NetEase

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
NetEase, Inc.
Netease logo 2.svg
Type of site
 Public
Traded as NASDAQ: NTES
NASDAQ-100 Component
Founded June 1997; 19 years ago (1997-06)
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China[1]
Headquarters Beijing, China
Founder(s) Ding Lei
Key people Qiu Shan Ge (CEO)
Industry Internet
Products Online services
Revenue Increase CN¥ 22.803 billion (2015)[2]
Operating income Increase CN¥ 7.272 billion (2015)[2]
Net income Increase CN¥ 6.735 billion (2015)[2]
Total assets Increase CN¥ 41.157 billion (2015)[2]
Employees 12,919 (December 2015)[3]
Website 163.com
Alexa rank Negative increase 27 (April 2014)[4]

NetEase, Inc. (simplified Chinese: 网易; traditional Chinese: 網易; pinyin: Wǎng Yì) is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centred on content, community, communications and commerce. Founded in 1997, the company was a key pioneer in the development of Internet services for China. Today, NetEase develops and operates some of China's online PC and mobile games, advertising services, e-mail services and e-commerce platforms.

NetEase has produced some of China's online PC-client games, including Fantasy Westward Journey II and New Westward Journey Online II, as well as other games, such as Tianxia III, Heroes of Tang Dynasty Zero and Ghost II. In partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., NetEase operates some international online games in China, including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, StarCraft II and Diablo III: Reaper of Souls.

NetEase offers multi-platform access to free and fee-based community and communication services, including websites, content channels, YiChat social instant messaging application, NetEase Mobile News Application, Youdao dictionary and Youdao cloud note-taking service.

NetEase is one of the providers of free e-mail services in China, offering features such as voice search and facial recognition. NetEase also offers fee-based premium e-mail services for corporate users. In addition, NetEase has ventures in e-commerce, with offerings such as Kaola, a cross-border e-commerce platform, and Wangyibao, an online payment system. Other online products offered include online video entertainment services: Bobo and CC.

History[edit]

The company has grown rapidly since its founding in June 1997, thanks in part to its investment in search engine technology[5] and massively multiplayer online role-playing gaming. Fantasy Westward Journey, an MMORPG developed internally by NetEase, is an online game in China.

Ding Lei (Chinese: 丁磊; pinyin: Dīng Lěi, born October 1971), also known as William Ding, is the founder and CEO of NetEase. He made significant contributions to the development of computer networks in mainland China. According to Hurun Report's China Rich List 2013 he is the 25th wealthiest person in China with an estimated fortune of $4.2 billion. He was the wealthiest man in China at one point.

  • 2016: NetEase's founder and chief architect William Ding (Ding Lei) won the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award for his innovative use of information technology. Ding became one of the wealthiest individuals in China after founding NetEase.
  • 2008: The 163.com domain attracted at least 1.8 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com survey.[6]
  • 2010: The site was the 28th most visited site in the world according to Alexa's internet rankings[7] and in August 2010, the site was the 27th most visited site drawing more traffic than the websites of AOL, BBC, Flickr, Craigslist, Apple, CNN, LinkedIn, Adobe, CNet, ESPN.
  • 2012: The company's official English name was changed from NetEase.com, Inc to NetEase, Inc.[8] In April 2012, NetEase began testing a restaurant recommendation mobile app called "Fan Fan".[9][10] The company collaborated with coursera.org to provide Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in China.[11]

Businesses[edit]

PC-client & Mobile Games: provider of self-developed online client games to Internet users in China; licensee of games by Blizzard Entertainment; developer & publisher of mobile games.

Internet Media: Operating a network of mobile applications, services and social communication platforms, as well as Internet portals with enriched content.

E-mail Services: One of the providers of free e-mail services in China.

Youdao Products: Specialized online tools including Youdao Dictionary, Youdao Cloudnote and Huihui.cn.

E-commerce: services available to Chinese consumers on both desktop and mobile including Kaola.com, NetEase's self operated cross-border e-commerce platform, online video broadcasting services and insurance products.[12]

Games[13][edit]

Gamers trying the new release of Speedy Ninja at PAX 2015

Top PC Games: Fantasy Westward Journey II, New Westward Journey Online II, New Ghost, Tianxia III, Revelation, Demon Seals, Hegemon-‐King of Western Chu

Mobile Games: Fantasy Westward Journey mobile, Westward Journey Online mobile, Invincible, Kung Fu Panda 3 mobile game, The X-‐World, Kari-‐ri-‐sei Million Arthur, Chrono Blade and Blizzard Entertainment's Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™

New games planned for launch: Fantasy Westward Journey: Warriors, New Ghost Mobile, a series of new titles based on novels by Gu Long, and a version of Minecraft and Minecraft: Pocket Edition for China

Licensed Online Games[edit]

  • Commercially launched World of Warcraft in Sept 2009
  • StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm launched in PRC in July 2013
  • Launched free-to-play digital strategy card game Hearthstone : Heroes of Warcraft in PRC in Jan 2014; mobile version launched in April 2015
  • Open beta testing of Heroes of the Storm initiated in China in May 2015
  • Initiated open beta testing in PRC of Diablo III: Reaper of Souls™ in April 2015
  • Three-‐year agreement to license Blizzard's upcoming title Overwatch in PRC [13]
  • Agreement to license Mojangs Minecraft and Minecraft: Pocket Edition in China [14]
  • Operates Overwatch (video game) in China

Expansion[edit]

NetEase launched their first Western Headquarters in August 2014 bringing one of the largest tech companies in China to the US.[15] In 2015, NetEase North America, the San Francisco-based arm of the Chinese technology giant, announced a new funding initiative for independent developers. Known as the NetEase Success Fund, the scheme offers an alternative to traditional publishing by providing up to $500,000 for each accepted developer to fund marketing and advertising. Furthermore, developers awarded funding retain the rights, creative control, and full ownership of their products. In December 2015, NetEase Capital Venture arm has made a $2.5 million investment into Reforged Studios, a privately held game studio based in Helsinki.

Music streaming service[edit]

NetEase has an on-demand music-streaming service; 网易云音乐 (roughly "NetEase cloud music").[16]

Significance of the number 163[edit]

NetEase's URL is 163.com. This is confusing to many non-Chinese because there seems to be no logical connection between the firm and its URL. While the URL might seem to be a case of Chinese numerology, it is not. Rather, the URL exists because of recent Chinese history: before the availability of broadband internet, users had to dial 163 to get online.[17] Therefore, early internet users recognized the numbers as implying a way to access the internet.

See also[edit]

  • Netease Inc. (company website)
  • NetEase North America

References[edit]

  1. ^ "NetEase - Corporation Profile". NetEase.com, Inc. 
  2. ^ a b c d "NetEase - Fundamentals - Annual Income Statement". 
  3. ^ "NetEase Investor FAQs". Netease. Retrieved 2016-08-15. 
  4. ^ "163.com Site Overview". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-10. 
  5. ^ "Netease Search Engine - Youdao/yodao spider". Httpuseragent.org. 2008-12-31. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  6. ^ us Data Only (2011-10-26). "Siteanalytics.compete.com". Siteanalytics.compete.com. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  7. ^ "Alexa Top 500 Global Sites". Retrieved 2010-04-15. 
  8. ^ "NetEase English Name Changes" (in Chinese). Sina.com. March 29, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012. 
  9. ^ "Follow news on Netease.com, Inc.". BrightWire. Retrieved 2012-08-17. 
  10. ^ "Netease Begins Testing for Mobile App "Fan Fan" on Thursday.". BrightWire. 
  11. ^ "Coursera partners with NetEase to deliver free online learning in China.". 
  12. ^ "NetEase - Presentation". ir.netease.com. Retrieved 2015-10-16. 
  13. ^ a b "NetEase - Fact Sheet". ir.netease.com. Retrieved 2015-10-16. 
  14. ^ http://mojang.com/2016/05/minecraft-is-coming-to-china/
  15. ^ "NetEase North America". www.netease-na.com. Retrieved 2015-10-16. 
  16. ^ "网易云音乐 听见好时光 (NetEase cloud music to listen to the good times)". 网易云音乐 (NetEase cloud music). Retrieved 2015-05-03. 
  17. ^ Beam, Christopher (May 1, 2014). "The Secret Messages Inside Chinese URLs". newrepublic.com. The New Republic. Retrieved February 1, 2016. 

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=NetEase&oldid=750794894"