Durham,
USA — May 13, 2005 – Funcom
is proud to announce the opening of an office in Beijing, China. Serving
as a bridgehead into Asia, and the Chinese market in particular, the
office will bring Funcom closer to one of the most important online
gaming markets. The Beijing office will have multiple functions,
including a local development studio and a local representative office.
Funcom
has so far focused on delivering outstanding online entertainment to
customers in North America and Europe. The opening of the Chinese office
marks a broadening of the company's scope. In addition to increasing
Funcom's understanding of the Asian market through a local development
and representation office, Funcom hopes to release Asian versions of
upcoming online games like `Age of Conan – Hyborian Adventures'.
"We
have studied the Asian market for years, and reached a level where it
became natural to establish a local office in one of the most exciting
online markets in the world", said Nicolay Nickelsen, Chief
Representative for the Chinese office and Funcom's VP of Business
Development. "We are humble about the fact that local companies
have a far higher
knowledge
about the Asian culture and business. We are here to learn, increase our
understanding and work closely with local partners. The online gaming
industry has now evolved to a point where it's time to look at the world
as one market, rather than segregating between east and west. The keys
to success are strong local partners, local business models and local
design solutions. We are now prepared to take these steps for our future
online games, and look forward to establish closer relations in the
Asian market."
The
newly opened office in Beijing will be Funcom's fourth
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office.
Funcom currently have offices in Oslo, Norway (development, management,
sales & marketing, operations), Durham, USA (development, sales
& marketing, operations, customer service) and Zurich, Switzerland
(financial).