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"Dots is following the path of many Western mobile games by launching a local version of its title for China, albeit with a twist. Betaworks, the company behind the highly addictive app, has become the first non-Chinese company to partner with Alibaba and put a title\u00A0on its new mobile games network.\r\n\r\nIn case you're not familiar with it, Dots challenges you to link up dots of the same color on a grid. It makes its money by selling special powers as in-app purchases -- five billion games were played in the app during the first year alone.\r\n\r\nThe Chinese version will be in Mandarin and feature localized characters, including a dragonfly,\u00A0but it will be just like the\u00A0regular game.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe localized version of Dots will be available to China-based users of Alibaba's Taobao app\u00A0for iOS and Android. Its launch\u00A0marks the first significant move from the group -- which is in the midst of a US-based IPO -- as it aims to muscle in on Tencent's grip of mobile gaming in China.\r\n\r\nTencent, which just announced that its WeChat messaging app has reached 396 million active users, is on a tear with\u00A0games.\u00A0In the first three months of introducing mobile games to its\u00A0Weixin chat app, it\u00A0passed 570 million downloads, while Bloomberg reports that its revenue from mobile games\u00A0tripled from the previous quarter to reach $289 million.\r\n\r\nGlobal smash Candy Crush Saga is one game on Weixin, which is known as WeChat worldwide, after Tencent snagged in a China\u00A0exclusive. That makes\u00A0Alibaba's move to lock-up Dots on similar terms an interesting one.\r\n\r\nAlibaba announced its mobile gaming network back in January, and the service runs across Taobao and Laiwang, its direct rival to WeChat. It will be interesting to see which other titles that Alibaba makes a move for as it bids to boost the appeal of its mobile apps and increase revenue. Tencent is actively hiring\u00A0new recruits to sniff out games licensing deals in the US and\u00A0elsewhere.\r\n\r\nTencent and Alibaba aren't the only ones in China with an eye on the mobile gaming pie. The country's three operators recently teamed up to start their own mobile gaming network.\r\n\r\nRelated:\u00A0Localization alone isn\u2019t enough for overseas game studios to succeed in China, says App Annie chief\r\n\r\nHeadline image via Dora Tang / Shutterstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/asia/2014/05/21/betaworks-bringing-addictive-dots-game-china-partnership-alibaba/>