The Chinese search giant has a new venture now. It is now entering the online game sector by providing some games through its newest platform called Baidu Youxi. With the recent release of Baidu Hi (instant messenger service) and this online gaming platform, Baidu is considered the biggest Chinese platform that probably cover all the needs of the Chinese young adults.

At present, Baidu does not develop its own casual online games, but chose to offer a portfolio of entertainment through some partnerships with the renowned interactive entertainment media companies such as Shanda Entertainment, Dreamwork Net, and 51wan. Currently, there are seven (7) free online games available to the Chinese users, and most of them such as 纵横天下, 方便面三国, 天空左岸 are very popular in China. Out of four of these seven games, four are developed from 51wan, as reported by this casual game developer.

There are two main selection criteria that set by Baidu in choosing the games, first it must be home-made, i.e. made in China, and secondly, all its online games must be healthy, which mean all family members are welcome to play and view. There will be no violence, sex that can be found on its casual games. Also, games that allow users to gain access to online casino, poker, with access to third-party betting exchange will not be permitted on this Baidu Youxi. Since Baidu Youxi adopt a business model of free-to-play, I still can’t figure out what will be their major revenue streams. But one thing for sure, as more and more online game users are becoming sophisticated, the games available must be in extremely high quality.

Why Baidu engaged in this online game sector? This can be explained by the market outlook of the online game sector in China. China recorded a CNY$12.8 billion during a fiscal year ended December 2007. It has been project forecasted more than 20% growth each year in the next five years. Thus, by year 2011, China’s online game sector will generate more than CNY$40.1 billion. By then, China will be a mature online game market such as South Korea.