China: Lich King Approved, EA Mulling Investment?

China’s Ministry of Culture has finally given its approval (translated) to the World of Warcraft expansion Wrath of the Lich King, almost two full years after it was released in other parts of the world.

A PC World story notes that the expansion had already been deemed worthy of release last month by China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP). Chinese World of Warcraft operator Net Ease said it would soon release a formal announcement about Wrath of the Lich King, with company spokesperson Liddy Li stating, “We have always been preparing for its release, but there has been no formal announcement yet.”

In February of this year, after a series of stops and starts, GAPP finally gave the official go-ahead for the release of the WOW expansion The Burning Crusade, which was released in the U.S. and Europe in January of 2007. The game had fallen victim to bickering between GAPP and The Ministry of Culture over which arm of the government had the authority to govern gaming in China.

Meanwhile, a short piece on The China Perspective cites a story from a Chinese website (translated [albeit badly]) to report that Electronic Arts is in “low key” talks with Chinese online game operator Perfect World about a possible partnership and/or capital infusion.

Perfect World recently made the news for its investments in two Chinese traditional media companies, which both produce programming for film and television.