Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase.com, the operator for World of Warcraft in mainland China, have jointly announced that Mists of Pandaria, the fourth expansion of World of Warcraft, will open in mainland China on October 2, 2012, realizing global synchronization for the first time.
In regards to global synchronization, Blizzard Entertainment explained that it means the contents will be available on all servers in the same synching circle. According to the report, the new expansion will be updated on American servers on September 25; the Taiwanese server will be updated on September 27; and the Chinese mainland users will enjoy the new update during the National Day holiday. CHina's National Day holiday runs from October 1-7, 2012.
In addition, there will be a special edition of Mists of Pandaria, which will be exclusively launched for the Chinese market. With a retail price of CNY486, the special edition can now be ordered on Blizzard's online store as well as other Chinese e-commerce websites, including 360buy.com, Amazon.cn, and Dangdang.com. The special edition will start shipping on September 28.
Mike Morhaime, chief executive officer and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, said they are glad that Mists of Pandaria can be launched in mainland China on October 2. He claimed that it is the most content-rich expansion in the history of WoW.
William Ding, chief executive officer of NetEase.com, said that the global synchronization of the new expansion of WoW is a historical moment for Chinese users. The new expansion is full of Chinese elements and culture, which will be loved by players in China.
