thus contributing to the continued growth momentum of ZT Online.”
About Giant
Giant is one of China’s leading online game developers and operators in terms of revenues, focusing on massively multiplayer online role playing games. Giant’s game, ZT Online, was voted the most popular online game in China in 2006 according to the International Data Corporation. The Company’s second game, Giant Online, entered into open beta testing on March 28, 2008. Giant has two additional online games that it intends to commercially launch, including King of Kings III and Empire of Sports. Giant has built a nationwide distribution network to sell the prepaid game cards and game points required to play its games, which as of December 31, 2007 consisted of over 200 distributors, and reached over 116,500 retail outlets, including internet cafes, software stores, supermarkets, bookstores, newspaper stands, and convenience stores located throughout China. For more information, please visit Giant Interactive Group Inc. on the web at http://www.ga-me.com .
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 relating to, among other things, Giant’s ability to continue to enhance its R&D and increase its player base. Giant’s industry is highly competitive and it faces a number of risks including those outlined under “Risk Factors” beginning on page 12 of Giant’s prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 1, 2007. Giant undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release. Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.
For more information, please contact:
Investor Contact:
Eric He, CFO
Giant Interactive Group Inc.
Tel: +86-21-6451-5001
Investor Relations (US):
Mahmoud Siddig
Taylor Rafferty
Tel: +1-212-889-4350
Investor Relations (HK):
Ruby Yim
Taylor Rafferty
Tel: +852-3196-3712
Media Contact:
John Dudzinzky
Taylor Rafferty
Tel: +1-212-889-4350
