视频游戏公司和投资者迫不急待地发掘中国游戏市场的灿烂前景，但其中许多人却发现，行动迟缓的官僚机构和猖獗的盗版仍然是他们需面对的巨大障 碍。
Videogame companies and investors are rushing to tap the promise of China's game market, but many of them are discovering that a slow-moving bureaucracy and rampant piracy remain significant hurdles.
以《魔兽世界》(World of Warcraft)为例。这是目前为止在中国最受欢迎的在线角色扮演游戏。监管者继续阻止其最新版本进入中国市场，让此款游戏的开发商 Activision Blizzard Inc.及其本地合作伙伴网易公司迟迟无法让这款游戏成为自身业务的主要推进器。
'World of Warcraft,' the online role-playing game that is by far China's most popular, is one example. Regulators continue to hold back the latest edition of the game, hobbling what had been expected to be a major driver of growth for the game's maker, Activision Blizzard Inc., and its local partner, NetEase.com Inc.
与此同时，视频游戏公司必须阻止对其游戏的非法制售。盛大互动娱乐有限公司游戏部门的前首席执行长李瑜(Diana Li)说，黑客和其它形式的盗版去年使该行业的利润减少了约15亿美元。
Companies, meanwhile, must fend off bootleg versions of their games. Diana Li, former chief executive of Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd.'s game unit, said hackers and other forms of piracy reduced the industry's profitability by roughly $1.5 billion last year.
与美国和其它地方的单机游戏不同，《魔兽世界》等在线角色扮演游戏在中国的游戏市场中占据主导地位。成千上万的人可通过他们的个人电脑或网吧参 与此类游戏。
Unlike console games in the U.S. and elsewhere, China's game market is dominated by online role-playing titles such as 'World of Warcraft' that hundreds of thousands of people can access via their personal computers or Internet cafes.
一些游戏是免费的，特别是由中国开发商开发的游戏，但玩家会花钱购买武器等虚拟物品，或交费玩游戏的增强版。
Some of the games are free, particularly those made by Chinese developers, but players buy virtual accessories, such as weapons, or pay to play enhanced versions of the games.
这个快速增长的市场正越来越受到政府的关注和软件盗版的侵扰。中国互联网络信息中心这一政府机构去年12月的研究显示，预计未来两年中国的在线 游戏用户将达2.3亿，是当前估计水平6900万的三倍多。
The market is attracting increased government attention and software pirates because of its rapid growth. China is expected to see its ranks of online gamers reach 230 million over the next two years, more than three times the current estimated level of 69 million, according to the China Internet Network Information Center, a government agency, in a December study.
这预计将为这一市场已经十分快速的增长再添一把火。中国文化部的数据显示，中国游戏市场的总收入去年增长了39%，达人民币250亿元（合37 亿美元）。
That's expected to add to already heady market growth. Revenue from the Chinese game market rose 39% last year to 25 billion yuan, or about $3.7 billion, according to the Ministry of Culture.
投资者正积极争抢这一机遇。盛大游戏是盛大互动公司负责多角色在线游戏的部门，约有900万用户。它去年在纳斯达克的首次公开募股筹集了超过 10亿美元资金。其规模较小的竞争对手畅游有限公司通过在纳斯达克上市筹集了1.2亿美元。
Investors are jumping at the opportunity. Shanda Games Ltd., the Shanda Interactive unit that makes multiplayer online games with roughly nine million users, raised more than $1 billion in an initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Market last year while smaller rival Changyou.com Ltd. raised $120 million in its own Nasdaq offering.
《魔兽世界》称其1,150万用户中约有一半来自中国。这其中包括30岁的周涛（音）。周涛说他上大学时对这款游戏特别着迷，由于学校宿舍晚上 11点以后要断电，他就翻 墙出去玩这款游戏。周涛现在是重庆的一名中学教师，每个月在这款游戏上的支出约为60元（约9美元）。
'World of Warcraft' says about half of its 11.5 million subscribers are in China, including players like 30-year-old Tao Zhou. In college, 'I was so crazy about the game then that I climbed over the wall to play the game since the electricity supply was cut off after 11 p.m. at the school dormitory,' said Mr. Zhou, a middle school teacher in the city of Chongqing who spends about 60 yuan (about $9) a month on the game.
随着市场的不断增长，多个中国政府机构对视频游戏市场的监管也越来越严。去年北京当局禁止外商投资中国境内的在线游戏，同时禁止了黑帮主题的游 戏。中国官员拒绝对此举做出评论。
Along with growth has come intensifying regulation from multiple government agencies. Last year Beijing authorities banned foreign investment in domestic online games, as well as gangster- and Mafia-themed games. Government officials have declined to comment on the push.
《磨兽世界》陷入进退两难的窘境。2009年6月，开发商Activision Blizzard表示将放弃中方合作伙伴第九城市(The9 Ltd.)，改与网易公司合作。此举因为网易寻求监管机构的批准，造成游戏停止运营三个月。9月份，负责管理公开演出和网吧的文化部下发了许可。
'World of Warcraft' has been caught in the middle. In June, Activision Blizzard said it would drop local partner The9 Ltd. and work instead with NetEase. The move caused a three-month shutdown as NetEase sought permission from regulators. It received clearance in September from the Ministry of Culture, which regulates public performances and Internet cafes.
但在《磨兽世界》上线后，网易被另一家机构新闻出版总署告知，游戏为非法运营。新闻出版总署负责印刷出版物的监管，去年它宣布，它也是互联网内 容的监管方。
But after the launch, NetEase was told by another agency-the General Administration of Press and Publication, known as GAPP, which regulates print publications and last year declared it also regulates Internet content-that it had launched the game illegally.
面临监管的不确定，网易推迟了《磨兽世界》最新版本《巫妖王之怒》(Wrath of the Lich King)的上线。在这个版本中，玩家可以在一片冰天雪地中冒险。从2008年年底开始，美国和其他国家的玩家已经在玩新的版本。（Activision 公司让记者向网易公司提问，网易拒绝置评。）
In the face of regulatory uncertainty, NetEase has delayed the rollout of the latest version of the game, called 'Wrath of the Lich King,' which allows players to explore a frozen land. Players in the U.S. and other countries have been playing the new version since late 2008. (Activision referred questions to NetEase, which declined to comment.)
上周网易发表财报，显示去年第四季度业绩持平，部分原因是因为《磨兽世界》上线推迟。该公司首席执行长丁磊(William Ding)在上周的电话会议上说，公司正在努力，以求尽快把《巫妖王之怒》提交给政府审批。
Last week, NetEase reported flat fourth-quarter results in part because of the delayed rollout. William Ding, chief executive of NetEase, said in a conference call last week that the company is working hard to submit 'Wrath of the Lich King' for government review as soon as possible.
除了监管机构的变幻不定以外，盗版也是一个重要问题。中国游戏界表示，它们一直在与“私人服务器”斗争。所谓“私服”，就是游戏玩家在不付费的 情况下就能连入并一起打游戏的服务器。
In addition to the whims of regulators, piracy is also a major problem. China's game companies say they are constantly battling operators of what are called private servers-computers to which game players can connect and play with or against each other without paying fees.
北京数据分析公司cnzz.com估计，截至去年年底，中国有40万到50万台私服，使用私服的中国玩家约有150万。
Beijing-based data analysis firm cnzz.com estimates there were 400,000 to 500,000 private servers in China by the end of last year, used by about 1.5 million Chinese players.
与盗版相关的费用一直是中国游戏提供商网龙网络有限公司(NetDragon Websoft Inc.，简称网龙)面临的一个问题。网龙公司认为，这是它一年前发布利润预警的一个原因，因为它要打击运营其奇幻角色扮演游戏《魔 域》(Eudemons Online)的私服。这家总部位于福建省福州市的公司说，它曾与地方警方合作，关闭了全国数千家私服，并组建了一支专业团队全天24小时监测私服活动。
Expenses related to piracy have been a persistent problem for Chinese game provider NetDragon WebSoft Inc., which blamed them in part for a profit warning a year ago as it fought off private servers running its Eudemons Online fantasy role-playing game. The company, based in Fuzhou, in Fujian province, says it has worked with local police to close thousands of private servers nationwide and formed a special team to monitor private server activities 24 hours a day.
北京创业网游公司麒麟游戏公司的副总裁邢山虎表示，这家未上市公司每年会把10%的收入用于网络安全服务，以防盗版者提取游戏代码在私服上运 营。
Xing Shanhu, vice president of Beijing-based videogame start-up Kylin Games, said the closely held company spends 10% of its revenue on secure online services to keep pirates from lifting its game code to run on private servers.
额外的安全措施也有助于避免游戏玩家使用外挂来为自己的在线角色升级。这会让游戏运营商亏钱，因为在一般情况下，玩家需要付费或长时间玩游戏才 能实现升级。邢山虎说，私服盗版和非法外挂等问题基本上是不可避免。另外他说，公司每周都会进行一次扫描，以清除外挂或其他插件。
The extra security also helps avoid plug-ins, or software players can use to upgrade their online characters. That takes money from game operators because players typically have to pay or play a long time to get such upgrades. 'Problems such as server piracy and illegal plug-ins are almost inevitable,' said Mr. Xing, adding that the company does weekly sweeps to remove plug-ins and other additions.
上海26岁的外贸公司员工Aaron Sun已经打了八年的多人角色网络游戏。这些游戏需要很长时间才能实现角色的升级。
Aaron Sun, 26-year-old employee of a foreign trade company in Shanghai, has played multiplayer online games for eight years. The games required a lot of time before players could upgrade their characters.
Sun说，在最初的激动过后，我开始寻找更快的升级办法。他说，我的朋友中多数人都这么做。
'After the initial excitement, I began seeking faster ways to upgrade,' said Mr. Sun, who added, 'most of my friends do it.'