UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

OR

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 20142015

OR

For the transition period from    to                    

OR

Date of event requiring this shell company report

Commission file number: 001-34238

THE9 LIMITED

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

N/A

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

Cayman Islands

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Building No. 3, 690 Bibo Road

Zhang Jiang Hi-Tech Park

Pudong New Area, Pudong

Shanghai 201203

People’s Republic of China

(Address of principal executive offices)

George Lai, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: +86-21-5172-9999

Facsimile number: +86-21-5172-9903

Building No. 3, 690 Bibo Road

Zhang Jiang Hi-Tech Park

Pudong New Area, Pudong

Shanghai 201203

People’s Republic of China

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

28,783,92937,283,929 ordinary shares, par value US$0.01 per share, as of December 31, 2014.2015.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨  NoYes    x  No

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.    Yes  ¨  NoYes    x  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x  NoYes    ¨  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x  NoYes    ¨  No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer  ¨                 Accelerated filer  ¨                 Non-accelerated filer  x

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

* If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement Item the registrant has elected to follow.

¨  Item 17    ¨  Item 18

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨  NoYes    x  No

(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.    ¨Yes    ¨  No¨

TABLE OF CONTENTS

i

INTRODUCTION

In this annual report, unless otherwise indicated, (1) the terms “we,” “us,” “our company,” “our” and “The9” refer to The9 Limited and, as the context may require, its subsidiaries and our consolidated affiliated entities, (2) the terms “affiliated entities” and “affiliated PRC entities” refer to our consolidated affiliated PRC entities, namelyincluding, among others, Shanghai The9 Information Technology Co., Ltd., or Shanghai IT, Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement Co.in which we do not have direct equity interests but over which we effectively control through a series of contractual arrangements as described under “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions— Arrangements with Affiliated PRC Entities”, Ltd., or Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement, Shanghai Jiushi Interactive Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Jiushi, Shanghai The9 Education Software Technology Co., Ltd. or Shanghai Fire Wing Information Technology Co., Ltd., or Fire Wing, (3) the terms “shares” and “ordinary shares” refer to our ordinary shares, and “ADSs” refers to our American Depositary Shares,depositary shares, each of which represents one ordinary share, and “ADRs” refers to the American Depositary Receipts, which evidence our ADSs, (4) “China” and “PRC” refer to the People’s Republic of China, and solely for the purpose of this annual report, excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, (5) all references to “RMB” and “Renminbi” are to the legal currency of China and all references to “U.S. dollars,” “dollars,” “US$” and “$” are to the legal currency of the United States, (6) all discrepancies in any table between the amounts identified as total amounts and the sum of the amounts listed therein are due to rounding, and (7) all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars and from U.S. dollars to RMB in this annual report were made at a rate of RMB6.2046RMB6.4778 to US$1.00, based on the H.10 weekly statistical release of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as of December 31, 2014.2015. Such translations have been provided for the convenience of the reader only and should not be construed as representations that the RMB amounts represent, or have been or could be converted into, United States dollars at that or any other rate.

We and certain selling shareholders of our company completed the initial public offering of 6,075,000 ADSs, each representing one ordinary share, par value US$0.01 per share, on December 20, 2004. On December 15, 2004, we listed our ADSs on the Nasdaq Global Market, or Nasdaq, under the ticker symbol “NCTY.”

PART I

Not Applicable.

Not Applicable.

The following table presents selected consolidated financial information for our company. You should read the following information in conjunction with “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” below. The selected consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 20142015 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 20132014 and 20142015 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and should be read in conjunction with those statements, which are included in this annual report beginning on page F-1. The selected consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 20102011 and 20112012 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 20122013 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are not included in this annual report. The consolidated financial statements were prepared and presented in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP.

		For the Year Ended December 31,
		2010				2011				2012				2013				2014
		RMB				RMB				RMB				RMB				RMB				US$(1)
		(in thousands, except for share and per ADS)
Consolidated Statement of Operation Data
Revenues			108,514				112,466				163,581				106,627				64,840				10,450
Sales taxes			(5,676	)			(6,089	)			(9,147	)			(1,851	)			(563	)			(90	)
Net revenues			102,838				106,377				154,434				104,776				64,277				10,360
Cost of revenue			(103,257	)			(39,118	)			(69,416	)			(107,803	)			(85,783	)			(13,826	)
Gross profit (loss)			(419	)			67,259				85,018				(3,027	)			(21,506	)			(3,466	)
Operating expenses			(353,365	)			(477,284	)			(677,529	)			(527,341	)			(139,404	)			(22,468	)
Other operating income			—				25,993				120				120				75				12
Loss from operations			(353,784	)			(384,032	)			(592,391	)			(530,248	)			(160,835	)			(25,922	)
Impairment on available-for-sale investment			—				—				—				(6,269	)			—				—
Investment income from cost method investment			—				—				—				—				1,142				184
Interest income, net			23,183				30,416				21,786				8,376				3,415				550
Other income (expenses), net			19,259				(653	)			4,644				9,302				(2,105	)			(339	)
Loss before income tax benefit (expense), gain on investment disposal, impairment loss on investments and share of loss in equity investments			(311,342	)			(354,269	)			(565,961	)			(518,839	)			(158,383	)			(25,527	)
Income tax expense			(7,368	)			—				—				—				—				—
Loss before gain on investment disposal, gain on disposal of subsidiaries, impairment loss on investments and share of loss in equity investments			(318,710	)			(354,269	)			(565,961	)			(518,839	)			(158,383	)			(25,527	)
Gain on disposal of equity investee and available-for-sale investment			6,828				44,435				15,726				—				33,154				5,343
Impairment loss on investments			(196,116	)			—				(3,244	)			(41,702	)			—				—
Share of loss in equity investments			(10,713	)			(3,342	)			(6,347	)			(2,376	)			(3,713	)			(598	)
Net loss			(518,711	)			(313,176	)			(559,826	)			(562,917	)			(128,942	)			(20,782	)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest			(19,099	)			(28,846	)			(45,824	)			(36,655	)			(21,443	)			(3,456	)
Net loss attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interest			—				—				—				—				(20,877	)			(3,365	)
Net loss attributable to The9 Limited			—				—				—				—				(86,622	)			(13,961	)
Accretion on redeemable noncontrolling interest			—				—				—				—				21,077				3,397
Net loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares			(499,612	)			(284,330	)			(514,002	)			(526,262	)			(107,699	)			(17,358	)
Net loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares per share
Basic			(19.89	)			(11.39	)			(20.98	)			(22.71	)			(4.65	)			(0.75	)
Diluted			(19.89	)			(11.39	)			(20.98	)			(22.71	)			(4.65	)			(0.75	)
Net loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares per ADS(2)
Basic			(19.89	)			(11.39	)			(20.98	)			(22.71	)			(4.65	)			(0.75	)
Diluted			(19.89	)			(11.39	)			(20.98	)			(22.71	)			(4.65	)			(0.75	)

		For the Year Ended December 31,
		2011				2012				2013				2014				2015
		RMB				RMB				RMB				RMB				RMB				US$(1)
		(in thousands, except for per share and per ADS data)
Net loss for the year			(313,176	)			(559,826	)			(562,917	)			(128,942	)			(354,182	)			(54,676	)
Other comprehensive income (loss)
Unrealized loss on available-for-sale investment			—				(57	)			(16	)			—				—				—
Currency translation adjustments			(4,305	)			(980	)			(689	)			(1,204	)			5,009				773
Total comprehensive loss			(317,481	)			(560,863	)			(563,622	)			(130,146	)			(349,173	)			(53,903	)
Net loss attributable to:
Noncontrolling interest			(28,846	)			(45,824	)			(36,655	)			(21,443	)			(16,656	)			(2,571	)
Redeemable noncontrolling interest			—				—				—				(20,877	)			(32,698	)			(5,048	)
The9 Limited			(284,330	)			(514,002	)			(526,262	)			(86,622	)			(304,828	)			(47,057	)
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest			—				—				—				21,077				79,806				12,320
Net loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares			(284,330	)			(514,002	)			(526,262	)			(107,699	)			(384,634	)			(59,377	)
Comprehensive loss attributable to:
Noncontrolling interest			(29,280	)			(46,118	)			(35,084	)			(22,995	)			(16,913	)			(2,611	)
Redeemable noncontrolling interest			—				—				—				(20,877	)			(32,698	)			(5,048	)
The9 Limited			(288,201	)			(514,745	)			(528,538	)			(86,274	)			(299,562	)			(46,244	)
Change in redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interest			—				—				—				21,077				79,806				12,320
Comprehensive loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares			(288,201	)			(514,745	)			(528,538	)			(107,351	)			(379,368	)			(58,564	)
Net loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares per share
Basic			(11.39	)			(20.98	)			(22.71	)			(4.65	)			(16.55	)			(2.56	)
Diluted			(11.39	)			(20.98	)			(22.71	)			(4.65	)			(16.55	)			(2.56	)
Net loss attributable to holders of ordinary shares per ADS(2)
Basic			(11.39	)			(20.98	)			(22.71	)			(4.65	)			(16.55	)			(2.56	)
Diluted			(11.39	)			(20.98	)			(22.71	)			(4.65	)			(16.55	)			(2.56	)

Exchange Rate Information

Our business is primarily conducted in China and a significant portion of our revenues are denominated in RMB. This annual report contains translations of RMB amounts into U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. For the convenience of the readers only, this annual report contains translations of some RMB or U.S. dollar amounts for 20142015 at US$1.00 to RMB6.2046,RMB6.4778, which was the noon buying rate in effect as of December 31, 2014.2015. The prevailing rate on March 20, 2015April 1, 2016 was US$1.00 to RMB6.2037.RMB6.4776. We make no representation that any RMB or U.S. dollar amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate, the rates stated below, or at all. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Future movements in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the RMB may adversely affect the value of our ADSs.”

The following table sets forth information concerning exchange rates between the RMB and the U.S. dollar for the periods indicated. These rates are provided solely for your convenience and are not necessarily the exchange rates that we used in this annual report or will use in the preparation of our other periodic reports or any other information to be provided to you.

B.	Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not Applicable.

Not Applicable.

Risks Related to Our Company and Our Industry

We may continue to incur losses, negative cash flows from operating activities and net current liabilities in the future andfuture. If we are not able to return to profitability or raise sufficient capital to cover our capital needs, we may not return to profitability.continue as a going concern.

We incurred a net loss of RMB559.8 million, RMB562.9 million, and RMB128.9 million and RMB354.2 million (US$20.854.7 million) infor the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, respectively, as we continue to incur product development and sales and marketing expenses for our new products and general and administrative expenses while we have not generated material revenuesignificant revenues from the new games we are currently developing or about to launch. Our operating expenses may increase in the future as we continue to explore various opportunities of new product development and business expansion.expansion in order to grow our revenues. In addition, in 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, we recorded a gross loss of RMB3.0 million, and RMB21.5 million and RMB21.3 million (US$3.53.3 million), respectively, reflecting lower revenues generated coupled with the continued incurrence of a relatively fixed portion of our costs, such as overhead, depreciation and rental charges. Our ability to achieve profitability depends on the competitiveness of our products and services as well as our ability to control costs and to provide new products and services to meet the market demands and attract new customers. Due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with our business, we may not be able to achieve profitability in the short-term or long-term.

In addition, our cash and cash equivalents have significantly and generally decreased from RMB554.3 million as of December 31, 2012 to RMB157.0 million as of December 31, 2013,since 2009, primarily due to the cash outflows from operating activities associated with theour product development and sales and marketing efforts for our new games. Our cash and cash equivalents increasedcontinued to decrease from RMB181.5 million as of December 31, 2014 to RMB49.0 million (US$29.27.6 million) as of December 31, 2014,2015, primarily due to the net proceeds of RMB151.0 million (US$24.3 million) from the disposal of Huopu Cloud Computing Terminal Technology Co., Ltd., or Huopu Cloud, and the proceeds of RMB118.3 million (US$19.1 million) from the investment made by Shanghai Oriental Pearl Culture Development Co., Ltd. in Red 5, partially offset by the continued net cash outflows fromto finance capital investment in our joint venture Oriental Shiny Star Limited, or Oriental Shiny, for licensing CrossFire 2 and operating activities associated with thefor product development and sales and marketing, efforts. Asoffset by cash received from the issuance and sale of the Convertible Notes and proceeds from an entrusted loan in December 2015. We recorded negative operating cash flow of RMB357.6 million, RMB269.1 million and RMB175.6 million (US$27.1 million) for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. Furthermore, as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, we recorded net current liabilities of RMB112.0 million, and RMB40.7 million and RMB350.7 million (US$6.654.1 million), respectively. Our net current liabilities positions as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 20142015 were primarily due to the continuous cash outflow in connection with our product development and sales and marketing activities. See “Item 5—Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Results of Operations.” We cannot assure you that our liquidity position will improve in the future. We may continue to incur losses, negative cash flows from operating activities and net current liabilities, which may materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, liquidity, financial condition and results of operationsoperations.

If we are unable to achieve profitability or raise sufficient capital to cover our capital needs, we may not continue as a going concern. There can be no assurance that we can obtain additional financing. Our ability to obtain additional financing is subject to a number of factors, which may be materiallybeyond our control. See “—We may not be able to obtain additional financing to support our business and adversely affected.operations, and our equity or debt financings may have an adverse effect on our business operations and share price.”

Our consolidated financial statements for each of the three years ended December 31, 2015 included in this annual report beginning on page F-1 have been prepared based on the assumption that we will continue on a going concern basis. The auditors of our consolidated financial statements have included in their audit report an explanatory paragraph relating to substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or amounts of liabilities that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Our business is intensely competitive and “hit” driven. If we do not deliver new “hit” products to the market, or if consumers prefer our competitors’ products or services over those we provide, our operating results will suffer.

We operate in a highly competitive and dynamic market, and our future success depends not only on the popularity of our existing online games but also, in a large part, on our ability to develop and introduce new games that are attractive to our customers. To achieve this, we will need to anticipate and effectively adapt to rapidly changing consumer tastes and preferences and technological advances. The development of new games and the procurement of licenses from third-party developers can be very difficult and requires high levels of innovation.innovation and significant investments. We currently focus on and have made significant investment in developing our own proprietary games, primarily mobile games and massively multiplayer online first-person shooter game, or MMOFPSs. However, we do not have a proven track record of developing proprietary massively multiplayer online role playingsuch games or MMORPGs, massively multiplayerother online first-person shooter game, or MMOFPSs, web games, social games or mobile games. While new products are regularly introduced, only a small number of “hit” titles account for a significant portion of total revenuerevenues in our industry. We may decide to cease to operate or develop any game that is no longer profitable. There is no assurance that any new game, proprietary, licensed or otherwise, to be introduced by us from time to time, including those named in “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Products and Services,” could become “hit” products and widely accepted by the customers and the market. We may continue to incur loss,losses, and experience net cash outflow from operating activities, and decrease in cash and cash equivalents balance and net current asset balanceliabilities if we fail to introduce “hit” games or products which gainsgain substantial market acceptance. In addition, “hit” products offered by our competitors may take a larger share of the market than we anticipate, which could cause revenues generated by our products to fall below expectations. Our competitors may develop more successful products, or offer similar products at lower price points or pursuant to payment models viewed as offering a better value than we do. Any such negative development may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We need to continue to develop and release upgrades to our new online games. We cannot assure you that we will be able to identify appropriate games or enter into arrangements with those game developers to offer these games in China on terms acceptable to us or at all, or that we can maintain the expected life span of our new online games. If we are not able to license, develop or acquire additional, attractive online games with strong or lasting appeal to users, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We currently depend on a limited number of games, and we may not be able to successfully implement our growth strategies.

We currently depend on a limited number of games for substantially all of our revenues. WeIn addition, we are alsocurrently focusing on developing a number of proprietary games and obtaining licenses to games to grow our business. For example, Red 5 Studios, Inc., or Red 5, a subsidiary which we acquired in 2010, has developed Firefall, a MMOFPS game, for which we launchedconducted a limited commercial release in North America and EuropeChina in 2014November 2015 and expect to have a large-scale commercial launch in China in the second half of 2015. 2016. In November 2015, our joint venture Oriental Shiny obtained an exclusive license from Smilegate Entertainment Inc., or Smilegate, to publish and operate CrossFire 2 in China for an initial term of three years. Smilegate is currently in the process of developing CrossFire 2.However, there is no assurance that we or Smilegate can successfully develop the games we invest in, that we may successfully launch Firefallthe games as expected on a timely basis, or at all, or if any newly launched games such gameas Firefall and CrossFire 2 would be widely accepted by game players as expected.players. We have also invested in developing our proprietary online games, web games and mobile games in China, including ShenXianZhuanSong of Knights and QiJiGuiLai.Winning Goal. Our business strategies may also involve the development and marketing of new servicesproducts and productsservices for which there are no established markets in China or in which we lack experience and expertise. If any of our games encounters any adverse development or if we are unable to develop, purchase or license additional games that are attractive to users, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. We cannot assure you that we will be able to launch new games or or continue operating existing games on a commercially viable basis or in a timely manner, or at all, or that we will be able to implement our other growth strategies. If any of these occur, our competitiveness may be harmed and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to obtain additional financing to support our business and operations, and our equity or debt financings may have an adverse effect on our business operations and share price.

We may continue to experience material decrease in cash and cash equivalents balance and we may require additional cash resources to fund our working capital and expenditure needs, such as product developments expenses, payment of license fees and royalties, sales and marketing activities, investment or acquisition transactions. We expect to incur product development costs to develop our proprietary online games, including mobile games and webMMOFPSs, and social games.license fees and royalties to obtain game licenses from third-party developers. If our internal financial resources are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek additional financing through the issuance of equity securities or through debt financing, such as borrowings from commercial banks or other financial institutions or lenders. In February 2015, Shanghai IT,To meet our affiliated PRCanticipated capital needs, we are considering multiple alternatives, including but not limited to additional equity financings, debt financings, other financing transactions, and cost control. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Cash Flows and Working Capital.” There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully complete any such transaction or conduct any cost control measure with results favorable to us, or at all. If we are unable to obtain the necessary financing, we may need to license or sell our assets, seek to be acquired by another entity obtained a commitment letter from China Merchants Bank for a credit facility of RMB200 million with a term of one year which may be used for our proprietary game Firefall. Futureand/or cease operations.

Any equity or debt financing may result in dilution to our existing shareholders’ interests or an increase in our debt service obligations. For example, in December 2015, we issued and sold senior secured convertible notes, or the Convertible Notes, in an aggregate principal amount of US$40,050,000 to Splendid Days Limited, or Splendid Days, in three tranches at initial conversion prices of US$2.6, US$5.2 and US$7.8 per ADS, respectively. In connection with the sale of Convertible Notes, we also issued warrants, or the Warrants, in an aggregate principal amount of US$9,950,000 to Splendid Days in four tranches at initial exercise prices of US$1.5, US$2.6, US$5.2 and US$7.8 per ADS, respectively. In addition, in December 2015, we obtained an entrusted loan of approximately RMB31.6 million (US$4.9 million) from a third party. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Cash Flows and Working Capital.” The Convertible Notes and the aforesaid loan significantly increased our debt obligations and any conversion or exercise, as applicable, of the Convertible Notes and Warrants by Splendid Days may cause significant dilution to our existing shareholders’ interest in our company.

Our ability to make scheduled payments of the principal of, to pay interest on or to refinance, our indebtedness, including the Convertible Notes, depends on our future performance, which is subject to economic, financial, competitive and other factors beyond our control. Our business may not generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to service our debt and make necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring debt or obtaining additional equity capital. We may not be able to engage in any of these activities or engage in these activities on desirable terms, which could result in a default on our debt obligations. Incurrence of additional indebtedness could also result in operating and financing covenants restricting our business operations. In addition, we cannot assure you that any such future financing will be available to us in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. If we fail to obtain sufficient financing to fund our capital needs, our business, financial condition and results or operations could be materially and adversely affected.

The Convertible Notes are subject to redemption rights by holders upon a change of control of our company or an event of default, and they contain covenants that may restrict our ability to declare dividends and our operational and financial flexibility.

In December 2015, we completed the issuance and sale of the Convertible Notes. Pursuant to the terms of the Convertible Notes, if we undergo a change of control, holders of the Convertible Notes will be entitled to require us to redeem all or part of the Convertible Notes, at a price payable in cash equal to 100% of the outstanding principal amount of the Convertible Notes, plus all accrued and unpaid interests thereon, if any. The Convertible Notes define a “change of control” to include: (1) our company’s consolidation with, or merger with or into, any other company, and vice versa; (2) our company disposing of all or substantially all of its assets; (3) the adoption of a plan relating to the liquidation or dissolution of our company; or (4) Mr. Jun Zhu, our chairman and chief executive officer, ceasing to directly or indirectly own 20% or more of the total outstanding and issued shares of our company on a fully-diluted and as-converted basis. In addition, pursuant to the terms of the Convertible Notes, if there is a continuing event of default, the holders will be entitled to declare any of the Convertible Notes immediately due and payable, and request redemption by us at a price equal to the outstanding principal amount plus all accrued and unpaid interests thereon, if any. “Events of default” as defined in the Convertible Notes include, among other things, an event of default of any indebtedness in the amount exceeding US$500,000. If there is a change of control of our company and any event of default under the Convertible Notes, and our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligation, we may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, or to sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations, which could cause a material and adverse impact on our operations and financial results.

In addition, the Convertible Notes contains covenants that may limit our financial and operating flexibility. The covenants restrict our ability to, among other things, (1) make dividend or other distribution to our shareholders, and (2) sell or dispose of certain assets, if such action would result in an event of default under the Convertible Notes. As a result of the covenants, our ability to pay dividends or other distributions on our ordinary shares, including those represented by ADSs, may be limited. These covenants could also restrict our ability to raise additional capital in the future through bank borrowings and debt and equity issuances and may restrict our ability to engage in some transactions that we expect to be of benefit to us.

The Convertible Notes are secured by, among other things, a pledge of our 100% equity interest in The9 Computer, which may result in our loss of control over Shanghai IT if we default under the Convertible Notes.

The Convertible Notes are secured by a pledge of our 100% equity interest in each of The9 Computer Technology Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., or The9 Computer, and China The9 Interactive (Shanghai) Limited, or C9I Shanghai, our wholly owned subsidiaries in China. Each of The9 Computer and C9I Shanghai holds a significant portion of our assets and operations in China, and The9 Computer possesses the effective control over Shanghai IT, the affiliated PRC entity that operates our online game business and other ICP related businesses, through a series of contractual arrangements. If we default under the Convertible Notes in the future, the holders may enforce their claims against our equity interests in these two wholly-owned subsidiaries to satisfy our obligations under the Convertible Notes. In such an event, the holders could gain ownership of all the equity interests in The9 Computer and C9I Shanghai, and, as a result, own and control these subsidiaries as well as Shanghai IT. As we conduct substantially all of our operations in China through Shanghai IT, if we default under the Convertible Notes, we could lose control or ownership of our assets and operations in China, which would materially and adversely affect our operations and financial results. In addition, the Convertible Notes are also secured by a mortgage over our office building in Shanghai, which we currently use as our principal executive offices.

Illegal game servers, unauthorized character enhancements and other infringements of our intellectual property rights, as well as theft of in-game goods, could harm our business and reputation and materially and adversely affect our results of operation.

With the increase in the number of online game players in China, we face the risks of illegal game servers, unauthorized character enhancements and other infringements of our intellectual property rights as well as the risk of theft of in-game goods purchased by our customers. Our historical results of operations were materially and adversely affected by illegal game servers. Although we have adopted a number of measures to address illegal server usage, misappropriation of our game server installation software and the establishment of illegal game servers could harm our business and reputation and materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

From time to time, we have detected a number of players who have gained an unfair advantage by installing tools that fraudulently facilitate character progression. We have installed software patches designed to prevent unauthorized modifications to our execution files. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to identify and eliminate new illegal game servers, unauthorized character enhancements or other infringements of our intellectual property rights in a timely manner, or at all. The deletion of unauthorized character enhancements requires the affected players to restart with a new character from the starting level, and this may cause some of these players to cease playing the game altogether. If we are unable to eliminate illegal servers, unauthorized character enhancements or suffer other infringement of our intellectual property rights, our players’ perception of the reliability of our games may be negatively impacted, which may reduce the number of players using our games, shorten the lifespan of our games and adversely affect our results of operations.

Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by the downturn in the global or Chinese economy.

Our operations are primarily conducted in China and a significant majority of our revenues are sourced from China. Accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are influenced by economic, political and legal developments in China. Although the Chinese economy has grown significantly in the past decade, that growth may not continue, as evidenced by the slowing of the growth of the Chinese economyit has started to slow down since 2012. Any adverse changes in economicEconomic conditions in China are sensitive to global economic conditions, as well as changes in domestic economic and political policies and the policies of the Chinese governmentexpected or in the laws and regulations in China could have a material adverse effect on theperceived overall economic growth rate in China. Subsequent to the financial crisis in 2008, there has been considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. Moreover, aThere have been concerns over unrest and terrorist threats in the Middle East and Africa, which have resulted in volatility in oil and other markets, and over the conflicts involving Ukraine and Syria. There have also been concerns on the relationship among China and other Asian countries, which may result in or intensify potential conflicts in relation to territorial disputes. Any prolonged slowdown in the global or Chinese economy or the recurrence of any financial disruptions in any jurisdiction may have a material and adverse impact on available financing. The weakness in the economy could erode investors’ confidence, which constitutes the basis of the equity markets. The recent financial turmoil affecting the financial markets and banking system may significantly restrict our ability to obtain financing in the capital markets or from financial institutions on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. We are uncertain aboutIn addition, our customers may reduce, delay or cease discretionary spending on our products and services, while we may have difficulty expanding our customer base fast enough, or at all, to offset the extent to which the recent global financial and economic crisis and slowdownimpact of the Chinese economy may impactdecreased spending by our business in the long term. There is a risk that our business, results of operations and prospects would be materially and adversely affected by the global economic downturn and the slowdown of the Chinese economy.existing customers.

We face the risks of changing consumer preferences and uncertainty about market acceptance of our new products.

The online game industry is constantly evolving in China. Customer demand for and market acceptance of our online games is subject to a high degree of uncertainty. Our future operating results will depend on numerous factors beyond our control. These factors include:include, among others:

Our ability to plan for product development and distribution and promotional activities will be significantly affected by our ability to anticipate and adapt to relatively rapid changes in consumer tastes and preferences. We currently offer online games including MMORPGs, MMOFPSs web games, social games,and mobile games, andas well as TV games. A decline in the popularity of the types of games we offer could adversely affect our business and prospects.

In addition, if we introduce new games, a certain portion of our existing customers may switch to the new games. If this transfer of players from our existing games exceeds our expectations, we may have to adjust our marketing, pricing and other business plans and, as a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to recover our market share and profitability as we operate in a highly competitive industry and compete against many companies.with numerous competitors.

There are a large number ofnumerous online game operators in China. We expect that, given the relatively low entry barriers, to entry, more companies will enter the online game industry in China and a wider range of online games will be introduced to the Chinese market. Our competitors vary in size and include large companies, many of which have significantly greater financial, marketing and game development resources and name recognition than we have, such as Tencent Inc.,Holdings Limited, Shanda Games Limited, Netease.com,NetEase, Inc., Giant Interactive Group Inc., Changyou.com Limited, Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., Ltd., Perfect World Co., Ltd., Changyou.com Limited, Youzu Interactive CO., LTD., Shanghai 37wan Network Technology Co., Ltd. and Jiuyou Times (Beijing) Technology Limited.NetDragon Websoft Inc. As a result, we may not be able to devote adequatethe same degree of resources as our competitors do to designing, developing or acquiring new games, undertaking extensive marketing campaigns, adopting aggressive pricing policies, paying high compensation to game developers or compensating independent game developers to the same degree as certain of our competitors do.developers. Our competitors may introduce new business methods from time to time. If these new business methods are more attractive to customers than the business methods we currently use, our customers may switch to our competitors’ games, and we may lose market share. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against new or existing competitors, or against new business methods implemented by them. In addition, the increasing competition we anticipate in the online game industry may also reduce the number of our users or the growth rate of our user base or reduce the game points spending for in-game premiums. All of these competitive factors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and prevent us from recovering market share and profitability.

If we are unableor our joint ventures fail to maintain a satisfactory relationship with therenew or acquire new online game developers that have licensed games to uslicenses on favorable terms or establish new relationships with online game developers,at all, our future results of operations and profitability may be materially impacted.

Despite our effort to develop and offer our own proprietary games, we and our joint ventures also seek to offer games licensed from game licensors, such as Planetside 2, a game we operate in China which was licensed from Sony Online Entertainment LLC. The licenses of the games we operate generally have terms ranging from three to five years, and may or may not be renewed upon expiration. For example,licensors. In November 2015, our exclusive licenses from Sony Online Entertainment LLC to operate certain MMORPGs, including Free Realms, Planetside 2 and PoxNora, in Korea were terminated in October 2012, and ourjoint venture Oriental Shiny obtained an exclusive license from Sony Online Entertainment LLCSmilegate to publish and operate Free RealmsCrossFire 2 in China was terminatedfor an initial term of three years. Smilegate is currently in May 2014.the process of developing CrossFire 2. Historically, we have operated a number of games licensed from game licensors, all of which have expired or will soon expire after the date of this annual report. There is no assurance that we or our joint ventures will be able to acquire new online game licenses or favorable terms or at all, or that we or our joint ventures will be able to renew the game licenses upon their expiration.

We willand our joint ventures need to renew existing licenses and may need to obtain new online game licenses. Therefore,licenses, and any failure to do so on favorable terms or at all may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operationsoperations. Online game developers may be materially and adversely impacted ifnot grant or continue to grant licenses to us or our joint ventures due to commercial or other reasons. If we are unable to obtain new online game licenses in the future. In addition, if weor our joint ventures are unable to maintain a satisfactory relationship with the online game developers that have licensed games to us or our joint ventures, resulting in licenses not being renewed or licenses being prematurely terminated, or should any of these game developers either establish similar or more favorable relationships with our competitors in violation of their contractual arrangements with us or our joint ventures, or otherwise, our operating results and our business would be harmed. We cannot assure you that online game developers will renew their license agreements with us or our joint ventures, or grant us or our joint ventures a license for any new online games that they will develop or make available to us or our joint ventures expansion packs for existing games. Any deterioration in our relationships withfailure to obtain or renew online game developerslicenses from online game operators could harm our future results of operations or the growth of our business.

If we and our joint venture Oriental Shiny are unable to successfully launch and operate CrossFire 2 in China, our future results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We plan to invest a significant amount of financial and personnel resources in launching and operating CrossFire 2 in China, which was licensed by Smilegate to our joint venture Oriental Shiny in November 2015 for an initial term of three years, subject to an extension to five years. Oriental Shiny is a joint venture formed by Smilegate and Globe Wealthy Link Limited, or Globe Wealthy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of System Link Corporation Limited, or System Link, our 50%-owned joint venture that we formed with Qihoo 360. CrossFire 2 is the sequel of CrossFire, a first-person-shooter PC online game in China and Smilegate is the developer of both games. Smilegate is currently in the process of developing CrossFire 2. There is no assurance that CrossFire 2 can be successfully developed, localized, tested and launched, or that once CrossFire 2 is launched, Oriental Shiny will be able to continue to operate the game at a profit or at all. The relevant Chinese governmental authorities may delay or deny the granting of the approvals required for the open beta test, commercial launch or operation of CrossFire 2 due to the content of the game or other factors. Furthermore, there is no assurance that CrossFire 2 will attract sufficient users and be commercially successful.

In addition, we have made and may continue to make significant financial commitments under the CrossFire 2 license agreement. Pursuant to the CrossFire 2 license agreement, Oriental Shiny and Beijing Zhi’ao Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Beijing Zhi’ao, the PRC entity established to operate CrossFire 2 in China, has paid an initial license fee of US$50 million to Smilegate and may pay additional license fees of up to US$450 million subject to certain development milestones of CrossFire 2 and extension of the term of the license. The payment of license fee is partly guaranteed by us based on our equity interest in System Link. Oriental Shiny and Beijing Zhi’ao are also required to pay to Smilegate royalties, and Globe Wealthy is required to make additional cash contributions to Oriental Shiny as may be necessary for publishing, operating and marketing CrossFire 2. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Arrangements with Smilegate regarding CrossFire 2.” If Oriental Shiny loses the exclusive CrossFire 2 license for failure to meet its financial obligations or other reasons, or if Oriental Shiny is unable to successfully launch and operate CrossFire 2 and generate revenues therefrom enough to offset our CrossFire 2-related costs and expenses, our future results of operations will be adversely affected.

Future acquisitions may have an adverse effect on our ability to manage our business and our results of operations.

Selective acquisitions have been a part of our strategy to further expand our business in the past. However, the diversion of our management’s attention away from our business and any difficulties encountered in the integration process could have an adverse effect on our ability to manage our business. In addition, we have increasingly relied on our acquired subsidiaries to develop our own proprietary games. For example, Red 5, a subsidiary acquired in 2010, has developed Firefall, which we launched in North America and Europe in 2014.2014 and expect to have a large-scale commercial launch in China in the second half of 2016. If our acquired subsidiaries are unable to develop, launch and operate games that are commercially successful and appeal to game players, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

There is no assurance that we will continue to have the necessary capital to conduct future acquisitions given the significant net loss and negative operating cash flow we have been experiencing. In addition, our ability to grow through future acquisitions, investments or organic means will also depend on the availability of suitable acquisitions and investment targets at an acceptable cost as well as our ability to compete effectively to attract these candidates. We may face significant competition in acquiring new businesses or companies, which may hinder the execution of our growth strategy. Future acquisitions or investments could result in a potential dilutive issuance of equity securities or the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, impairment losses or amortization expenses related to goodwill and other intangible assets, each of which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. The benefits of an acquisition or investment may also take considerable time to develop and we cannot be certain that any particular acquisition or investment will produce its intended benefits. Future acquisitions would also expose us to potential risks, including risks associated with the assimilation of new operations, technologies and personnel, unforeseen or hidden liabilities, the diversion of resources from our existing businesses, sites and technologies, the inability to generate sufficient revenue to offset the costs and expenses of acquisitions, and potential loss of, or harm to, our relationships with employees, customers, licensors and other suppliers as a result of the integration of new businesses.

Future equity investments or establishment of joint ventures may have an adverse effect on our financial results and our ability to manage our business.

From time to time, subject to the availability of the necessary financial resources, we make equity investments into selected targets, such as online game developers, operators or application platforms, or establish joint venture with business partner,partners, to seek business growth opportunities. We may have limited power to direct or otherwise participate in the management of operations and strategies of the companies in which we invest or the joint venture we establish. The diversion of our management’s attention away from our business and any difficulties encountered in managing our interests in the respective investees or joint ventures could have an adverse effect on our ability to manage our business. Any material disputes with our investment or joint venture partners and existing shareholders may also require us to allocate significant corporate and other resources. For example, in August 2014, we formed our joint venture company, System Link, with Qihoo 360, for publishing and operating Firefall for a five-year term in China. In November 2015, our joint venture Oriental Shiny, which is majority-owned by System Link, obtained an exclusive license from Smilegate to publish and operate CrossFire 2 in China for an initial term of three years, subject to an extension to five years. Smilegate is currently in the process of developing CrossFire 2. If we fail to maintain our relationship with Qihoo 360 and fail to identify an alternative partner with similar resources, we may no longer be able to continue to carry out the business conducted through System Link, and our operating results may be materially and adversely affected. In addition, we may not recover our equity investments if the companies in which we invest do not perform well and equity investments could result in the incurrence of impairment losses, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

Undetected programming errors or flaws in our games could harm our reputation or decrease market acceptance of our games, which would materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

Our games may contain errors or flaws, which may only be discovered after their release, particularly as we launch new games or introduce new features to existing games under tight time constraints. If our games contain programming errors or other flaws, our customers may be less inclined to continue playing our games or to recommend our games to other potential customers, and may switch to our competitors’ games. Undetected programming errors and game defects can disrupt our operations, adversely affect the gaming experience of our users, harm our reputation, cause our customers to stop playing our games, divert our resources and delay market acceptance of our games, any of which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

We may not be able to prevent others from infringing upon our intellectual property rights, which may harm our business and expose us to litigation.

We regard our proprietary software, domain names, trade names, trademarks and similar intellectual properties as critical to our business. Intellectual property rights and confidentiality protection in China may not be as effective as in the United States or other countries. Monitoring and preventing the unauthorized use of proprietary technology is difficult and expensive. The steps we have taken may be inadequate to prevent the misappropriation of our proprietary technology. Any misappropriation could have a negative effect on our business and operating results. We may need to resort to court proceedings to enforce our intellectual property rights in the future. Litigation relating to our intellectual property might result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention away from our business. See “—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.”

Any failure to maintain a stable and effective online payment system could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Online payment systems in China are developing fast and a growing number of consumers are using such systems than in previous years. We rely on our internally-developed online payment system, Pass9, for sales of our online game services to consumers. Although our online payment systems are designed to support various third-party Internet payment channels in China, our online payment systems may be disrupted by system failure, programming errors, computer hackers or any failure or disruption from the Internet payment channels. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Company and Our Industry —Our business may be harmed if our technology becomes obsolete or if our system infrastructure fails to operate effectively.” In addition, we cannot assure you that we will maintain favorable relationships with third-party Internet payment channels. If we fail to maintain a stable and favorable relationship with these channels, or otherwise fail to effectively maintain our online payment systems, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Any deterioration of our relationship withdelay or failure by the online game platforms that distributeor distributors to successfully market or sell our games or any failure to maintain a stableproducts and efficient distribution networkservices could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We primarily rely on game platforms and distributors to distribute, promote, market and sell our games in China and overseas markets, such as North America, Europe and Europe.Southeast Asia. End users can purchase our virtual currencies and prepaid cards through such game platforms and distributors. A substantial portion of our sales are carried out via such game platforms and distributors. We do not have long-term agreements with any online game platforms or distributors. A delay or failure by the online game platforms or distributors to successfully market or sell our prepaid cards or products may adversely affect our business and results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will continue to maintain favorable relationships with the online game platforms and distributors. If we faildistributors, and any failure to maintain our relationship with online game platformsdo so could materially and distributors,adversely affect our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We rely on services and licenses from third parties to carry out our businesses, and if there is any negative development in these services or licenses, our end users may cease to use our products and services.

In addition to our online payment systems and distribution systems for which we significantly rely on third partythird-party services, we also rely on third-party services and licenses for our operations. For example, we rely on third partythird-party licenses for some of the software underlying our technology platform, and we rely on China Telecom’s Internet data centers to host our servers. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Pricing, Distribution and Marketing.” In addition, we expect to continue to derive a considerable amount of our revenues from our licensed online games in the near term.

Any interruption or any other negative development in our ability to rely on these services and licenses, such as material deterioration of quality of the third partythird-party services or the loss of intellectual property relating to the licenselicenses held by our licensors, could have a material and adverse impact on our business operations. In particular, our game licensors may be subject to intellectual property rights claims with respect to the games or software licensed to us. If such licensors cannot prevail on the legal proceedings brought against them, we could lose the right to use the licensed games or software. Furthermore, if our arrangements with any of these third parties are terminated or modified against our interest, we may not be able to find alternative solutions on a timely basis or on terms favorable to us. If any of these events occur, our end users may cease using our products and services, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Unexpected network interruptions caused by system failures or other internal or external factors may lead to user attrition, revenue reductions and may harm our reputation.

Any failure to maintain satisfactory performances, reliability, security and availability of our network infrastructure may cause significant harm to our reputation and our ability to attract and maintain users. The system hardware for our operations is located in several cities in China. We maintain our backup system hardware and operate our back-end infrastructure in Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Qingdao, Nantong, and Taicang. Server interruptions, breakdowns or system failures in the cities where we maintain our servers and system hardware, including failures that may be attributable to sustained power shutdowns, or other events within or outside our control that could result in a sustained shutdown of all or a material portion of our services, could adversely impact our ability to service our users.

Our network systems are also vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, fire, flood, earthquake, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer hacking and similar events. We maintain property insurance policies covering our servers, but do not have business interruption insurance.

Our business may be harmed if our technology becomes obsolete or if our system infrastructure fails to operate effectively.

The online game industry is subject to rapid technological change. We need to anticipate the emergence of new technologies and games, assess their acceptance and make appropriate investments. If we are unable to do so, new technologies in online game programming or operations could render our games obsolete or unattractive.

We use our internally developed Pass9 system and other software systems that support nearly all aspects of our billing and payment transactions. Our business may be harmed if we are unable to upgrade our systems fast enough to accommodate future traffic levels, avoid obsolescence or successfully integrate any newly developed or acquired technology with our existing systems. Capacity constraints could cause unanticipated system disruptions and slower response times, affecting data transmission and game play. These factors could, among other things, cause us to lose existing or potential customers and existing or potential game development partners.

We have been and may be subject to future intellectual property rights claims or other claims, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of our financial and management resources away from our business.

There is no assurance that our online games, including our mobile games, or other content posted on our websites, whether proprietary or our mobile gameslicensed from third parties, do not or will not infringe upon patents, valid copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We may be subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time relating to the intellectual property of others. For example, in May 2012, the People’s Supreme Court of China affirmed a judgment against us and other defendants in a lawsuit filed by Beijing Founder Electronics Co., Ltd., which ruled that WoW client installation packages sold by us in 2007 contained fonts that infringed Beijing Founder Electronics Co., Ltd.’s intellectual property rights. Based on the People’s Supreme Court’s judgment, we are required to compensate Beijing Founder Electronics Co., Ltd. an aggregate amount of RMB2.2 million. In June 2013, Beijing No.1 People’s Intermediate Court issued a judgment against us in a lawsuit filed by Diego Maradona, a former Argentina soccer player, which ruled that we infringed Maradona’s personal right by using his name and photos on our game “Winning Goal,” a web and social game we previously operated, without proper authorization. We were required to compensate Maradona an aggregate amount of RMB3RMB3.0 million (US$0.5 million) and any accrued interests thereof for late payment. In February 2015, we entered into a settlement agreement with the plaintiff for a total payment of RMB3.3 million (US$0.5 million) to settle the matter. See “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Legal Proceedings.”

Some of our employees were previously employed at other companies, including our current and potential competitors. We also intend to hire additional personnel to expand our product development and technical support teams. To the extent these employees have been involved in research at our company similar to research in which they had been involved at their former employers, we may become subject to claims that such employees have used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. In addition, our competitors may file lawsuits against us in order to gain an unfair competitive advantage over us.

If any such claim arises in the future, litigation or other dispute resolution proceedings may be necessary to retain our ability to offer our current and future games, which could result in substantial costs and diversion of our financial and management resources. Furthermore, if we are found to have violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be enjoined from using such intellectual property, incur additional costs to license or develop alternative games and be forced to pay fines and damages, each of which may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our operating results may fluctuate due to various factors, and therefore may not be subject to seasonal fluctuations.indicative of our future results.

Our operating results have experienced seasonal fluctuations from time to time and will likely continue to fluctuate in the future. These fluctuations in operating results depend on a variety of factors, including the timing of new game launches, the expiration of existing game licenses, and acquisition or disposal of subsidiaries. Other factors include the demand for our products and the products of our competitors, the level of usage of illegal game servers, the level of usage of the Internet, the size and rate of growth of the online game market and development and promotional expenses related to the introduction of new products. In addition, because our game software is susceptible to unauthorized character enhancements, we may periodically delete characters that are enhanced with unauthorized modifications. This has caused some affected customers to stop playing the respective game, which, in the aggregate, may cause our operating results to fluctuate.

To a significant degree, our operating expenses are based on planned expenditures and our expectations regarding prospective customer usage. Failure to meet our expectations could disproportionately and adversely affect our operating results in any given period. As a result, we believe that our historical operating results may not necessarily be indicative of our future results.

Our business depends substantially on the continuing efforts of our senior executives, and our business may be severely disrupted if we lose their services.

Our future success dependsbusiness and prospect depend heavily upon the continued services of our senior executives. We rely on their expertise in business operations, technology support and sales and marketing and on their relationships with our shareholders and distributors. We do not maintain key-man life insurance for any of our key executives. If one or more of our key executives are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them easily or at all. As a result, our business may be severely disrupted, our financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we may incur additional expense to recruit and train personnel.

Each of our executive officers has entered into an employment agreement with us, which contains confidentiality and non-competition provisions. If any disputes arise between our executive officers and us, we cannot assure you the extent to which any of these agreements could be enforced in China, where these executive officers reside and hold most of their assets, in light of uncertainties with the PRC legal system. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors —Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.”

If we are unable to attract, train and retain key individuals and highly skilled employees, our business may be adversely affected.

AsOur business relies on our business expands, we needability to hire and retain additional qualified employees, including skilled and experienced online game developers. Since our industry is characterized by high demand and intense competition for talent, we may need to offer higher compensation and other benefits in order to retain key personnel in the future. We cannot assure you that we will be able to attract or retain the qualified game developers or other key personnel that we will need to achieve our business objectives.

PRC laws and regulations restrict foreign ownership of Internet content provision, Internet culture operation and Internet publishing licenses, and substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the application and implementation of PRC laws and regulations.

We are a Cayman Islands company and, as such, we are classified as a foreign enterprise under PRC laws. Various regulations in China currently restrict foreign or foreign-owned entities from holding certain licenses required in China to provide online game operation services over the Internet, including Internet content provision, or ICP, Internet culture operation and Internet publishing licenses. In light of such restrictions, we primarily rely on Shanghai IT, one of our affiliated PRC entities, to hold and maintain the licenses necessary for the operation of our online games in China.

In July 2006, the Ministry of Information Industry (which has subsequently been reorganized as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology), or MIIT, issued a notice entitled “Notice on Strengthening Management of Foreign Investment in Operating Value-Added Telecommunication Services,” or the New MII Notice, which prohibits ICP license holders from leasing, transferring or selling a telecommunications business operating license to foreign investors in any form, or providing resources, sites or facilities to any foreign investors for their illegal operation of a telecommunications business in China. The notice also requires that ICP license holders and their shareholders directly own the domain names and trademarks used by such ICP license holders in their daily operations. The notice further requires each ICP license holder to have the necessary facilities for its approved business operations and to maintain such facilities in the regions covered by its license. In addition, all value-added telecommunication service providers are required to maintain network and information security in accordance with the standards set forth under relevant PRC regulations. The local authorities in charge of telecommunications services are required to ensure that existing ICP license holders conduct a self-assessment of their compliance with the New MII Notice and submit status reports to MIIT before November 1, 2006. Since the New MII Notice was issued, we have transferred to Shanghai IT all of the domain names used in our daily operations and certain trademarks used in our daily operations, as required under the New MII Notice. All relevant transfers have been completed and relevant approvals have been obtained.

In September 2009, the General Administration of Press and Publication, Radio, Film and Television, or GAPPRFT (formerly known as the General Administration of Press and Publication, or GAPP), promulgated the Circular Regarding the Implementation of the Department Reorganization Regulation by State Council and Relevant Interpretation by State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform to Further Strengthen the Administration of Pre-approval on Online Games and Approval on Import Online Games, or the GAPP Circular, which provides that foreign investors shall not control or participate in PRC online game operation businesses indirectly or in a disguised manner by establishing joint venture companies or entering into relevant agreements with, or by providing technical supports to, such PRC online game operation companies, or by inputting the users’ registration, account management or game card consumption directly into the interconnected gaming platform or fighting platform controlled or owned by the foreign investor. It is not clear whether the regulatory authority of GAPPRFT applies to the regulation of ownership structures of online game companies based in China and online game operation in China. Other government agencies that have regulatory jurisdiction over the online game operations in China, such as the Ministry of Culture and MIIT, did not join GAPP in issuing the GAPP Circular. To date, the GAPPRFT has not issued any interpretation of the GAPP Circular. It is not yet clear how this GAPP Circular will be implemented.

Subject to the interpretation and implementation of the GAPP Circular, the ownership structure and the business operation models of our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated PRC entities comply with all applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, and no consent, approval or license is required under any of the existing laws and regulations of China for their ownership structure and business operation models except for those which we have already obtained or which would not have a material adverse effect on our business or operations as a whole. There are, however, substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation and application of current or future PRC laws and regulations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that PRC government authorities will ultimately take a view that is consistent with the opinion of our PRC legal counsel.

For example, the Ministry of Commerce, or MOFCOM, promulgated the Rules of Ministry of Commerce on Implementation of Security Review System of Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors in August 2011, or the MOFCOM Security Review Rules, to implement the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Establishing the Security Review System for Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors promulgated on February 3, 2011, or Circular No. 6. The MOFCOM Security Review Rules came into effect on September 1, 2011 and replaced the Interim Provisions of the Ministry of Commerce on Matters Relating to the Implementation of the Security Review System for Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors promulgated by MOFCOM in March 2011. According to these circulars and rules, a security review is required for mergers and acquisitions by foreign investors having “national defense and security” concerns and mergers and acquisitions by which foreign investors may acquire the “de facto control” of domestic enterprises having “national security” concerns. In addition, when deciding whether a specific merger or acquisition of a domestic enterprise by foreign investors is subject to the security review, MOFCOM will look into the substance and actual impact of the transaction. The MOFCOM Security Review Rules further prohibit foreign investors from bypassing the security review requirement by structuring transactions through proxies, trusts, indirect investments, leases, loans, control through contractual arrangements or offshore transactions. There is no explicit provision or official interpretation stating that our online game operation services falls into the scope subject to the security review, and there is no requirement for foreign investors in those merger and acquisition transactions already completed prior to the promulgation of Circular No. 6 to submit such transactions to MOFCOM for security review. As we have already obtained the “de facto control” over our affiliated PRC entities prior to the effectiveness of these circulars and rules, we do not believe we are required to submit our existing contractual arrangement to MOFCOM for security review. However, we are advised by our PRC legal counsel that, as these circulars and rules are relatively new and as there is a lack of clear statutory interpretation on the implementation of the same, there is no assurance that MOFCOM will have the same view as we do when applying these national security review-related circulars and rules.

We have been further advised by our PRC counsel that if we, any of our PRC subsidiaries or affiliated PRC entities are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or regulations, including the New MII Notice and the GAPP Circular, or fail to obtain or maintain any of the required permits or approvals, the relevant PRC regulatory authorities, would have broad discretion in dealing with such violations, including:

The imposition of any of these penalties could result in a material and adverse effect on our ability to conduct our business and on our results of operations. If any of these penalties results in our inability to direct the activities of Shanghai IT that most significantly impact its economic performance, and/or our failure to receive the economic benefits from Shanghai IT, we may not be able to consolidate Shanghai IT in our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We rely on contractual arrangements for our operations and operating licenses in China, which may not be as effective in providing operational control as direct ownership.

Because the PRC government restricts our ownership of ICP, Internet culture operation and Internet publishing businesses in China, we primarily depend on Shanghai IT, in which we have no ownership interest, to operate our online game business and other ICP related businesses, and hold and maintain the requisite licenses. We have relied and expect to continue to rely on contractual arrangements withto obtain effective control over Shanghai IT to operate our online game business and other ICP related businesses. TheseIT. Such contractual arrangements may not be as effective as direct ownership in providing us with control over the Shanghai IT as direct ownership.IT. From the legal perspective, if Shanghai IT fails to perform its obligations under the contractual arrangements, we may have to incur substantial costs and spend other resources to enforce such arrangements, and rely on legal remedies under PRC law, including seeking specific performance or injunctive relief and claiming damages. For example, if the shareholders of Shanghai IT were to refuse to transfer their equity interests in Shanghai IT to us or our designee when we exercise the call option pursuant to the Call Option Agreement, or if such shareholders otherwise act in bad faith toward us, we may have to take legal action to compel it to fulfill their contractual obligations, which could be time consuming and costly.

These contractual arrangements are governed by PRC law and provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration in the PRC. The legal environment in the PRC is not as developed as in some other jurisdictions, such as the United States. As a result, uncertainties in the PRC legal system could limit our ability to enforce these contractual arrangements. In particular, a recently released draft version of the PRC Foreign Investment Law from the MOFCOM may have a substantial impact on our corporate structure as well as our business operations. See “—Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of the draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.” We have historically derived significant revenues from Shanghai IT. InFor the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, Shanghai IT contributed 94.6%82.6%, 82.6%66.4% and 66.4%74.1%, respectively, of our total revenues. In the event we are unable to enforce the contractual arrangements, we may not be able to have the power to direct the activities that most significantly affect the economic performance of Shanghai IT, and our ability to conduct our business may be negatively affected, and we may not be able to consolidate the financial results of Shanghai IT into our consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We believe that our option to purchase all or part of the equity interests in Shanghai IT, when and to the extent permitted by PRC law, or request any existing shareholder of Shanghai IT to transfer all or part of the equity interest in Shanghai IT to another PRC person or entity designated by us at any time in our discretion, and the rights under the Shareholder Voting Proxy Agreement that the shareholders of Shanghai IT have granted to us, effectively enable us to have the ability to cause the related contractual arrangements to be renewed when needed. However, if we are not able to effectively enforce these agreements or otherwise renew the relevant agreements when they expire, our ability to receive the economic benefits of Shanghai IT may be adversely affected.

Our ability to enforce the Equity Pledge Agreements between us and the shareholders of Shanghai IT may be subject to limitations based on PRC laws and regulations.

Pursuant to the Equity Pledge Agreements with the shareholders of Shanghai IT, such shareholders agreed to pledge their equity interests in Shanghai IT to secure their performance under the relevant contractual arrangements. The equity pledges of Shanghai IT under these Equity Pledge Agreements have been registered with the relevant local administration for industry and commerce pursuant to the new PRC Property Rights Law. According to the PRC Property Rights Law and PRC Guarantee Law, the pledgee and the pledgor are prohibited from making an agreement prior to the expiration of the debt performance period to transfer the ownership of the pledged equity to the pledgee when the obligor fails to pay the debt due. However, under the PRC Property Rights Law, when an obligor fails to pay its debt when due, the pledgee may choose to either conclude an agreement with the pledgor to obtain the pledged equity or seek payments from the proceeds of the auction or sell-off of the pledged equity. If Shanghai IT or its shareholders fail to perform their obligations secured by the pledges under the Equity Pledge Agreements, one remedy in the event of default under the agreements is to require the pledgors to sell the equity interests of Shanghai IT in an auction or private sale and remit the proceeds to our wholly owned subsidiaries in China, net of related taxes and expenses. Such an auction or private sale may not result in our receipt of the full value of the equity interests in Shanghai IT. We consider it very unlikely that the public auction process would be undertaken since, in an event of default, our preferred approach is to ask The9 Computer, Technology Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., or The9 Computer, our PRC wholly owned subsidiary and a party to the Call Option Agreement, to replace or designate another PRC person or entity to replace the existing shareholders of Shanghai IT pursuant to the direct transfer option we have under the option agreement.

In addition, in the registration forms of the local branch of State Administration for Industry and Commerce for the pledges over the equity interests under the Equity Pledge Agreements, the amount of registered equity interests in Shanghai IT pledged to us was stated as RMB23.0 million, which represent 100% of the registered capital of Shanghai IT. The Equity Pledge Agreements with the shareholders of Shanghai IT provide that the pledged equity interest shall constitute continuing security for any and all of the indebtedness, obligations and liabilities under all of the contractual arrangements and the scope of pledge shall not be limited by the amount of the registered capital of Shanghai IT. However, it is possible that a PRC court may take the position that the amount listed on the equity pledge registration forms represents the full amount of the collateral that has been registered and perfected. If this is the case, the obligations that are supposed to be secured under the Equity Pledge Agreements in excess of the amount listed on the equity pledge registration forms could be determined by the PRC court as unsecured debt, which takes last priority among creditors and often does not have to be paid back at all. We do not have agreements that pledge the assets of Shanghai IT for the benefit of us.

Our contractual arrangements with our affiliated entities may result in adverse tax consequences to us.

We could face material and adverse tax consequences if the PRC tax authorities determine that our contractual arrangements with Shanghai IT and our other affiliated entities were not made on reasonable or arm’s length commercial terms or otherwise. If this were to occur, they may adjust our income and expenses for PRC tax purposes in the form of a transfer pricing adjustment. A transfer pricing adjustment could result in a reduction, for PRC tax purposes, of costs and expenses recorded by Shanghai IT,our affiliated entities, which could adversely affect us by: (i) increasing the tax liability of Shanghai ITour affiliated entities without reducing our other PRC subsidiaries’ tax liability, which could further result in late payment fees and other penalties to Shanghai ITour affiliated entities for underpaid taxes; or (ii) limiting the abilityabilities of Shanghai ITour affiliated entities to maintain preferential tax treatments and other financial incentives.

We may not be able to get approval for renewing our current foreign games, or for licensing new foreign games, if the PRC regulatory authorities promote a policy of domestic online or mobile game development and tighten approval criteria for online or mobile game imports.

We license and operate foreign games and may continue to do so in the near future. In the past, such foreign games mainly included MMORPGs or casual games. With mobile social gaming being one of our new businesses, we also license foreign mobile games. Since 2004, relevant government authorities have promulgated several circulars, according to which the development of domestically developed online games, including mobile games, will be strategically supported by the PRC government. For example, in July 2005, MIIT and the Ministry of Culture issued the Opinion on Development and Management of Online Games, or the Opinion. The Opinion provided that domestic software development companies, network service providers and content providers will be encouraged, guided and supported to develop and promote self-developed and self-owned online games so that such games can take up a leading position in the domestic market and expand into the international market.

The government will also encourage the development of derivative products to domestic online games. In support of this policy, GAPPRFT may tighten approval criteria for online game imports in an effort to protect the development of domestic online game enterprises, as well as to limit the influence of foreign culture on Chinese youth. If GAPPRFT implements such rules and policies, we may not be able to get approval for renewing our current foreign game licenses or for licensing new foreign games, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Failure to obtain or renew approvals or filings for online games and mobile games we operate may adversely affect our operations or subject us to penalties.

The Ministry of Culture has promulgated laws and regulations that require, among other things, (i) the review and prior approval of all new online games licensed from foreign game developers and related license agreements, (ii) the review of patches and updates with substantial changes of games which have already been approved, and (iii) the filing of domestically developed online games. Furthermore, online games, regardless of whether imported or domestic, will be subject to content review and approval by GAPPRFT prior to the commencement of games operations in China. Failure to obtain or renew approvals or complete filings for online games, orincluding mobile games, may materially delay or otherwise affect a game operator’s plan to launch new games, and the operator may be subject to fines, the restriction or suspension of operations of the related games or revocation of licenses in the event that the relevant governmental authority believes that the violation is severe.

We obtained all the necessary approvals from, and completed the necessary filings with, the Ministry of Culture and GAPP for operations of applicable games. Consistent with the general practice of the mobile and TV game industry in China, we have not yet completed filings with the Ministry of Culture and GAPPRFT for our mobile and TV games before we commenced our operations. From time to time, we also rely on certain third party licensors of domestically developed online games to obtain approvals and complete filings with the PRC regulatory authorities. If we or any such third party licensors fail to obtain the required approvals or complete the filings, we may not be able to continue the operation of such games. If any such negative event occurs, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We depend on Shanghai IT to hold certain operating licenses. If Shanghai IT or its shareholders violate our contractual arrangements, our business could be disrupted and our reputation may be harmed.

Because the PRC government restricts our ownership of ICP, Internet culture operation and Internet publishing businesses in China, we primarily depend on Shanghai IT, one of our affiliated PRC entities in which we have no ownership interest, to hold and maintain certain licenses necessary for our business operations. Our relationship with Shanghai IT is governed by a series of contractual arrangements that are intended to provide us with effective control over these entities, but these contractual arrangements may not be as effective in providing control as direct ownership of these businesses. For example, the shareholders of Shanghai IT could violate their contractual arrangement with us, or otherwise become unable to perform its contracts with us. As a result, we may lose the licenses required for our online game operations and our reputation and business could be harmed.

The principal shareholders of our affiliated PRC entities have potential conflicts of interest with us, which may adversely affect our business.

Zhimin Lin and Wei Ji, two of our employees, are the principal shareholders of Shanghai IT, one of our affiliated entities. Thus, there may be conflicts of interest between their respective duties to our company as employees and their respective shareholder interests in these affiliated PRC entities. We cannot assure you that when conflicts of interest arise, these persons will act in our best interests or that conflicts of interests will be resolved in our favor. These persons could violate their legal duties, including duties under their non-competition or employment agreements with us, by engaging in activities that are not in the best interest in our company, such as diverting business opportunities from us. In any such event, we would have to rely on the PRC legal system to enforce these agreements. Any legal proceeding could result in the disruption of our business, diversion of our resources and the incurrence of substantial costs. See “—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.”

Our subsidiaries in China are subject to restrictions on paying dividends or making other payments.

From time to time, we may rely on dividends paid by our subsidiaries in China to fund our operations, such as paying dividends to our shareholders or meeting obligations under any indebtedness incurred by us or our overseas subsidiaries. Current PRC regulations restrict our subsidiaries in China from paying dividends in the following two principal aspects: (i) our subsidiaries in China are only permitted to pay dividends out of their respective after-tax profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations, and (ii) these entities are required to allocate at least 10% of their respective after-tax profits each year, if any, to fund statutory reserve funds until the cumulative total of the allocated reserves reaches 50% of registered capital, and a portion of their respective after-tax profits to their staff welfare and bonus reserve funds as determined by their respective boards of directors or shareholders. These reserves are not distributable as dividends. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations.” Further, if these entities incur debt on their behalf in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other payments. Our inability to receive dividends or other payments from our PRC subsidiaries may adversely affect our ability to continue to grow our business and make cash or other distributions to the holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs. In addition, failure to comply with relevant State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, regulations may restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to make dividend payments to us. See “—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident shareholders or us to penalties and fines, and limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital, distribute profits to us, or otherwise adversely affect us.”

We could be liable for breaches of security on our websites and fraudulent transactions by users of our websites.

Currently, a portion of our transactions are conducted through our websites. In such transactions, secure transmission of confidential information (such as customers’ credit card numbers and expiration dates, personal information and billing addresses) over public networks is essential to maintain consumer confidence. Our current security measures may not be adequate to safeguard against fraudulent transactions. Security breaches could expose us to litigation and possible liability for failing to secure confidential customer information and could harm our reputation and ability to attract customers.

Existing major shareholders have substantial control over us and could delay or prevent a change in corporate control.

Incsight Limited, or Incsight, a company wholly-owned by Jun Zhu, our chairman and chief executive officer, and Bosma Limited, or Bosma, the two largest shareholders of our company, collectively own a significant percentage of our outstanding ordinary shares. Incsight and Bosma have entered into a voting agreement to vote together with respect to the election of our directors. See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—C. Board Practices—Voting Agreement.” As a result, these shareholders will continue to exert significant control over all matters requiring shareholder approval, including but not limited to, the election of directors and approval of significant corporate transactions. This voting power could delay or prevent an acquisition of our company on terms that other shareholders may desire. In addition, the rights of minority shareholders and the fiduciary obligationsduties of directors in the Cayman Islands may not be as extensive as those in the United States or elsewhere, and the ability to assert shareholder rights may be comparatively limited.

The PRC income tax laws may increase our tax burden or the tax burden on the holders of our shares or ADSs, and tax benefits available to us may be reduced or repealed, causing the value of your investment in us to suffer.decrease .

Our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in the PRC are subject to enterprise income tax, or EIT, on the taxable income as reported in their respective statutory financial statements adjusted in accordance with the Enterprise Income Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China, or EIT Law, which was approved by the National People’s Congress on March 16, 2007. The EIT Law went into effect as of January 1, 2008, which unified the tax rate generally applicable to both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises in the PRC. Our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in the PRC are generally subject to EIT at a statutory rate of 25%. Shanghai IT, our affiliated entity which holds a High and New Technology Enterprise, or HNTE, qualification is entitled to enjoy a 15% preferential EIT rate. However, we cannot assure you that Shanghai IT will meet these criteria and continue to be qualified as an HNTE if we apply to the tax authorities in the future.

Moreover, unlike the tax regulations effective before 2008, which specifically exempted withholding taxes on dividends payable to non-PRC investors from foreign-invested enterprises in the PRC, the EIT Law and its implementation rules provide that a withholding income tax rate of 10% will be applicable to dividends payable by Chinese companies to non-PRC-resident enterprises unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and the governments of other countries or regions. While the Tax Agreement between the PRC and Hong Kong provides dividends paid by a foreign-invested enterprise in the PRC to its corporate shareholder, which is considered a Hong Kong tax resident, will be subject to withholding tax at the rate of 5% of total dividends, this is limited to instances where the corporate shareholder directly holds at least 25% of the shares of the company that is to pay dividends for at least twelve consecutive months immediately prior to receiving the dividends and meets certain other criteria prescribed by the relevant regulations. Entitlement to a lower tax rate on dividends according to tax treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions is further subject to approval of the relevant tax authority.

Furthermore, the State Administration of Taxation, or SAT, promulgated the Notice on How to Understand and Determine the Beneficial Owners in Tax Agreement in October 2009, or Circular 601, which provides guidance for determining whether a resident of a contracting state is the “beneficial owner” of an item of income under China’s tax treaties and tax arrangements. According to Circular 601, a beneficial owner generally must be engaged in substantive business activities. An agent or conduit company will not be regarded as a beneficial owner and, therefore, will not be qualified for treaty benefits. A conduit company normally refers to a company that is set up for the purpose of avoiding or reducing taxes or transferring or accumulating profits. In June 2012, SAT further promulgated the Announcement on Determining the Beneficial Owners in Tax Agreement, or Circular 30, which provides that the tax authorities shall make the decision based on a comprehensive consideration of all determining factors provided in Circular 601 rather than the status of a single determining factor. We cannot assure you that any dividends to be distributed by our subsidiaries to us or by us to our non-PRC shareholders and ADS holders, whose jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China providing a different withholding arrangement, will be entitled to the benefits under the relevant withholding arrangement.

In addition, the EIT Law deems an enterprise established offshore but having its management organ in the PRC as a “resident enterprise” that will be subject to PRC tax at the rate of 25% of its global income. Under the Implementation Rules of the EIT Law, the term “management organ” is defined as “an organ which has substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operation, personnel, accounting, properties and other factors.” On April 22, 2009, the SAT further issued a notice regarding recognizing an offshore-established enterprise controlled by PRC shareholders as a resident enterprise according to its management organ, or Circular 82. According to Circular 82, a foreign enterprise controlled by a PRC company or a PRC company group shall be deemed a PRC resident enterprise, if (i) the senior management and the core management departments in charge of its daily operations are mainly located and function in the PRC; (ii) its financial decisions and human resource decisions are subject to the determination or approval of persons or institutions located in the PRC; (iii) its major assets, accounting books, company seals, minutes and files of board meetings and shareholders’ meetings are located or kept in the PRC; and (iv) more than half of the directors or senior management with voting rights reside in the PRC. On July 27, 2011, SAT issued the Administrative Measures of Enterprise Income Tax of Chinese-Controlled Offshore Incorporated Resident Enterprises (Trial), or SAT Bulletin 45, which further clarified the detailed procedures for determining resident status under Circular 82, competent tax authorities in charge and post-determination administration of such resident enterprises. Although our offshore companies are not controlled by any PRC company or PRC company group, we cannot assure you that we will not be deemed to be a “resident enterprise” under the EIT Law and thus be subject to PRC EIT on our global income.

According to the EIT Law and its implementation rules, dividends are exempted from income tax if such dividends are received by a resident enterprise on equity interests it directly owns in another resident enterprise. However, foreign corporate holders of our shares or ADSs may be subject to taxation at a rate of 10% on any dividends received from us or any gains realized from the transfer of our shares or ADSs if we are deemed to be a resident enterprise or if such income is otherwise regarded as income from “sources within the PRC.” The EIT Law empowers the PRC State Council to enact appropriate implementing rules and measures and there is no guarantee that we or our subsidiaries will be entitled to any of the preferential tax treatments. Nor can we assure you that the tax authorities will not, in the future, discontinue any of our preferential tax treatments, potentially with retroactive effect. Any significant increase in the EIT rate under the EIT Law applicable to our PRC subsidiaries and affiliated entities, or the imposition of withholding taxes on dividends payable by our subsidiaries to us, or an EIT levy on us or any of our subsidiaries or affiliated entities registered outside the PRC, or dividends or capital gains received by our shareholders due to shares or ADSs held in us will have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial conditions and the value of investments in us.

We are required to pay value added tax as a result of recent tax reformreforms in various regions in China and we may be subject to similar tax treatments elsewhere in China.

On November 16, 2011, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued the Circular on the Pilot Program for the Collection of Value Added Tax Instead of Business Tax, or Circular 110, and the Circular on the Pilot Program for the Collection of Value Added Tax Instead of Business Tax in the Transportation and Certain Modern Service Sectors in Shanghai, or Circular 111, which became effective on January 1, 2012. Pursuant to Circular 110 and Circular 111, a tax reform pilot program came into effect in Shanghai, which was chosen by the PRC government as the first pilot city for such reform. Starting from January 1, 2012, companies which are designated by Shanghai local tax authorities as operating in certain modern service sectors are required to pay value added tax, or VAT, in lieu of business tax. On July 31, 2012, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued the Circular on the Pilot Program for the Collection of Value Added Tax Instead of Business Tax in the Transportation and Certain Modern Service Sectors in Eight Cities and Provinces such as Beijing, or Circular 71, which further extended areas subject to the pilot program to cover eight more provinces. On December 12, 2013, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued the Interim Implementation Rules on the Pilot Program for the Collection of Value Added Tax Instead of Business Tax and a series of other rules, which annulled the preceding trial rules and extended applicable areas of the pilot program to the whole country. As a result of such Implementation Rules, some of our services provided by Shanghai IT Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement and The9 Computer are subject to VAT at the rate of 6%. Shanghai IT Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement and The9 Computer, as General VAT Payers under the applicable tax regulations, may reduce their VAT payable amount by the VAT which they paid in connection with its purchasing activities, or its Input VAT. Certain services provided by Shanghai The9 EducationalEducation Technology Co., Ltd. (formerly named as Shanghai The9 Education Software Technology Co., Ltd.), or The9 Education, and our other PRC subsidiaries or affiliated PRC entities shall be subject to VAT at the rate of 3%, and these companies as Small-scale VAT Payers under the applicable tax regulations may not reduce their VAT payable by their Input VAT. As such Implementation Rules are newly introduced and thereThere is significant uncertainty relating to the interpretation and enforcement of such circulars by the national and the local tax authorities and other relevant authorities. Beginning from August 1, 2013, the VAT reform was expanded to all regions in the PRC. As a result, we may be subject to more unfavorable tax treatment with respect to our business operations as a result of the VAT reform, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

On March 23, 2016, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued the Circular on the Pilot Program for Overall Implementation of the Collection of Value Added Tax Instead of Business Tax, or Circular 36, which will take effect on May 1, 2016. Pursuant to Circular 36, all companies operating in construction, real estate, finance, modern service or other sectors which were required to pay business tax are required to pay VAT in lieu of business tax. As a result of Circular 36, the services provided by Shanghai IT, The9 Computer, C9I Shanghai, Shanghai Fire Wing and The9 Education as general VAT payers will be subject to VAT at the rate of 6%, and the services provided by our other PRC subsidiaries and affiliated PRC entities as small-scale VAT payers will be subject to VAT at the rate of 3%.

Strengthened scrutiny over acquisition transactions by the PRC tax authorities may have a negative impact on our acquisition strategy.

In connection with the EIT Law, the Ministry of Finance and SAT jointly issued, on April 30, 2009, the Notice on Issues Concerning Process of Enterprise Income Tax in Enterprise Restructuring Business, or Circular 59. On December 10, 2009, the SAT issued the Notice on Strengthening the Management on Enterprise Income Tax for Non-resident Enterprises Equity Transfer, or Circular 698. Both Circular 59 and Circular 698 became effective retroactively on January 1, 2008. Under the two circulars, non-PRC-resident enterprises may be subject to income tax on capital gains generated from their transfers of equity interests in PRC resident enterprises. The PRC tax authorities have the discretion under Circular 59 and Circular 698 to make adjustments to the taxable capital gains based on the difference between the fair value of the equity interests transferred and the cost of the investment. In addition, by promulgating and implementing the circulars, the PRC tax authorities have strengthened their scrutiny over the direct or indirect transfer of equity interests in a PRC resident enterprise by a non-PRC-resident enterprise. For example, Circular 698 specifies that the PRC SAT is entitled to redefine the nature of an equity transfer where offshore vehicles are interposed for tax-avoidance purposes and without reasonable commercial purpose.

On February 3, 2015, the SAT issued the Notice on Several Issues regarding Enterprise Income Tax for Indirect Property Transfer by Non-resident Enterprises, or SAT Circular 7, which further specifies the criteria for judging reasonable commercial purpose, and the legal requirements for the voluntary reporting procedures and filing materials in the case of indirect property transfer. SAT Circular 7 has listed several factors to be taken into consideration by tax authorities in determining whether an indirect transfer has a reasonable commercial purpose. However, despite these factors, an indirect transfer satisfying all the following criteria shall be deemed to lack reasonable commercial purpose and be taxable under the PRC laws: (i) 75% or more of the equity value of the intermediary enterprise being transferred is derived directly or indirectly from the PRC taxable properties; (ii) at any time during the one year period before the indirect transfer, 90% or more of the asset value of the intermediary enterprise (excluding cash) is comprised directly or indirectly of investments in the PRC, or 90% or more of its income is derived directly or indirectly from the PRC; (iii) the functions performed and risks assumed by the intermediary enterprise and any of its subsidiaries that directly or indirectly hold the PRC taxable properties are limited and are insufficient to prove their economic substance; and (iv) the foreign tax payable on the gains derived from the indirect transfer of the PRC taxable properties is lower than the potential PRC tax on the direct transfer of such assets. Nevertheless, the indirect transfer falling into the scope of the safe harbor under SAT Circular 7 may not be subject to PRC tax and such safe harbor includes qualified group restructuring, public market trading and tax treaty exemptions. Under SAT Circular 7, the entities or individuals obligated to pay the transfer price to the transferor shall be the withholding agent and shall withhold the PRC tax from the transfer price. If the withholding agent fails to do so, the transferor shall report to and pay the PRC tax to the PRC tax authorities. In case neither the withholding agent nor the transferor complies with the obligations under SAT Circular 7, other than imposing penalties such as late payment interest on the transferors, the tax authority may also hold the withholding agent liable and impose a penalty of 50% to 300% of the unpaid tax on the withholding agent, provided that such penalty imposed on the withholding agent may be reduced or waived if the withholding agent has submitted the relevant materials in connection with the indirect transfer to the PRC tax authorities in accordance with SAT Circular 7.

Since we may pursue acquisitionsacquisition as one of our growth strategies, and have conducted and may conduct acquisitions involving complex corporate structures, the PRC tax authorities may, at their discretion, adjust the capital gains and impose tax return filing obligations on us or request us to submit additional documentation for their review in connection with any of our acquisitions, thus causing us to incur additional acquisition costs.

We have adopted a shareholders rights plan, which, together with the other anti-takeover provisions of our articles of association, could discourage a third party from acquiring us, which could limit our shareholders’ opportunity to sell their shares, including ordinary shares represented by our ADSs, at a premium.

On January 8, 2009, our board of directors adopted a shareholder rights plan. Under the rights plan, one right was distributed with respect to each of our ordinary shares outstanding at the close of business on January 22, 2009. In the event that, subject to limited exceptions, a person or group obtains beneficial ownership of 15% or more of our voting securities (including by acquisition of our ADSs representing ordinary shares), or enters into an acquisition transaction without the approval of our board of directors, such person or group will become the acquiring person under the plan. As a result, these rights will entitle the holders, other than the acquiring person, to purchase upon the exercise of such right the number of our ordinary shares having a market value of two times the then current purchase price associated with the right. For example, at a purchase price of US$14.5019.50 per right, each right not owned by an acquiring person would entitle its holder to purchase US$29.0039.00 worth of our ordinary shares for US$14.50.19.50.

This rights plan and the other anti-takeover provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction. Our existing authorized ordinary shares confer on the holders of our ordinary shares equal rights, privileges and restrictions. The shareholders have, by virtue of adoption of our third amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, authorized the issuance of shares of par value of US$0.01 each without specifying any special rights, privileges and restrictions. Therefore, our board of directors may, without further action by our shareholders, issue ordinary shares, or issue shares of such class and attach to such shares special rights, privileges or restrictions, which may be different from those associated with our ordinary shares. Preferred shares could also be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control of our company or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to issue ordinary shares or preferred shares, the price of our ADSs may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs may be materially and adversely affected.

We have limited business insurance coverage in China.

The insurance industry in China is still at an early stage of development. Insurance companies in China offer limited business insurance products. As a result, we do not have any business liability or disruption insurance coverage for our operations in China. Any business disruption, litigation or natural disaster might result in our incurring substantial costs and the diversion of our resources.

Some of our subsidiaries, affiliated entities and joint ventures in China engaged in certain business activities beyond the authorized scope of their respective licenses, and if they are subject to administrative penalties or fines, our operating results may be adversely affected.

Some of our subsidiaries, and affiliated entities and joint ventures in China engaged in business activities that were not within the authorized scope of their respective licenses in the past. The relevant PRC authorities may impose administrative fines or other penalties for the non-compliance with the authorized scope of the business licenses, which may in turn adversely affect our operating results.

Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and the trading price of our ADSs.

We are subject to reporting obligations under the U.S. securities laws. The Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, has adopted rules requiring public companies to include a report of management in its annual report that contains management’s assessment of the effectiveness of such company’s internal controls over financial reporting.

Our management has concluded that our internal controls over financial reporting arewere effective as of December 31, 2014.2015. We however were not subject to the requirement to provide an attestation report on our management’s assessment of our internal control over financial reporting as we were not an accelerated filer or a large accelerated filer (as defined in § 240.12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2014.2015.

However, if we fail to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting in the future, our management and, if applicable, our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to conclude that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting at a reasonable assurance level. This could result in a loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial conditions which in turn could negatively impact the trading price of our ADSs and result in lawsuits being filed against us by our shareholders or otherwise harm our reputation. Furthermore, we have incurred and anticipate that we will continue to incur considerable costs and use significant management time and other resources in an effort to comply with Section 404 and other requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The audit report included in this annual report is prepared by auditors who are not inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and, as such, you are deprived of the benefits of such inspection.

Our independent registered public accounting firm that issues the audit reports included in our annual reports filed with the SEC, as auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States and as a firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or the PCAOB, is required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess its compliance with the laws of the United States and professional standards. Because our auditors are located in the PRC, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the PRC authorities, our auditors are not currently inspected by the PCAOB.

Inspections of other firms that the PCAOB has conducted outside China have identified deficiencies in those firms’ audit procedures and quality control procedures, which may be addressed as part of the inspection process to improve future audit quality. This lack of PCAOB inspections in China prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditor’s audits and its quality control procedures. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections.

The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. Investors may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

If additional remedial measures are imposed on the Big Four PRC-based accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, in administrative proceedings brought by the SEC alleging the firms’ failure to meet specific criteria set by the SEC, with respect to requests for the production of documents, we could be unable to timely file future financial statements in compliance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Starting in 2011, the Chinese affiliates of the ‘‘big four’’“big four” accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm, were affected by a conflict between U.S. and Chinese law. Specifically, for certain U.S. listed companies operating and audited in mainland China, the SEC and the PCAOB sought to obtain from the Chinese firms access to their audit work papers and related documents. The firms were, however, advised and directed that under China law they could not respond directly to the U.S. regulators on those requests, and such requests by foreign regulators for access to such papers in China had to be channeled through the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC.

In late 2012, this impasse led the SEC to commence administrative proceedings under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice and also under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 against the Chinese accounting firms, including our independent registered public accounting firm. A first instance trial of the proceedings in July 2013 in the SEC’s internal administrative court resulted in an adverse judgment against the firms. The administrative law judge proposed penalties on the firms including a temporary suspension of their right to practice before the SEC, although that proposed penalty did not take effect pending review by the commissioners of the SEC. On February 6, 2015, before a review by the commissioner had taken place, the firms reached a settlement with the SEC. Under the settlement, the SEC accepts that future requests by the SEC for the production of documents will normally be made to the CSRC. The firms will receive requests matching Section 106, and are required to abide by a detailed set of procedures with respect to such requests, which in substance require them to facilitate production via the CSRC. If they fail to meet specified criteria, the SEC retains the authority to impose a variety of additional remedial measures on the firms depending on the nature of the failure. Remedies for any future noncompliance could include, as appropriate, an automatic six-month bar on a single firm’s performance of certain audit work, commencement of a new proceeding against a firm, or in extreme cases the resumption of the current proceeding against all four firms.

In the event that the SEC restarts the administrative proceedings, depending upon the final outcome, listed companies in the United States with major PRC operations may find it difficult or impossible to retain auditors in respect of their operations in the PRC, which could result in financial statements being determined to not be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including possible delisting. Moreover, any negative news about any such future proceedings against these audit firms may cause investor uncertainty regarding China-based, United States-listed companies and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely affected.

If our independent registered public accounting firm were denied, even temporarily, the ability to practice before the SEC and we were unable to timely find another registered public accounting firm to audit and issue an opinion on our financial statements, our financial statements could be determined not to be in compliance with the requirements of the Exchange Act. Such a determination could ultimately lead to the delisting of our ordinary shares from Nasdaq or deregistration from the SEC, or both, which would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our ADSs in the United States.

We face risks related to health epidemics and other natural disasters.

Our business could be adversely affected by swine or avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, or another epidemic or outbreak. Any prolonged recurrence of swine or avian influenza, SARS or other adverse public health developments in China may have a material adverse effect on our business operations. Our operations may be impacted by a number of health-related factors, including, among other things, quarantines or closures of our offices which could severely disrupt our operations, the sickness or death of our key officers and employees and closure of Internet cafés and other public areas where people access the Internet. Any of the foregoing events or other unforeseen consequences of public health problems could adversely affect our business and results of operations. We have not adopted any written preventive measures or contingency plans to combat any future outbreak of swine or avian influenza, SARS or any other epidemic. In addition, other major natural disasters may also adversely affect our business by, for example, causing disruptions of the Internet network or otherwise affecting access to our games, or resulting in damages to our facilities.

Risks Related to Doing Business in China

Our business may be adversely affected by public opinion and government policies in China.

Currently, most of our recurring users are young males, including students. Due to the higher degree of user loyalty to MMORPGs, easy access to PCspersonal computers and Internet cafés, and lack of more appealing forms of entertainment in China, many teenagers frequently play online games. This may result in these teenagers spending less time on, or refraining from, other activities, including education and sports. Internet cafés, which are currently the most important outlets for online games, have been criticized by the general public in China as exerting a negative influence on young people. Due primarily to such adverse public reaction, some local governments in China have tightened their regulation of Internet café operations through, among other things, limiting the number of new operating licenses issued and further reducing the hours during which Internet cafés are permitted to be open for business. Also, local and higher-level governmental authorities may from time to time decide to more strictly enforce the customers’ age limit and other requirements relating to Internet cafés as a result of the occurrence of, and the media attention on, gang fights, arson or other incidents in or related to Internet cafés. As a significant portion of our customers’ access our games from Internet cafés, any restrictions placed on Internet café operations could result in a reduction of the amount of time our customers spend on our online games or a reduction or slowdown in the growth of our customer base, thus adversely affecting our business and results of operations.

In April 2007, various governmental authorities, including GAPP, MIIT, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, and other relevant authorities jointly issued a circular concerning the mandatory implementation of an “anti-fatigue system” in online games, which aims to protect the physical and psychological health of minors. This circular required all online games to incorporate an “anti-fatigue system” and an identity verification system, both of which have limited the amount of time that a minor or other user may continuously spend playing an online game. We have implemented such “anti-fatigue” and identification systems on all of our online games as required. Since March 2011, various governmental authorities, including MIIT, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, and other relevant authorities have jointly launched the “Online Game Parents Guardianship Project for Minors,” which allows parents to require online game operators to take relevant measures to limit the time spent by the minors playing online games and the minors’ access to their online game accounts. On February 5, 2013, the Ministry of Culture, MIIT, GAPP and various other governmental authorities, jointly issued the Working Plan on the Comprehensive Prevention Scheme on Online Game Addiction of Minors, which further strengthens the administration of Internet cafés, reinstates the importance of the “anti-fatigue system” and “Online Game Parents Guardianship Project for Minors” as prevention measures against the online game addiction of minors and orders all relevant governmental authorities to take all necessary actions in implementing such measures. Further strengthening of these systems, or enactment by the PRC government of any additional laws to further tighten its administration over the Internet and online games or its supervision of Internet cafés may result in less time spent by customers or fewer customers playing our online games, which may materially and adversely affect our business results and prospects for future growth.

Adverse changes in economic and political policies of the PRC government could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China, which could adversely affect our business.

We conduct substantially all of our business operations in China. As the gaming industry is highly sensitive to business and personal discretionary spending, it tends to decline during general economic downturns. Accordingly, our results of operations, financial condition and prospects are subject to a significant degree to economic, political and legal developments in China. China’s economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including with respect to the amount of government involvement, level of development, growth rate, control of foreign exchange and allocation of resources. While the PRC economy has experienced significant growth in the past twenty years, growth has slowed down since 2012 and has been uneven across different regions and among various economic sectors of China. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic development and guide the allocation of resources. While some of these measures benefit the overall PRC economy, they may also have a negative effect on us. For example, our financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations that are applicable to us. As the PRC economy is increasingly intricately linked to the global economy, it is affected in various respects by downturns and recessions of major economies around the world, such as the recent financial services and economic crises of these economies.world. The various economic and policy measures the PRC government enacts to forestall economic downturns or shore up the PRC economy could affect our business.

The PRC economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy. Although the PRC government has implemented measures since the late 1970s emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the reduction of state ownership of productive assets and the establishment of improved corporate governance in business enterprises, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the PRC government. In addition, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. The PRC government also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and providing preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Since late 2003, the PRC government implemented a number of measures, such as raising interest rates and bank reserve requirements to place additional limitations on the ability of commercial banks to make loans, in order to contain the growth of specific segments of China’s economy that it believed to be overheating. These actions, as well as future actions and policies of the PRC government, could materially affect our liquidity and access to capital and our ability to operate our business.

The laws and regulations governing the online game industry in China are developing and subject to future changes. If we fail to obtain or maintain all applicable permits and approvals, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected.

The online game industry in China is highly regulated by the PRC government. Various regulatory authorities of the PRC central government, such as the State Council, MIIT, GAPPRFT, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Public Security, are empowered to issue and implement regulations governing various aspects of the online games industry.

We are required to obtain applicable permits or approvals from different regulatory authorities in order to provide online games to our customers. For example, an Internet content provider must obtain a value-added telecommunications business operating license for ICP, or ICP License, in order to engage in any commercial ICP operations within China. In addition, an online games operator must also obtain a license from the Ministry of Culture and a license from GAPPRFT in order to distribute games through the Internet. Furthermore, an online game operator is required to obtain approval from the Ministry of Culture in order to distribute virtual currencies for online games such as prepaid value cards, prepaid money or game points. If we fail to obtain or maintain any of the required filings, permits or approvals in the future, we may be subject to various penalties, including fines and the discontinuation or restriction of our operations. Any such disruption in our business operations would materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

As the online games industry is at an early stage of development in China, new laws and regulations may be adopted from time to time to require additional licenses and permits other than those we currently have, and may address new issues that arise from time to time. For example, a new rule issued in June 2009 requires existing online game operators, such as our company, to obtain additional approval from the Ministry of Culture for the issuance of virtual currencies to users for online game services within three months. We obtained the approval on November 20, 2009. As a result, substantial uncertainties exist regarding the interpretation and implementation of current and any future PRC laws and regulations applicable to the online gaming industry. However, weWe cannot assure you that we will be able to timely obtain any new license required in the future, or at all. While we believe that we are in compliance in all material respects with all applicable PRC laws and regulations currently in effect, we cannot assure you that we will not be found in violation of any current or future PRC laws and regulations.

Intensified government regulation of Internet cafés could limit our ability to maintain or increase our revenues and expand our customer base.

In April 2001, the PRC government began tightening its supervision of Internet cafés, closing down unlicensed Internet cafés, and required those remaining open to install software to prevent access to sites deemed subversive and required web portals to sign a pledge not to host subversive sites. Furthermore, the PRC government’s policy, which encourages the development of a limited number of national and regional Internet café chains and discourages the establishment of independent Internet cafés, may slow the overall growth of Internet cafés. Currently, the issuance of Internet café licenses is subject to the overall planning of the Ministry of Culture and the local branches of the Ministry of Culture above certain level in respect of the total number and location of Internet cafés. Since 2004, the grant of new Internet café licenses has been suspended from time to time, and was again suspended in 2007. The PRC government maintains strict controls on the granting of new licenses. As Internet cafés are the primary venue for users to play our games, any reduction in the number, or any slowdown in the growth of, Internet cafés in China will limit our ability to maintain or increase our revenues and expand our customer base, which will in turn materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the Internet in China may adversely affect our business, and we may be liable for information displayed on, retrieved from, or linked to our Internet websites.

The PRC government has adopted certain regulations governing Internet access and the distribution of news and other information over the Internet. Under these regulations, Internet content providers and Internet publishers are prohibited from posting or displaying over the Internet content that, among other things, violates PRC laws and regulations, impairs the national dignity of China, or is obscene, superstitious, fraudulent or defamatory. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in the revocation of ICP and other required licenses and the closure of the concerned websites. The website operator may also be held liable for such prohibited information displayed on, retrieved from or linked to such website.

The Ministry of Culture has promulgated laws and regulations that reiterate the government’s policies to prohibit the distribution of games with violence, cruelty or other elements that are believed to have the potential effect of instigating crimes, and to prevent the influx of harmful cultural products from overseas.

The Ministry of Culture has promulgated laws and regulations that require, among other things, (i) the review and prior approval of (i) all new online games licensed from foreign game developers and related license agreements, (ii) the review of patches and updates with substantial changes of games which have already been approved, and (iii) the filing of domestically developed online games. Furthermore, online games, regardless of whether imported or domestic, will be subject to content review and approval by GAPPRFT prior to the commencement of games operations in China. Failure to obtain or renew approvals or to complete filings for online games, orincluding mobile games, may materially delay or otherwise affect game operator’s plans to launch new games, and the operator may be subject to fines, restriction or suspension of operations of the related games or revocation of licenses in the event that the relevant governmental authority believes that the violation is severe. We obtained the necessary approvals from and completed necessary filings with the Ministry of Culture and GAPP for operations of our games as applicable. Consistent with the general practice of the mobile and TV game industry in China, we have not yet completed filings with the Ministry of Culture and GAPPRFT for our mobile and TV games before we commenced our operations. If any such negative event occurs, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

In addition, MIIT has published regulations that subject website operators to potential liability for content included on their websites and the actions of users and others using their websites, including liability for violations of PRC laws prohibiting the dissemination of content deemed to be socially destabilizing. The Ministry of Public Security has the authority to order any local Internet service provider to block any Internet website maintained outside China at its sole discretion. Periodically, the Ministry of Public Security has stopped the dissemination over the Internet of information which it believes to be socially destabilizing. The State Secrecy Bureau, which is directly responsible for the protection of State secrets of the PRC government, is authorized to block any website it deems to be leaking state secrets or failing to meet the relevant regulations relating to the protection of state secrets in the dissemination of online information.

As these regulations are relatively new and subject to interpretation by the relevant authorities, it may not be possible for us to determine in all cases the type of content that could result in liability for us as a website operator. In addition, we may not be able to control or restrict the content of other Internet content providers linked to or accessible through our websites, or content generated or placed on our websites by our users, despite our attempt to monitor such content. To the extent that regulatory authorities find any portion of our content objectionable, they may require us to limit or eliminate the dissemination of such information or otherwise curtail the nature of such content on our websites, which may reduce our user traffic and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may be subject to significant penalties for violations of those regulations arising from information displayed on, retrieved from or linked to our websites, including a suspension or shutdown of our operations.

Future movements in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the RMB may adversely affect the value of our ADSs.

We are exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from various currency exposures. Our profit or loss in Red 5, and a portion of our financial assets, and the Convertible Notes are denominated in U.S. dollars while currently a significant portion of our revenues are denominated in RMB, the legal currency in China. We have not used any forward contracts or currency borrowings to hedge our exposure to foreign currency risk. The value of the RMB against the U.S. dollar and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions and China’s foreign exchange policies. On July 21, 2005, the PRC government changed its decade-old policy of pegging the value of the RMB to the U.S. dollar. Under the new policy, the RMB is permitted to fluctuate within a managed band based on market supply and demand and by reference to a basket of certain foreign currencies. ThisSince the change in policy has resulted in a significant appreciation ofJuly 2005, the RMB appreciated more than 20% against the U.S. dollar sinceover the introduction of new policy.following three years. Between July 2008 and June 2010, this appreciation halted and the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar remained within a narrow band. Since June 2010, the RMB has fluctuated against the U.S. dollar, at times significantly and unpredictably. It is difficult to predict how market forces or PRC or U.S. government policy may impact the exchange rate between the RMB and the U.S. dollar in the future.

A significant portion of our revenues and costs are denominated in RMB, while a portion of our financial assets are denominated in U.S. dollars. We rely substantially on dividends and other fees paid to us by our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China. Any significant appreciation of RMB against the U.S. dollar may adversely affect our cash flows, revenues, earnings and financial position, and the value of, and any dividends payable on, our ADSs in U.S. dollars. For example, an appreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar would make any new RMB denominated investments or expenditures more costly to us, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into RMB for such purposes. An appreciation of RMB against the U.S. dollar would also result in foreign currency translation losses for financial reporting purposes when we translate our U.S. dollar denominated financial assets into RMB, as RMB is our reporting currency. Conversely, a significant depreciation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar may significantly reduce the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings, which in turn could adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

Restrictions on currency exchange in China limit our ability to utilize our revenues effectively, make dividend payments and meet our foreign currency denominated obligations.

Currently, a significant portion of our revenues are denominated in RMB. Restrictions on currency exchange in China limit our ability to utilize revenuerevenues generated in RMB to fund our business activities outside China, make dividend payments in U.S. dollars, or obtain and remit sufficient foreign currency to satisfy our foreign currency-denominated obligations, such as paying license fees and royalty payments. The principal regulation governing foreign currency exchange in China is the Foreign Exchange Administration Rules (1996), as amended. Under such rules, the RMB is generally freely convertible for trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, but not for direct investment, loans or investment in securities outside China unless the prior approval of SAFE is obtained. Although the PRC government regulations now allow greater convertibility of RMB for current account transactions, significant restrictions still remain. For example, foreign exchange transactions under our PRC subsidiaries’ capital account, including principal payments in respect of foreign currency-denominated obligations, remain subject to significant foreign exchange controls and the approval of SAFE. These limitations could affect our ability to obtain foreign exchange for capital expenditures. We cannot be certain that the PRC regulatory authorities will not impose more stringent restrictions on the convertibility of the RMB, especially with respect to foreign exchange transactions.

PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident shareholders or us to penalties and fines, and limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital, distribute profits to us, or otherwise adversely affect us.

On July 4, 2014, SAFE issued the Circular on Several Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration of Domestic Residents Engaging in Overseas Investment, Financing and Round-Trip Investment via Special Purpose Vehicles, or SAFE Circular 37. SAFE Circular 37 and its detailed guidelines require PRC residents to register with the local branch of SAFE before contributing their legally owned onshore or offshore assets or equity interest into any special purpose vehicle, or SPV, directly established, or indirectly controlled, by them for the purpose of investment or financing. SAFE Circular 37 further requires that when there is (a) any change to the basic information of the SPV, such as any change relating to its individual PRC resident shareholders, name or operation period or (b) any material change, such as increase or decrease in the share capital held by its individual PRC resident shareholders, a share transfer or exchange of the shares in the SPV, or a merger or split of the SPV, the PRC resident must register such changes with the local branch of SAFE on a timely basis.

We have requested all of our shareholders who, based on our knowledge, are PRC residents or whose ultimate beneficial owners are PRC residents to comply with all applicable SAFE registration requirements. However, we have no control over our shareholders. We cannot assure you that the PRC beneficial owners of our company and our subsidiaries have completed the required SAFE registrations or complied with other related requirements. Nor can we assure you that they will be in full compliance with the SAFE registration in the future. Any non-compliance by the PRC beneficial owners of our company and our subsidiaries may subject us or such PRC resident shareholders to fines and other penalties. It may also limit our ability to contribute additional capital to our PRC subsidiaries and our subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits or make other payments to us.

Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could adversely affect us.

We conduct our business primarily through our subsidiaries and affiliated entities incorporated in China. These entities are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investment in China and, in particular, laws applicable to wholly-foreign owned enterprises. Almost all of these agreements are governed by PRC law and disputes arising out of these agreements are expected to be decided by arbitration in China. The PRC legal system is based on written statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since 1979, PRC legislation and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China.China for the past decades. However, since the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involves uncertainties, which may limit legal protections available to us. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.

Substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the enactment timetable, interpretation and implementation of the draft PRC Foreign Investment Law and how it may impact the viability of our current corporate structure, corporate governance and business operations.

In January 2015, MOFCOM published a draft of the proposed Foreign Investment Law, or Draft FIL. If enacted, the Draft FIL would replace the existing laws regulating foreign investment in China and harmonize the regulations governing both foreign invested enterprises and PRC domestic entities. However, foreign invested enterprises that operate in industries deemed to be either “restricted” or “prohibited” in a “negative list” will be subject to entry clearance and other approvals not required for PRC domestic entities unless such foreign invested enterprises can demonstrate that the ultimate controlling person(s) is/are of PRC nationality (either PRC citizen, or PRC government and its branches or agencies). Because the negative list has yet to be published, it is unclear whether it will differ from the current list of industries subject to restrictions or prohibitions on foreign investment. The entry clearance and approvals could prevent certain foreign invested enterprises that operate in industries on the negative list from continuing to conduct their operations through contractual arrangements.

There is substantial uncertainty regarding the Draft FIL, including, the content of its final form and the timing of its adoption and implementation. For example, our actual controlling person, Mr. Jun Zhu, is a citizen of Singapore, which could be one of the significant factors for purposes of determining whether we are ultimately controlled by persons that are of PRC nationality under the Draft FIL. Moreover, it is uncertain whether the Internet content provision service, online gaming, internet publishing and other internet-based industries, in which our subsidiaries and affiliated entities operate, will be subject to the foreign investment restrictions or prohibitions set forth in the “negative list” to be issued. If adopted in its current form, the Draft FIL could have a material and adverse impact on our ability to participate in key sectors of the Chinese economy, including the online game business, as well as the effectiveness or the necessity of our contractual arrangements with our affiliated entities.

We may not be able to pursue growth through strategic acquisitions in China due to complicated procedures under PRC laws and regulations for foreign investors to acquire PRC companies.

In recent years, certain PRC laws and regulations have established procedures and requirements that are expected to make merger and acquisition activities in China by foreign investors more time-consuming and complex. These laws and regulations include, without limitation, the Rules on the Merger and Acquisition of Domestic Enterprises by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Rules, and the Anti-Monopoly Law and the MOFCOM Security Review Rules. In some instances, MOFCOM needs to be notified in advance of any change-of-control transaction in which a foreign investor takes control of a PRC domestic enterprise. The approval by MOFCOM may also need to be obtained in circumstances where overseas companies established or controlled by PRC enterprises or residents acquire affiliated domestic companies. PRC laws and regulations also require certain merger and acquisition transactions to be subject to merger control review or security review. The MOFCOM Security Review Rules, effective from September 1, 2011, provide that, when deciding whether a specific merger or acquisition of a domestic enterprise by foreign investors shall be subject to the security review by MOFCOM, the principle of substance over form shall be applied. In particular, foreign investors are prohibited from bypassing the security review requirement by structuring transactions through proxies, trusts, indirect investments, leases, loans, control through contractual arrangements or offshore transactions.

If the business of any target company that we expect to acquire becomes subject to the security review, we may not be able to successfully complete the acquisition of such company, either by equity or asset acquisition, capital contribution or through any contractual arrangement. Complying with the requirements of the PRC laws and regulations to complete acquisition transactions could become more time-consuming and complex. Any required approval, such as approval by MOFCOM, may delay or inhibit our ability to complete such transactions, which could affect our ability to grow our business or increase our market share. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether the M&A Rules, security review rules or the other PRC regulations regarding the acquisitions of PRC companies by foreign investors will be amended when the Draft FIL becomes effective in the future.

The limited use of personal computers in China and the relatively high cost of Internet access with respect to per capita gross domestic product may limit the development of the Internet in China and impede our growth.

Although the use of personal computers in China has increased in recent years, the penetration rate for personal computers in China is significantly lower than in the United States and other developed countries. Furthermore, despite a decrease in the cost of Internet access in China due to a decrease in the cost of personal computers and the introduction and expansion of broadband access, the cost of Internet access in China still remains relatively high compared to the average per capita income. The limited use of personal computers in China and the relatively high cost of Internet access may limit the growth of our business. In addition, there is no assurance that there will not be any increase in Internet access or telecommunication fees in China. If that happens, the number of our users may decrease and the growth of our user base may be materially impeded.

The continued growth of China’s Internet market depends on the establishment of adequate telecommunications infrastructure.

Although private sector Internet service providers currently exist in China, almost all access to the Internet is maintained through state-owned telecommunication operators under the administrative control and regulatory supervision of China’s MIIT. In addition, the national networks in China connect to the Internet through government-controlled international gateways. These government-controlled international gateways are the only channel through which a domestic PRC user can connect to the international Internet network. We rely on this infrastructure to provide data communications capacity primarily through local telecommunications lines. Although the government has announced plans to aggressively develop the national information infrastructure, we cannot assure you that this infrastructure will be developed as planned or at all. In addition, we will have no access to alternative networks and services, on a timely basis if at all, in the event of any infrastructure disruption or failure. The Internet infrastructure in China may not support the demands necessary for the continued growth in Internet usage.

Risks Related to Our Shares and ADSs

Our ADSs may be delisted from the Nasdaq Global Market as a result of our not meeting the Nasdaq Global Market continued listing requirements.

Our ADSs are currently listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “NCTY.” We must continue to meet the requirements set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450 to remain listing on the Nasdaq Global Market. For example, underThe listing standards of the “Equity Standard” set forthNASDAQ Global Market provide that a company, in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(b), we are requiredorder to among others things, have stockholders’qualify for continued listing, must maintain a minimum ADS price of US$1.00 and satisfy standards relative to minimum shareholders’ equity, minimum market value of at least US$10 million. As of December 31, 2014, our total equity was US$10.5 million.publicly held shares and various additional requirements. If we fail to satisfy Nasdaq Global Market’s continued listing requirements in the future and fail to regain compliance on a timely basis, our ADSs could be delisted from Nasdaq Global Market, and we may need to transfer the listing or trading of our ADSs to other stock exchange or trading venues.

However, there can be no assurance that our ADSs will be eligible for trading on any such alternative exchanges or markets in the United States. If Nasdaq determines to delist our ordinary shares, or if we fail to list ofour ADSs on other stock exchanges or find alternative trading venue for our ADSs, the market liquidity and the price of our ADSs and our ability to obtain financing for our operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We weremay be classified as a passive foreign investment company for the taxable year ended December 31, 2014,2015, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders of our ADSs or ordinary shares.

Based on the market price of our ADSs and the value and composition of our income, assets and liabilities, although not free from doubt, we believe we were not a “passive foreign investment company,” or PFIC,company” (“PFIC”), for U.S. federal income tax purposes for our taxable year ended December 31, 2014. 2015. However, as previously disclosed, although not free from doubt, we believed that we were a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for prior years.In addition, it is likelypossible that one or more of our subsidiaries were also PFICs for such year.year for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

A non-U.S. corporation will be a PFIC for any taxable year if either (1) at least 75% of its gross income for such year isconsists of certain types of passive income, or (2) at least 50% of the average quarterly value of its assets (based(as generally determined on an averagethe basis of the quarterly values of the assets)fair market value) during such year is attributable to assets that produce passive income or are held for the production of passive income. We must make a separate determination after the close of each taxable year as to whether we were a PFIC for that year. Because the value of our assets for purposes of the PFIC test will generally be determined by reference to the market price of our ADSs or ordinary shares, our PFIC status will depend in part on the market price of the ADSs or ordinary shares, which may fluctuate significantly, and the composition of our assets and liabilities. Because

If we believe we were treated as a PFIC for theany taxable year ended December 31, 2014, certain adverseduring which a U.S. federal income tax consequences could apply to U.S. HoldersHolder (as defined in “ItemItem 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—U.S. Federal Income Taxation”) ofTaxation) holds our ADSs or ordinary shares, with respect to any “excess distribution” received from us and anysuch U.S. Holders may incur significantly increased U.S. income tax on gain from arecognized on the sale or other disposition of the ADSs or ordinary shares.shares and on the receipt of distributions on the ADSs or ordinary shares to the extent such gain or distribution is treated as “excess distribution” under the U.S. federal income tax rules. Further, a U.S. Holder will generally be treated as holding an equity interest in a PFIC in the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder’s holding period in which we become classified as a PFIC and subsequent taxable years (“PFIC-Tainted Shares”) even if, we in fact, cease to be a PFIC in subsequent taxable years. See “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—U. S. Federal Income Taxation—Passive Foreign Investment Company.”

You are strongly urged to consult your tax advisors regarding the impact of our being a PFIC in any taxable year on your investment in our ADSs and ordinary shares as well as the application of the PFIC rules.

TheSubstantial future sales or issuancethe perception of a substantial numbersales of our ADSs or ordinary shares could adversely affect the price of our ADSs.

If our shareholders sell or are perceived by the market to sell substantial amounts of our ADSs, including those issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, in the public market, the market price of our ADSs could fall. Such sales also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate. If any existing shareholder or shareholders sell or are perceived by the market to sell a substantial amount of ordinary shares, the prevailing market price for our ADSs could be adversely affected. In December 2015, we issued and sold the Convertible Notes in an aggregate principal amount of US$40,050,000 to Spendid Days in three tranches at initial conversion prices of US$2.6, US$5.2 and US$7.8 per ADS, respectively. In connection with the sale of Convertible Notes, we also issued the Warrants in an aggregate principal amount of US$9,950,000 to Splendid Days in four tranches at initial exercise prices of US$1.5, US$2.6, US$5.2 and US$7.8 per ADS, respectively. See “Item 5—Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—B. Liquidity and Capital Resources—Cash Flows and Working Capital.” We will register the ordinary shares into which the Convertible Notes are convertible and the Warrants are exercisable on a registration statement on F-3, and use our best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective by the SEC as promptly as possible after the initial filing. Upon registration, any ordinary shares that Splendid Days would acquire by conversion of the Convertible Notes or exercise of the Warrants will become freely tradable.

In addition, we may issue additional ordinary shares or ADSs for future acquisitions. If we pay for our future acquisitions in whole or in part with additionally issued ordinary shares or ADSs, your ownership interest in our company would be diluted and this, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on the price of our ADSs.

The market price for our ADSs may be volatile.

The market price for our ADSs is likely to be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to factors including the following:

In addition, the securities market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are not related to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our ADSs.

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and our ability to protect our rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association and by the Companies Law (2013 Revision) and common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilitiesduties of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedents in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and provides significantly less protection to investors. Therefore, our public shareholders may have more difficulties protecting their interests in the face of actions by our management, directors or controlling shareholders than would shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a jurisdiction in the United States. In addition, shareholders of Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholder derivative action before the federal courts of the United States. As a result, our shareholders may not be able to protect their interests if they are harmed in a manner that would otherwise enable them to sue in a United States federal court.

Your ability to bring an action against us or against our directors and officers, or to enforce a judgment against us or them, will be limited because we are incorporated in the Cayman Islands, because we conduct a substantial portion of our operations in China and because the majority of our directors and officers reside outside of the United States.

We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and we conduct a substantial portion of our operations through our wholly-owned subsidiaries and affiliated entities in China. Most of our directors and officers reside outside of the United States and most of the assets of those persons are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of China may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

You may not be able to exercise your right to vote.

As a holder of ADSs, you may instruct the depositary of our ADSs to vote the shares underlying your ADSs but only if we ask the depositary to request your instruction. Otherwise, you will not be able to exercise your right to vote unless you withdraw the shares. However, you may not know about a shareholders’ meeting enough in advance to withdraw the shares. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, a shareholders’ meeting may be convened by us on seven business days’ notice. If we ask for your instructions, the depositary will notify you of the upcoming vote and arrange to deliver our voting materials to you. We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your shares. Pursuant to the amended and revisedrestated Deposit Agreement dated November 2010 that we entered into with our depositary, if after complying with the procedures set forth in the agreement, the depositary does not receive instructions from the owner of a receipt on or before the instruction date, the depositary shall vote such deposited securities in accordance with the recommendations of our board of directors as advised by our company in writing. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions, if any such action or non-action is in good faith. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and there may be nothing you can do if the shares underlying your ADSs are not voted as you request.

Your right to participate in any future rights offerings may be limited, which may cause dilution to your holdings.

We may from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to acquire our securities. However, we cannot make rights available to you in the United States unless we register the rights and the securities to which the rights relate under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements is available. Also, under the deposit agreement, the depositary bank will not make rights available to you unless the distribution to ADS holders of both the rights and any related securities are either registered under the Securities Act, or exempt from registration under the Securities Act. We are under no obligation to file a registration statement with respect to any such rights or securities or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective. Moreover, we may not be able to establish an exemption from registration under the Securities Act. The depositary may, but is not required to, sell such undistributed rights to third parties in this situation. Accordingly, you may be unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in your holdings.

You may not receive distributions on ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical to make them available to you.

The depositary of our ADSs has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on ordinary shares or other deposited securities after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent. However, the depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any holders of ADSs. We have no obligation to register ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or other securities under U.S. securities laws. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, ordinary shares, rights or anything else to holders of ADSs. This means that you may not receive the distribution we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you. These restrictions may have a material adverse effect on the value of your ADSs.

You may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.

Your ADSs represented by the ADRs are transferable on the books of the depositary. However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to time when it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deem it advisable to do so because of any requirement of law or of any government or governmental body, or under any provision of the deposit agreement, or for any other reason.

We were incorporated in the Cayman Islands on December 22, 1999 under the name GameNow.net Limited as a company limited by shares and were renamed The9 Limited in February 2004. We formed GameNow.net (Hong Kong) Limited, or GameNow, on January 17, 2000 in Hong Kong, as a wholly-owned subsidiary. We have historically conducted our operations in large part through The9 Computer, a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of GameNow in China.

Due to the current restrictions on foreign ownership of ICP and Internet culture operation and advertising businesses in China, currently, we primarily rely on the following significantShanghai IT, one of our affiliated PRC entities, in holding certain licenses and approvals necessary for our business online game operations through a series of contractual arrangements with Shanghai IT and its shareholders:

We do not hold any equity interest in Shanghai IT.shareholders. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions — Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions — Transactions—Arrangements with Affiliated PRC Entities” for details of the contractual arrangements with Shanghai IT and its shareholders. We do not hold any equity interest in Shanghai IT.

We operated WoW, a MMORPG licensed from Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., in China between June 2005 and June 2009. During the same period, we2009 and had relied on the game as a major source of revenue.revenue during that period. After the non-renewal of the WoW license, we continued to operate our other licensed and proprietary games.

In April 2010, we acquired a controlling interest in Red 5, an online game developer based in the United States, through the investment in its preferred shares. We then continued to acquire additional equity interestStates. As of Red 5 from its existing shareholders. In January 2014, Red 5 entered into certain share purchase agreements for the issueDecember 31, 2015, on an as-converted basis, we and sale of series B redeemable preferred stocks of Red 5 to Shanghai Oriental Pearl Culture Development Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shanghai Oriental Pearl (Group) Co., Ltd., which is a public company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and operates in culture and entertainment industry in China, at a total consideration of US$19.2 million. In addition, two directors of Red 5, including our chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Jun Zhu, also entered into share transfer agreements with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Culture Development Co., Ltd. to sell certain of their common stocks in Red 5 at a total consideration of US$4.2 million. As of December 31, 2014, on an as-converted basis, The9 and Shanghai Oriental Pearl (Group) Co., Ltd. owned approximately 72.7%72.8% and 22.9% 22.8%, respectively, of the equity interest in Red 5. Red 5 is developing Firefall, a MMOFPS game, for which we launchedconducted a limited commercial release in North America and EuropeChina in 2014November 2015 and expect to have a large-scale commercial launch in China in the second half of 2015.2016.We have licensed Firefall to System Link, our joint venture with Qihoo 360 Technology Co., Ltd., or Qihoo 360, for publishing and operating Firefall for a five-year term in China, as discussed below.

In July 2014, we and Qihoo 360 entered into an agreement to form a joint venture in which each party shall own 50% equity interest in the joint venture and share profits based on the respective equity interests in the joint venture. The joint venture, System Link Corporation Limited, or System Link, was formed in August 2014. In August 2014, our subsidiary Red 5 Singapore Pte. Ltd., or Red 5 Singapore, entered into a license agreement with System Link for publishing and operating Firefall for a five-year term in China. Under this license agreement, System Link is expected to pay to us no less than US$160 million (including license fee and royalties) during the term of the agreement. We do not consolidate the results of System Link into our results of operations and treat it as an equity investee.

In February 2013, we established a new joint venture, namely Zhongxing The9 Network Technology Co., Ltd., or ZTE9, in cooperation with Shanghai Zhongxing Communication Technology Enterprise Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Ruigao Information Technology Co., Ltd., in Wuxi, Jiangsu province of China, to develop and operate the business of “Fun Box,” a home entertainment set top box. In February 2014, Guangdong Hongtu Guangdian Investment Limited Company made a capital investment of RMB12.5 million to acquire 10% equity interests in ZTE9. As a result, as of December 31, 2014,2015, we held 30.2% equity interest of ZTE9. We do not consolidate the results of ZTE9 into our results of operation and treat it as an equity investee.

In July 2014, we entered into an agreement to form a joint venture with Qihoo 360 Technology Co., Ltd., or Qihoo 360. Qihoo 360 and we will each own 50% equity interest in the joint venture and share profits based on the equity interest each party owns in the joint venture. The joint venture, System Link Limited, or System Link, was formed in August 2014. In August 2014, our subsidiary Red 5 Singapore Pte. Ltd., or Red 5 Singapore, entered into a license agreement with System Link for publishing and operating Firefall for a five-year term in mainland China. Currently we are preparing for the launch of Firefall in China in the second half of 2015. Under this license agreement, System Link is expected to pay to us no less than US$160 million (including license fee and royalties) during the term of the agreement. We did not consolidate the results of System Link into our results of operationoperations and treat it as an equity investee.

In August 2014, Shanghai IT disposedsold 100% equity interest in Huopu Cloud Computing Terminal Technology Co., Ltd., or Huopu Cloud, to Shanghai Zhengwu Investment Center (Limited Partnership), a third party, for a total consideration of RMB200 million (US$32.2 million) in cash. Huopu Cloud developed and held a web game QiJiGuiLai.

In October 2014,February 2016, Shanghai The9 Education Technology Co., Ltd., one of our consolidated affiliated entities, was approved to list its shares on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, commonly known as the New Third Board, an emerging over-the-counter market in China.Such listing of shares remains subject to completion of registration procedures with relevant authorities in China.

In August 2015, Globe Wealthy Link Limited, or Globe Wealthy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of System Link, entered into an agreement with Smilegate Entertainment Inc., or Smilegate, a Korean game developer, to form a joint venture. The joint venture, Oriental Shiny Star Limited, or Oriental Shiny, was formed in August 2015. Smilegate shall hold nominal shares in Oriental Shiny upon the incorporation of Oriental Shiny. In November 2015, Oriental Shiny entered into a license agreement with Smilegate for publishing and operating CrossFire 2 in China on an exclusive basis for an initial term of three years, subject to an extension to five years. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Arrangements with Smilegate regarding CrossFire 2.” Smilegate is currently in the process of developing CrossFire 2. We do not consolidate the results of Oriental Shiny into our results of operations and treat it as an equity investee.

In November 2015, we disposed of 58% equity interest in Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement Co., Ltd., or Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement, which operates our mobile advertising platform and was wholly-owned by Shanghai IT prior to such disposal. We account for Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement as an equity investment after such disposal.

In December 2015, we entered into an agreement to form a joint venture with Youku Tudou Inc., a multi-screen entertainment and media company in China, or Youku Tudou, for the purpose of online games development and operation, movies, network television series and network variety show production, publishing, operation and other related businesses in China. We agreed with Youku Tudou that each party shall own 50% equity interest in the joint venture and share profits based on the respective equity interests in the joint venture. The joint venture, Jiuhe Digital & Entertainment Co., Ltd., or Jiuhe Digital, is expected to be formed in 2016. Jiuhe Digital is expected to be engaged in online games development and operation, movies, network television series and network variety show production, publishing, operation and other related businesses. We do not consolidate the results of Jiuhe Digital into our results of operations and treat it as an equity investee.

In March 2016, we entered into a salenon-binding memorandum of understanding, or MOU, with L&A International Holding Limited, or L&A, a Cayman Islands company with shares publicly listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and purchase agreement with Mr. Zhang Qiang, a third party,certain other shareholders of Red 5. Pursuant to dispose 100%the MOU, we have agreed to exchange approximately 30.6% equity interest that we own in Red 5 for such number of ournewly issued shares of L&A which has the same value as the exchanged Red 5 equity interest. The other participating shareholders of Red 5 will exchange an aggregate of approximately 14.4% equity interest in Beijing Linkage Technology Co., Ltd., or Beijing Linkage, oneRed 5 based on the same terms. The total valuation for the 45% equity interest in Red 5 subject to this exchange is expected to be approximately US$76.5 million, subject to adjustments by no more than 15% based on the results of due diligence exercises to be conducted by both parties. The completion of the our equity investees, for considerationtransaction is subject to the parties’ execution of RMB14definitive agreements and customary closing conditions to be stipulated therein. If the transaction is completed in accordance with valuation of the MOU, we expect to receive ordinary shares of L&A with a valuation ranging from US$44 million (US$2.3 million). The consideration of RMB14 million (US$2.3 million) was received in November 2014.

In November 2014, we entered in to an agreement with Suzhou Industry Park 825 New Media Investment Enterprise (Limited Partnership), a third party for the sale of our entire equity interests in Shanghai Kai Yue Information Technology Co. Ltd., or Kai Yue, which was then 85% owned by us, for the total consideration of RMB25.5 million (US$4.1 million) in cash. Kai Yue developed and held a mobile application named KingReader for online reading. We received RMB12.8 million (US$2.1 million) and RMB12.8 million (US$2.1 million) in December 2014 and February 2015, respectively.US$60 million.

Our principal executive office is located at Building No. 3, 690 Bibo Road, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 201203, People’s Republic of China, and our telephone number is +86-21-5172-9999. Our registered office in the Cayman Islands is located at the offices of CARD Corporate Services Ltd, Zephyrc/o Collas Crill Corporate Services Limited, Floor 2, Willow House, Mary Street,Cricket Square, PO Box 709, George Town, Grand Cayman.Cayman KY1-1107 Cayman Islands. Our agent for service of process in the United States is CT Corporation System located at 111 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10011. In addition to our operational headquarters in Shanghai, we currently have subsidiaries located in the U.S., Singapore and South Korea. We also have small branch offices in China including Beijing, Chengdu, Nanjing, Shenyang, Wuhan and Xi’an. For the list of licensed and proprietary games of our company as of the date of this annual report, see “—B. Business Overview—Products and Services.”

We primarily developoperate proprietary and operatelicensed online games, including MMORPGs, MMOFPSs, web games, socialmobile games and mobileTV games. We have developed proprietary games, including Firefall and other webSong of Knights, and mobile games. We also obtained licenses to operate other games in mainland China, including Planetside 2. We are developing several proprietary mobile online games by our in-housegames. We have also obtained an exclusive license to operate CrossFire 2, an MMOFPS in development, team. In February 2013, we establishedin China through a new joint venture, namely ZTE9, in cooperation with Shanghai Zhongxing Communication Technology Enterprise Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Ruigao Information Technology Co., Ltd., in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, toventure. We also develop and operate the business of “Fun Box,” a home entertainment set top box, which enables online video and video games on TV.TV, through a joint venture.

We generate our online game service revenues primarily through an item-based revenue model, under which players play games for free, but they are charged for in-game items, such as performance-enhancing items, clothing and accessories. Our customers typically access our online games through PCs at homepersonal computers, mobile devices or in Internet cafés, or in the case of mobile phones, through cell phones and other mobile devices.TVs. They purchase in-game items primarily through our Pass9 payment system, or by using prepaid cards purchased at online game platforms. Pass9 is a proprietary, fully integrated online membership management and payment system, which offers one-stop account management and payment services to our customers. To ensure quality customer service and seamless operations, we maintain a powerful technology platform consisting of numerous servers and network devices located in elevenfour Internet data centers throughoutin China.

As wirelessmobile business has become increasingly popular in China, we are also developing our wirelessmobile application platforms. We established a wirelessmobile business unit in April 2010 and started to expand into the wirelessmobile business. We also develop and operate our proprietary mobile advertising platform, Juzi, under our wireless business unit.and a mobile app education business.

We plan to further expand the size and capabilities of our development team by recruiting additional talented program developers, game designers and graphic artists. We also plan to introduce new game features and improve operations infrastructure to meet evolving customer tastes and expectations.

Products and Services

Online Games

We offer online games including MMORPGs, MMOFPSs, web games, socialmobile games and mobileTV games that we developed or licensed. Our other products and services include training advertisement and short message services.mobile advertising platform, which is operated by our equity investee. In a typical MMORPG or MMOFPS, thousands of players play in the same game world at the same time. MMORPG and MMOFPS players can select a specific character to compete within the game with which they develop experience and enhance game attributes, which can be carried over into the next higher game levels. MMORPGs and MMOFPSs incorporate many cutting-edge technology features, including:

As of December 31, 2014,the date of this annual report, we owned or hadour joint ventures own or have exclusive licenses to operate the following major MMORPGs, MMOFPSs, web games and social games and otheronline games in China and other countries:

Game		Developer/ Licensor		Description		Status
						Expected to have a large-scale commercial launch in China in the second half of 2016
TianTianWanDiaoChan Song of Knights		The9		Mobile game		In beta testingLimited commercial release in China in November 2015
Dao Feng CrossFire 2		The9Smilegate Entertainment Inc.		Mobile game3D MMOFPS		In developingUnder development by Smilegate

In September 2011, pursuant to a series of assignment arrangements, Webzen assigned the license of Firefall to Red 5 Singapore. Upon the assignment, Red 5 Singapore replaced Webzen and became a party under the game development and licensing agreement between Red 5 and Webzen, including the publishing rights in all of the countries worldwide other than the United States, Canada and Europe, as well as all the intellectual properties related to Firefall. Red 5 will continue to have the publishing right of Firefall in the United States, Canada and Europe. Webzen will no longer be involved in marketing and publishing Firefall in any geographic region.

As part of the assignment arrangement, we paid US$10.0 million and guaranteed to pay US$12.7 million to Webzen. We also pledged certain intellectual property in relation to the game to secure the guaranteed amount. As of December 31, 2014,2015, the outstanding guaranteed payment amount was US$6.13.1 million (RMB37.7(RMB20.0 million). In addition, Webzen will also share certain future revenues generated from the licensing and royalties of Firefall for a certain period of time.

In November 2011, Red 5 Singapore granted a six-year license of Firefall to Garena Online Private Limited for exclusive distribution rights in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, for US$23 million plus any royalties payable.

In August 2014, Red 5 Singapore entered into a license agreement with System Link, our joint venture with Qihoo 360, for System Link to publish and operate Firefall^® for a five-year term in mainland China. Under this license agreement, System Link is expected to pay to us no less than US$160 million (including license fee and royalties) during the term of the agreement.

In preparation for the commercial launch of a new game, we conduct “closed beta testing” of the game to resolve operational issues, which is followed by “limited commercial release” and “open beta testing” in whichtesting.” In both limited commercial release and open beta testing, we allow our registered users to play without removing their in-game data to ensure the performance consistency and stability of our operating systems. While we limit the number of users allowed to play the game in limited commercial release, we do not set such a limit in open beta testing. We can choose to start charging users at the close ofin limited commercial release or open beta testing or at a later stage at our discretion.

Our online games are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our users can access our online games from any location with an Internet connection. Substantially all of our users in China access the game servers either from PCspersonal computers at home or at Internet cafés equipped with multiple personal computers that have Internet access. Currently, a significant portion of our users access the game through Internet cafés throughout China which sell prepaid game cards or prepaid game points to their customers. To offset the impact of the limited use of online and credit card payment systems in China, we have introduced Pass9, a prepaid game playing time purchase and management system. See “—B. Business Overview—Membership Management and Payment System.”

TV Game Platform.Platform. In February 2013, we established ZTE9, a joint venture, with Shanghai Zhongxing Communication Technology Enterprise Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Ruigao Information Technology Co., Ltd. in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.Province of China. In February 2014, Guangdong Hongtu Guangdian Investment Limited Company made capital investment to ZTE9. The joint venture is going to develop and operate the business of “Fun Box,” a home entertainment set top box, which enables online video and video games on TV.

Other Products and Services

Our other products and services mainly consist of training and mobile advertising and short message services.advertising.

Training Services. Our training services primarily relate to smart phone application programming training provided to college students in China.

Mobile Application Advertising Platform.Platform. We established a wireless business unit in April 2010 and started to expand into the wireless business. We develop and operate our mobile advertising platform, Juzi, under our wireless business unit. Juzi is currently operated by Shanghai Jiucheng Advertising, our equity investee.

Arrangements with Smilegate regarding CrossFire 2

In 2015, Globe Wealthy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of System Link, our 50%-owned joint venture, and Smilegate formed Oriental Shiny as a joint venture company for publishing and operating CrossFire 2 in China on an exclusive basis for an initial term of three years, subject to an extension to five years. Certain principal terms of the contractual arrangements are described below.

SMS.Leveraging our existing user base, we offer several different SMS productsJoint Venture Agreement dated August 20, 2015 by and subscription packagesbetween Globe Wealthy and Smilegate. Pursuant to this agreement, Globe Wealthy shall contribute to Oriental Shiny an initial capital of US$50 million, and additional capital of US$70 million and US$180 million after closed beta testing and commercial launch of CrossFire 2, respectively. Such capital shall be used to pay the license fee for the initial three-year term under the CrossFire 2 license agreement between Oriental Shiny and Smilegate. In addition, Globe Wealthy will make additional cash contributions to Oriental Shiny as may be necessary for publishing, operating and marketing CrossFire 2. If the CrossFire 2 license is extended for two years for an additional license fee of US$200 million pursuant to the terms of the license agreement, Globe Wealthy will be required to make an additional capital contribution of US$200 million to Oriental Shiny for the payment of such additional license fee. Smilegate shall hold nominal shares in Oriental Shiny upon the incorporation of Oriental Shiny.

Pursuant to the joint venture agreement, Oriental Shiny shall establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in China, which will operate CrossFire 2 through a PRC entity that enable our usersit effectively controls through a series of contractual arrangements. The wholly-owned subsidiary, Oriental Shiny Star Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., or Oriental IT, was formed in February 2016, and the operating PRC entity, Beijing Zhi’ao Network Technology Co., Ltd., or Beijing Zhi’ao, was formed in October 2015. Oriental IT is expected to enter into contractual arrangements with Beijing Zhi’ao and the shareholders of Beijing Zhi’ao to obtain effective control over Beijing Zhi’ao. The board of Oriental Shiny consists of three directors, including two directors nominated by Globe Wealthy and one director nominated by Smilegate. Certain matters of Oriental Shiny require the unanimous consent of the directors, including, among other things, transmitappointment and receive SMS messages, receive password protectionremoval of senior management, disposal of material assets, the entering into, amendment or termination of material contracts, transfer or licensing of intellectual property or technology, declaration of dividend, and making or extension of loans. Certain matters of Oriental Shiny require consents of both Globe Wealthy and Smilegate, including, among other value-added services.things, amendment to the articles of association, change in capital structure and merger and acquisition with other companies. The initial term of the joint venture is 20 years, and may be terminated at any time by written agreement between Globe Wealthy and Smilegate.

Exclusive License and Distribution Agreement dated November 24, 2015by and among Oriental Shiny, Beijing Zhi’ao and Smilegate. Pursuant to this agreement, Smilegate granted to Oriental Shiny and Beijing Zhi’ao an exclusive, non-sublicenseable and non-transferable license to publish and operate CrossFire 2 in China. Oriental Shiny and Beijing Zhi’ao shall pay an initial license fee of US$50 million, and additional license fees of US$70 million and US$180 million after closed beta testing and commercial launch of CrossFire 2, respectively. The payment of license fee is guaranteed by Qihoo 360 and our company based on the respective equity interests of the parties in System Link. Oriental Shiny and Beijing Zhi’ao are also required to pay Smilegate royalties. This agreement has an initial term of three years after the commercial launch of CrossFire 2, and will be extended for two years (i) automatically if the total gross revenue is larger than the total costs and expenses incurred by Oriental Shiny and Beijing Zhi’ao for the initial three-year term, or (2) at the option of Oriental Shiny and Beijing Zhi’ao. In either case, any extension for a two-year term will be subject to an additional license fee of US$200 million. This agreement may be terminated upon agreement by the parties.

Guarantee Letter dated November 24, 2015by and among the our company, Shanghai IT and Smilegate.Our company and Shanghai IT agreed to jointly and severally guarantee the payment of license fee by Globe Wealthy under the Exclusive License and Distribution Agreement proportional to our equity interest in System Link. The remaining licensing fee is guaranteed by Qihoo 360 under a separate guarantee letter.

Membership Management and Payment System

We established Pass9 in China, a pioneering integrated membership management and payment system in early 2001, which allows us to maintain a single customer database that contains each customer’s profile and payment history. Pass9 provides one-stop service to our customers, distributors and developers. Pass9 provides our customers with an integrated platform to log in, pay and use any of the fee-based products and services we offer. It also allows our distributors to sell our online points to Internet cafés, and enables Internet cafés to check the balance of their points and pay us on their customers’ behalf. In addition, Pass9 provides our game development partners with a simple interface with which to integrate their games into our system.

Our integrated membership management and payment system also incorporates a variety of community-building features, such as chat rooms, which provide registered users a platform to interact in real-time groups or one-on-one discussions, and bulletin boards which allow registered users to post notes or inquiries and respond to other users’ notes or inquires. We believe these features encourage user congregation on our site and facilitate player interaction for the games we offer.

Customer Service

Since our inception, we have continuously focused on providing excellent customer service in order to retain our existing customers and to attract new customers. Our online games customers can access our customer service center via phone or e-mail at any time, or visit our visitor center in Shanghai during regular business hours. We have in-game game masters dedicated to each of the online games that we operate. Game masters are responsible for organizing in-game events, troubleshooting and actively and continuously monitoring the online game environment. Game masters are available to respond to players’ inquiries, to initiate the bug reporting and removal processes, as well as to identify, record and deal with players’ inappropriate behavior such as dishonesty, fraud or other conducts that violates our rules and policies. We believe that positioning game masters to monitor the gaming environment is important to us to maintain customer loyalty and to efficiently address any technical problems that may arise.

Purchase of In-game Items

A customer can purchase in-game items through any of the following methods:

Prepaid Cards. A customer can purchase virtual prepaid cards through online game platforms such as iwan.baidu.com and games.QQ.com.

Online Payment. A customer can access online games free of charge and buy in-game items online by charging a payment directly to aAlipay, or by credit card or debit card.

Pricing, Distribution and Marketing

Pricing.Pricing. We price our in-game virtual items near the end of the free testing period based on several factors, including the prices of other comparable games, the technological and other features of the game, and the targeted marketing position of the game. Our prepaid game cards are offered in a variety of denominations to provide users with maximum flexibility.

Distribution.Distribution. We primarily rely on game platforms and distributors to distribute, promote, market and sell our games in China and overseas markets, such as North America and Europe. End users can purchase our virtual currencies and prepaid cards through such game platforms and distributors. A substantial portion of our sales are carried out via such game platforms and distributors. We do not have long-term agreements with any online game platforms or distributors. In addition, we also directly sell game points through our game players’ online accounts.

Marketing.Marketing. Our overall marketing strategy is to rapidly attract new customers and increase revenues from recurring customers. The marketing programs and promotional activities that we employ to promote our games include:

Advertising and Online Promotion. We place advertisements in many game magazines and on online game sites, which are updated regularly.

Cross-Marketing. We have cross-marketing relationships with major consumer brands, technology companies and major telecom carriers. We believe that our cross-marketing relationships with well-known companies will increase the recognition of our online game brands.

On-Site Promotion. We distribute free game-related posters, promotional prepaid cards for beginners, game-related souvenirs such as watches, pens, mouse pads and calendars at trade shows, selected Internet cafés and computer stores.

In-Game Marketing.We conduct “in-game” marketing programs from time to time, including online adventures for grand prizes.

Game Development and Licensing

We believe that the online game industry in China will continue its pattern of developing increasingly sophisticated online games tailored to the local market. In order to remain competitive, we focus on continuing to develop new proprietary online games, mobile games and web games. Our product development team is responsible for game design, technical development and art design. We also plan to further enhance our game development capability and diversify our game portfolio and pipeline.

Our game licensing process begins with a preliminary screening, review and testing of a game, followed by a cost analysis, negotiations and ultimate licensing of a game, including all regulatory and approval processes. A team is then designated to conduct “closed beta testing” of the game to resolve operational matters, followed by “open beta testing” during which our registered users may play the game without removing their in-game data to ensure performance consistency and stability of our operation systems. Testing generally takes three to six months, during which time we commence other marketing activities.

Technology

We aim to build a reliable and secure technology infrastructure to fully support our operations, and we maintain separate technology networks for each of our games. Our current technology infrastructure consists of the following:

We have a network operation team responsible for the stability and security of our network. The team monitors our server and works to detect, record, analyze and solve problems that arise from out network. In addition, we frequently upgrade our game server software to ensure the stability of our operations and to reduce the risks of hacking.

Competition

Our major competitors include, but are not limited to, online game operators in China. These include Tencent Inc.Holdings Limited (which operates CrossFire, League of Legends and Dungeon & Fighter, CrossFire, Legend of Yulong)Fighter), Shanda Games Limited (which operates Woool, Mir II, Dragon Nest and Million Arthur), NetEase.com,NetEase, Inc. (which operates Fantasy Westward Journey, World of Warcraft and StarCraft II)Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft), Giant Interactive Group Inc. ( which operates ZT Online and Passion Leads Army Online), Changyou.com Limited (which operates Tian Long Ba Bu,Dragon Oath 3D and The Legend of Qin II) , Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., Ltd. (which operates Ragnarok Online, Tales of Swordman and Crazy Horde), Perfect World Co., Ltd. (which operates Perfect World II, Zhu Xian,Xian3 and DOTA2), Youzu Interactive CO., LTD. and NetDragon Websoft Inc. (which operates Legend of the Warriors, The Grandmaster), Shanghai 37wan Network Technology Co., Ltd. (which operates DTS, The legend of BR),Moyu, Conquer and Jiuyou Times (Beijing) Technology Limited (which operates Audition Dance Battle Online(AU), Gundam online)Dungeon Keeper Online).

Our existing and potential competitors may compete with us on marketing activities, quality of online games and sales and distribution networks. Some of our existing and potential competitors have greater financial and marketing resources than us. For a discussion of risks relating to competition, see “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Company and Our Industry—We may not be able to recover our market share and profitability as we operate in a highly competitive industry and compete against many companies.”

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property rights include trademarks and domain names associated with the name “The9” in China and copyright and other rights associated with our websites, technology platform, self-developed software and other aspects of our business. We regard our intellectual property rights as critical to our business. We rely on trademark and copyright law, trade secret protection, non-competition and confidentiality agreements with our employees, and license agreements with our partners, to protect our intellectual property rights. We require our employees to enter into agreements requiring them to keep confidential all information relating to our customers, methods, business and trade secrets during and after their employment with us and assign their inventions developed during their employment to us. Our employees are required to acknowledge and recognize that all inventions, trade secrets, works of authorship, developments and other processes made by them during their employment are our property.

We have registered our domain names with third-party domain registration entities, and have legal rights over these domain names through Shanghai IT, our affiliated PRC entity. We conduct our business under the “The9 Limited” brand name and “The9” logo.

Legal Proceedings

See “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Legal Proceedings.”

Government Regulations

Current PRC laws and regulations impose substantial restrictions on foreign ownership of the online gaming and ICP businesses in China. As a result, we conduct our online gaming and ICP businesses in China through contractual arrangements with Shanghai IT, and Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement,one of our affiliated PRC entities. Shanghai IT is owned by Zhimin Lin and Wei Ji, both of whom are PRC citizens.

In the opinion of our PRC counsel, Zhong Lun Law Firm, subject to the interpretation and implementation of the GAPP Circular, the ownership structure and the business operation models of our PRC subsidiaries and our affiliated PRC entities comply with all applicable PRC laws, rules and regulations, and no consent, approval or license is required under any of the existing laws and regulations of China for their ownership structure and business operation models except for those which we have already obtained or which would not have a material adverse effect on our business or operations as a whole.

In the online games industry in China, new laws and regulations may be adopted from time to time to require additional licenses and permits other than those we currently have, and address new issues that arise from time to time. As a result, substantial uncertainties exist regarding the interpretation and implementation of current and any future PRC laws and regulations applicable to the online games industry. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The laws and regulations governing the online game industry in China are developing and subject to future changes. If we fail to obtain or maintain all applicable permits and approvals, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected.”

Regulations on Internet Content Provision Service, Online Gaming and Internet Publishing

Our provision of online game-related content on our websites is subject to various PRC laws and regulations relating to the telecommunications industry, Internet and online gaming, and is regulated by various government authorities, including MIIT, the Ministry of Culture, GAPPRFT and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. The principal PRC regulations governing the ICP industry as well as the online gaming services in China include:

In July 2006, MIIT issued the New MII Notice. The New MII Notice prohibits ICP license holders from leasing, transferring or selling a telecommunications business operating license to any foreign investors in any form, or providing any resource, sites or facilities to any foreign investors for their illegal operation of telecommunications businesses in China. The notice also requires that ICP license holders and their shareholders directly own the domain names and trademarks used by such ICP license holders in their daily operations. The notice further requires each ICP license holder to have the necessary facilities for its approved business operations and to maintain such facilities in the regions covered by its license. In addition, all the value-added telecommunication service providers are required to maintain network and information security in accordance with the standards set forth under relevant PRC regulations. The local authorities in charge of telecommunications services are required to ensure that existing ICP license holders conduct a self-assessment of their compliance with the New MII Notice and submit status reports to MIIT before November 1, 2006. For those which are not in compliance with the above requirements and further fail to rectify the situation, the relevant governmental authorities would have broad discretion to adopt one or more measures against them, including but not limited to revoking their operating licenses. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors —Risks Related to Our Company and Our Industry—PRC laws and regulations restrict foreign ownership of Internet content provision, Internet culture operation and Internet publishingnetwork publication service licenses, and substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the application and implementation of PRC laws and regulations.”

Under these regulations, a foreign investor is currently prohibited from owning more than 50% of the equity interest in a PRC entity that provides value-added telecommunications services (except for e-commerce services, as effective from April 10, 2015)services). ICP services are classified as value-added telecommunications businesses, and a commercial operator of such services must obtain an ICP License from the appropriate telecommunications authorities in order to carry on any commercial ICP operations in China.

With respect to the online gaming industry in China, since online games fall into the definition of “Internet culture products” under The Tentative Measures for Administration of Internet Culture (2011), a commercial operator of online games must, in addition to obtaining the ICP License, obtain an Internet culture operation license from the appropriate culture administrative authorities for its operation of online games. Furthermore, according to The Tentative Measures for Administration of Internet Publication (2002), the provision of online games is deemed an Internet publication activity. Therefore, approval from the appropriate press and publication administrative authorities as an Internet publisher or cooperation with a licensed Internet publisher is required for an online game operator to carry on its online gaming businesses in China. In February 2016, the GAPPRFT and the MIIT jointly issued the Administrative Measures on Network Publication, which took effect in March 2016 and replaced the Tentative Administrative Measures on Internet Publication. The Administrative Measures on Network Publication further strengthen and expand the supervision and management on the network publication service, including online games service. Furthermore, online games, andincluding mobile games, regardless of whether imported or domestic, shall be subject to a content review and approval by or a filing with the Ministry of Culture and GAPPRFT prior to commencement of operations in China.

GAPPRFT and MIIT jointly impose a license requirement for any company that intends to engage in Internetnetwork publishing, defined as any act by an Internetactivity of providing network publications to the public through information service providernetworks. Network publications refer to select, editthe digitalized works with publishing features such as editing, producing and process content or programs and to make such content or programs publicly available on the Internet.processing. Furthermore, the distribution of online game cards and CD-keys for online gaming programs is subject to a licensing requirement. Shanghai IT holds the license necessary to distribute electronic publications, which allows it to distribute prepaid cards and CD-Keys for the games we operate. We sell our prepaid cards and CD-Keys through third-party distributors, which are responsible for maintaining requisite licenses for distributing our prepaid cards and CD Keys in China.

On February 15, 2007, fourteen governmental authorities, including the Ministry of Culture, MIIT, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the People’s Bank of China, or the PBOC, jointly issued a circular entitled Circular for Further Strengthening the Administration of Internet Café and Online Games. This circular gave the PBOC administrative authority over virtual currencies issued by online game operators for use by players in online games to avoid the potential impact such virtual currencies may have on the real-world financial systems. According to this circular, the volume that may be issued and the purchase of such virtual currencies must be restricted, and virtual currency must not be used for the purchase of any physical products, refunded with a premium or otherwise illegally traded. The Notice of Strengthening the Management of Virtual Currency of Online Games promulgated by the Ministry of Culture and MOFCOM on June 4, 2009 and the Tentative Measures for Administration of Online Games promulgated by the Ministry of Culture on June 3, 2010 impose more restrictions and requirements on online game operators that issue virtual currencies. According to the above regulations, an online game operator which issues virtual currency used for online game services shall apply for approval from the Ministry of Culture. An online game operator shall further report detailed rules of issuance for virtual currencies, such as distribution scope, pricing, and terms for refunds and shall make certain periodic and supplementary filings as required by the relevant regulations. In addition, under the new rules, online game operators are prohibited from assigning game tools or virtual currency to users by way of drawing lots, random samplings or other arbitrary means in exchange for users’ cash or virtual currency. The new rules also require that service agreements entered into between online game operators and end users contain the general terms of a standard online game service agreement issued by the Ministry of Culture.

In September 2009, GAPP further promulgated the GAPP Circular, which provides that foreign investors are prohibited from making investment and engaging in online game operation services by setting up foreign-invested enterprises in China. Further, foreign investors shall not control and participate in PRC online game operation businesses indirectly or in a disguised manner by establishing joint venture companies or entering into agreements with or providing technical support to such PRC online game operation companies, or by inputting the users’ registration, account management, game cards consumption directly into the interconnected gaming platform or fighting platform controlled or owned by the foreign investor. It is not clear whether the regulatory authority of GAPPRFT applies to the regulation of ownership structures of online game companies based in China and online game operation in China. Other government agencies that have regulatory jurisdiction over the online game operations in China, such as the Ministry of Culture and MIIT, did not join GAPP in issuing the GAPP Circular. To date, GAPPRFT has not issued any interpretation of the GAPP Circular. It is not yet clear how this GAPP Circular will be implemented. The relevant governmental authorities have broad discretion to adopt one or more of administrative measures against companies now in compliance with these measures, including revoking relevant licenses and relevant registration. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Company and Our Industry—PRC laws and regulations restrict foreign ownership of Internet content provision, Internet culture operation and Internet publishingnetwork publication service licenses, and substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the application and implementation of PRC laws and regulations.”

The operation of SMS in China is classified as a value-added telecommunication business and SMS service providers shall obtain the relevant value-added telecommunication business permits.

Regulations on Internet Content

The PRC government has promulgated measures relating to Internet content through a number of ministries and agencies, including MIIT, the Ministry of Culture and GAPPRFT. These measures specifically prohibit Internet activities, including the operation of online games that result in the publication of any content which is found to, among other things, propagate obscenity, gambling or violence, instigate crimes, undermine public morality or the cultural traditions of the PRC, or compromise State security or secrets. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—The laws and regulations governing the online game industry in China are developing and subject to future changes. If we fail to obtain or maintain all applicable permits and approvals, our business and operations could be materially and adversely affected.” If an ICP license holder violates these measures, the PRC government may revoke its ICP license and shut down its websites.

In April 2007, various governmental authorities, including GAPP, MIIT, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, and other relevant authorities jointly issued a circular concerning the mandatory implementation of an “anti-fatigue system” in online games, which was aimed at protecting the physical and psychological health of minors. This circular required all online games to incorporate an “anti-fatigue system” and an identity verification system, both of which have limited the amount of time that a minor or other user may continuously spend playing an online game. We have implemented such “anti-fatigue” and identification systems on all of our online games as required. Since March 2011, various governmental authorities, including the Ministry of Culture, MIIT, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, and other relevant authorities have jointly launched the “Online Game Parents Guardianship Project for Minors,” which allows parents to require online game operators to take relevant measures to limit the time spent by the minors on playing online games and the minors’ access to their online game accounts. On February 5, 2013, the Ministry of Culture, MIIT, GAPP and various other governmental authorities, jointly issued the Working Plan on the Comprehensive Prevention Scheme on Online Game Addiction of Minors, which further strengthened the administration of the Internet cafés, reinstated the importance of the “anti-fatigue system” and “Online Game Parents Guardianship Project for Minors” as prevention measures against the online game addiction of minors and ordered all relevant governmental authorities to take all necessary actions in implementing such measures. Additional requirements for anti-fatigue and identification systems in our games, as well as the implementation of any other measures required by any new regulations the PRC government may enact to further tighten its administration of the Internet and online games, and its supervision of Internet cafés, may limit or slow down our prospects for growth, or may materially and adversely affect our business results. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Our business may be adversely affected by public opinion and government policies in China.”

Internet content in China is also regulated and restricted from a state security standpoint. The National People’s Congress, China’s national legislative body, has enacted a law that may subject to criminal punishment in China any effort to: (1) gain improper entry into a computer or system of strategic importance; (2) disseminate politically disruptive information; (3) leak state secrets; (4) spread false commercial information; or (5) infringe intellectual property rights.

The Ministry of Public Security has promulgated measures that prohibit the use of the Internet in ways which, among other things, results in a leakage of state secrets or a spread of socially destabilizing content. The Ministry of Public Security has supervision and inspection rights in this regard, and we may be subject to the jurisdiction of the local security bureaus. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Regulation and censorship of information disseminated over the Internet in China may adversely affect our business, and we may be liable for information displayed on, retrieved from, or linked to our Internet websites.” If an ICP license holder violates these measures, the PRC government may revoke its ICP license and shut down its websites.

Regulations on Internet Cafés

Internet cafés are required to obtain a license from the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and are subject to requirements and regulations with respect to location, size, number of computers, age limit of customers and business hours. Although we do not own or operate any Internet cafés, many Internet cafés distribute our virtual pre-paid cards. The PRC government has enacted laws to intensify its regulation and administration of Internet cafés, which are currently the primary venue for our users to play online games. Intensified government regulation of Internet cafés could restrict our ability to maintain or increase our revenues and expand our customer base. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China—Intensified government regulation of Internet cafés could limit our ability to maintain or increase our revenues and expand our customer base.”

Regulations on Privacy Protection

PRC laws and regulations do not prohibit Internet content providers from collecting and analyzing personal information from their users subject to the user’s prior consent. We require our users to accept a user agreement whereby they agree to provide certain personal information to us. PRC law prohibits Internet content providers from disclosing to any third parties any information transmitted by users through their networks unless otherwise permitted by law. If an Internet content provider violates these regulations, it may be liable for damages caused to its users and it may be subject to administrative penalties such as warnings, fines, confiscation of its unlawful income, revocation of licenses, cancellation of filings, shutdown of their websites or even criminal liabilities.

Import Regulations

Our ability to obtain licenses for online games from abroad and import them into China is regulated in several ways. We are required to register with MOFCOM any license agreement with a foreign licensor that involves an import of technologies, including online game software into China. Without that registration, we may not remit licensing fees out of China to any foreign game licensor. In addition, the Ministry of Culture requires us to submit for its content review and/or approval any online games we want to license from overseas game developers or any patch or updates for such game if it contains substantial changes. If we license and operate games without that approval, the Ministry of Culture may impose penalties on us, including revoking the Internet culture operation license required for the operation of online games in China. Also, pursuant to a jointly issued notice in July 2004, GAPP and the State Copyright Bureau require us to obtain their approval for imported online game publications. Furthermore, the State Copyright Bureau requires us to register copyright license agreements relating to imported software. Without the State Copyright Bureau registration, we cannot remit licensing fees out of China to any foreign game licensor and we are not allowed to publish or reproduce the imported game software in China.

Regulations on Intellectual Property Rights

The State Council and the State Copyright Bureau have promulgated various regulations and rules relating to the protection of software in China. Under these regulations and rules, software owners, licensees and transferees may register their rights in software with the State Copyright Bureau or its local branches and obtain software copyright registration certificates. Although such registration is not mandatory under PRC law, software owners, licensees and transferees are encouraged to go through the registration process and registered software rights may receive better protection. We have registered all of our in-house developed online games with the State Copyright Bureau.

Regulations on Foreign Currency Exchange and Dividend Distribution

Foreign Currency Exchange. Foreign currency exchange regulation in China is primarily governed by the following rules:

Pursuant to the Foreign Exchange Administration Rules (1996), as amended in 1997 and 2008, the RMB is generally freely convertible for trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, but not for direct investment, loans, investment in securities, or other transactions through a capital account outside China unless the prior approval of SAFE is obtained. Furthermore, foreign investment enterprises in China in general may purchase foreign exchange without the approval of SAFE for trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions by providing commercial documents evidencing these transactions. Foreign investment enterprises that need foreign exchange for the distribution of profits to their shareholders may effect payment from their foreign exchange account or purchase and pay foreign exchange at the designated foreign exchange banks to their foreign shareholders by producing board resolutions for such profit distribution. Under the Administration Rules of the Settlement, Sale and Payment of Foreign Exchange (1996), based on their needs, foreign investment enterprises are permitted to open foreign exchange settlement accounts for current account receipts and payments of foreign exchange along with specialized accounts for capital account receipts and payments of foreign exchange at certain designated foreign exchange banks.

On November 19, 2012, SAFE promulgated the Circular of Further Improving and Adjusting Foreign Exchange Administration Policies on Foreign Direct Investment, or SAFE Circular 59, which became effective on December 17, 2012. The major developments under SAFE Circular 59 were that the opening of various special purpose foreign exchange accounts (e.g. pre-establishment expenses account, foreign exchange capital account, guarantee account) no longer required the approval of SAFE. Furthermore, multiple capital accounts for the same entity may be opened in different provinces, which was not possible before the issuance of SAFE Circular 59. Reinvestment of RMB proceeds by foreign investors in the PRC no longer required SAFE approval or verification, and remittance of foreign exchange profits and dividends by a foreign-invested enterprise to its foreign shareholders no longer required SAFE approval.

On May 10, 2013, SAFE promulgated the Circular on Printing and Distributing the Provisions on Foreign Exchange Administration over Domestic Direct Investment by Foreign Investors and the Supporting Documents, which specifies that the administration by SAFE or its local branches over direct investment by foreign investors in the PRC shall be based on registration. Institutions and individuals shall register with SAFE and/or its branches for their direct investment in the PRC. Banks shall process foreign exchange business relating to the direct investment in the PRC based on the registration information provided by SAFE and its branches.

On February 13, 2015, SAFE issued the Circular on Further Simplifying and Improving the Foreign Exchange Administration Policies on Direct Investments, or SAFE Circular 13, pursuantwhich took effect on June 1 2015. Pursuant to whichSAFE Circular 13, the administrative examination and approval procedures with SAFE or its local branches relating to the foreign exchange registration approval for domestic direct investments as well as overseas direct investments have been cancelled, and qualified banks are delegated the power to directly conduct such foreign exchange registrations under the supervision of SAFE or its local branches. SAFE Circular 13 will take effect on June 1, 2015.

Dividend Distribution. The principal regulations governing distribution of dividends of foreign holding companies include:

Under these regulations, foreign investment enterprises in China may pay dividends only out of their accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. In addition, foreign investment enterprises in China are required to allocate at least 10% of their respective profits each year, if any, to fund certain reserve funds until the cumulative total of the allocated reserve funds reaches 50% of an enterprise’s registered capital and a portion of their respective after-tax profits to their staff welfare and bonus reserve funds as determined by their respective board of directors or shareholders. These reserves are not distributable as dividends.

Regulations on Foreign Exchange in Certain Onshore and Offshore Transactions

On July 4, 2014, SAFE issued SAFE Circular 37, which is the Circular on Several Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Administration of Domestic Residents Engaging in Overseas Investment, Financing and Round-Trip Investment via Special Purpose Vehicles. SAFE Circular 37 and its detailed guidelines require PRC residents to register with the local branch of SAFE before contributing their legally owned onshore or offshore assets or equity interest into any SPV directly established, or indirectly controlled, by them for the purpose of investment or financing. In addition, when there is (a) any change to the basic information of the SPV, such as any change relating to its individual PRC resident shareholders, name or operation period or (b) any material change, such as increase or decrease in the share capital held by its individual PRC resident shareholders, a share transfer or exchange of the shares in the SPV, or a merger or split of the SPV, the PRC resident must register such changes with the local branch of SAFE on a timely basis. According to the relevant SAFE rules, failure to comply with the registration procedures set forth in SAFE Circular 37 may result in restrictions being imposed on the foreign exchange activities of the relevant onshore companies of SPVs, including the payment of dividends and other distributions to its offshore parent or affiliate and the capital inflow from such offshore entity, and may also subject the relevant PRC residents and onshore companies to penalties under PRC foreign exchange administration regulations. Further, failure to comply with various SAFE registration requirements described above would result in liability for foreign exchange evasion under PRC laws. On February 13, 2015, SAFE issued SAFE Circular 13, which is the Circular on Further Simplifying and Improving the Foreign Exchange Administration Policies on Direct Investments.Investments, which took effect on June 1, 2015. Under SAFE Circular 13, qualified banks are delegated the power to register all PRC residents’ investments in SPVs pursuant to SAFE Circular 37, saving for supplementary registration application made by PRC residents who failed to comply with SAFE Circular 37, which shall still fall into the jurisdiction of the local branch of SAFE. SAFE Circular 13 will take effect on June 1, 2015.

As a result of the uncertainties relating to the interpretation and implementation of SAFE Circular 37 and SAFE Circular 13, we cannot predict how these regulations will affect our business operations or strategies. For example, our present or future PRC subsidiaries’ ability to conduct foreign exchange activities, such as remittance of dividends and foreign-currency-denominated borrowings, may be subject to compliance with such SAFE registration requirements by relevant PRC residents, over whom we have no control. In addition, we cannot assure you that any such PRC residents will be able to complete the necessary approval and registration procedures required by the SAFE regulations. We have requested all of our shareholders who, based on our knowledge, are PRC residents or whose ultimate beneficial owners are PRC residents to comply with all applicable SAFE registration requirements, but we have no control over our shareholders. We cannot assure you that the PRC beneficial owners of our company and our subsidiaries have completed the required SAFE registrations. Nor can we assure you that they will be in full compliance with the SAFE registration in the future. Any non-compliance by the PRC beneficial owners of our company and our subsidiaries may subject us or such PRC resident shareholders to fines and other penalties. It may also limit our ability to contribute additional capitals to our PRC subsidiaries and our subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits or make other payments to us.

C.	Organizational Structure

The following diagram illustrates our organizational structure, the place of formation, ownership interest of each of our significant subsidiaries and affiliated entities that operate our major game platforms in China as of the date of this annual report:

Our headquarters are located on premises comprising approximately 14,000 square meters in an office building in Shanghai, China. We purchased the office building in which our headquarters are located, and lease all of our other premises from unrelated third parties. Our office building has been mortgaged to secure the Convertible Notes in the aggregate principal amount of US$40,050,000 issued and sold to Splendid Days and an entrusted loan of approximately RMB31.6 million (US$4.9 million) that we obtained from a third party in December 2015. In addition, we have subsidiaries located in the U.S.,United States, Singapore and South Korea and small branch offices in Beijing, Nanjing, Wuhan, Xi’an, Chengdu and Shenyang, China. Our equipment consists substantially of numerous servers and network devices located in 5four Internet data centers throughoutin China.

None.

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and their related notes included in this annual report. This report contains forward-looking statements. See “—G. Safe Harbor.” In evaluating our business, you should carefully consider the information provided under the caption “Risk Factors” in this annual report. We caution you that our businesses and financial performance are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties.

A.	Operating Results

The major factors affecting our results of operations and financial conditions include:

Revenue Composition and Sources of Revenue. In 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, we generated substantially all of our revenues from online game services, and the remaining portion of our revenues from other services. The following table sets forth our revenues generated from providing online game services and other services, both as absolute amounts and as percentages of total revenues for the periods indicated.

Online Game Services.Services. In 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, revenues from our online game services amounted to RMB157.4 million, RMB95.1 million, and RMB55.4 million and RMB40.5 million (US$8.96.3 million), respectively. The decrease in revenue from 2013 to 2014 was mainly due to a decrease in revenue from certain web games, including Winning Goal and Winning Dunk, and MMO games, including Planetside 2 and SUN. We primarily generate our online game service revenues through item-based revenue models. Under an item-based revenue model, players of our games play the games for free, but are charged for purchases of in-game items, such as performance-enhancing items, clothing and accessories. Thus, we generate revenues through the sale of such in-game premium features that players use game points to purchase. The distribution of points to end users is typically made through sales of prepaid game cards and prepaid online points. Fees from prepaid game cards and prepaid online points are deferred when initially received. This revenue is recognized over the life of the premium features or as the premium features are consumed. Future usage patterns may differ from the historical usage patterns on which the virtual items and services consumption model is based. We will continue to monitor the operational statistics and usage patterns affecting our recognition of these revenues.

Other Revenues.Revenues. Other revenues mainly included revenues from mobile advertisement trainings and short message services. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, our other revenues amounted to RMB6.2 million, RMB11.5 million and RMB9.4 million (US$1.5 million), respectively. Our other revenues decreased from 2013 to 2014 primarily due to a decrease in revenue from Juzi platform caused by intense market competition.trainings.

Cost of Revenue.Revenue. Our cost of revenue consists of costs directly attributable to rendering our services, including online game royalties, payroll, sharing to third party game platform, telecom carries and other suppliers, depreciation and rental of Internet data center sites, depreciation and amortization of computer equipment and software, intangible assets amortization and other overhead expenses directly attributable to the services we provide.

Operating Expenses.Expenses. Our operating expenses consist primarily of product development expenses, sales and marketing expenses, general and administrative expenses, impairment on equipment, intangible assets and other long-lived assets and allowance on long-term receivables and gain on disposal of subsidiaries. Our total operating expenses continued to decrease from 2012 to 2014, reflecting the continued decrease of our product development expenses, sales and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses during the same period.receivables.

Product Development Expenses.Expenses. Our product development expenses consist primarily of compensation to our product development personnel, outsourced research and development expenses, equipment and software depreciation charges and other overhead expenses for the development of our proprietary games. Our product development expenses amounted to RMB301.5 million, RMB213.2 million, and RMB156.3 million and RMB135.0 million (US$25.220.8 million) for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, respectively. Most of our proprietary online games have entered into their final stages of development and we have ability to control the level of discretionary spending on product development in the near future.

Sales and Marketing Expenses.Expenses. Our sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of advertising and marketing expenses incurred to promote our games and compensation expenses relating to our sales and marketing personnel. Our sales and marketing expenses amounted to RMB187.0 million, RMB116.7 million, and RMB51.8 million and RMB31.7 million (US$8.34.9 million) for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, respectively. Marketing expenses decreased from 2013 to 2014, primarily because the expenses incurred for launching Firefall in North America and Europe in 2014 were less than those incurred for Planetside 2 in 2013.

General and Administrative Expenses.Expenses. Our general and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and travel expenses for our administrative staff, depreciation of property and equipment, entertainment expenses, administrative office expenses, as well as fees paid to professional service providers for auditing and legal services. General and administration expenses amounted to RMB170.4 million, RMB162.0 million, and RMB111.2 million and RMB131.8 million (US$17.920.3 million) for the yearyears ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, respectively. General and administrative expenses continued to decrease from 2013 to 20142015 reflecting our cost cutting efforts. We expect general and administrative expenses including share-based compensation expenses will remain relatively stable at the current level in the near future.

Impairment on Equipment, IntangibleLong-lived Assets Other Assets and Allowance (Reversal of Allowance) of Long-term Receivable.. Impairment charges relate to the impairment on certain equipment and intangible assets amounting to RMB5.7 million, nil and other assetsnil for the years ended December 31, 2013, 2014 and amounted to RMB0.62015, respectively.

(Provision)Reversal ofProvision for Allowance forLong-term Receivables andPrepayments.We recorded allowance on long-term receivable of RMB29.7 million, RMB17.5RMB3.6 million and RMB3.6RMB8.4 million (US$0.61.3 million) for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014, respectively. In addition, we recorded allowance on long-term receivable of nil and RMB17.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2013,2015, respectively. We reversed the provision of RMB17.9 million (US$2.9 million) for the year ended December 31, 2014. The allowance on long-term receivable in 2013 was primarily due to certain prepayment made to an equipment supplier. In 2014, we reversed all such allowance as we reevaluated the collectability of the receivables and determined that the payments can be collected. We collected the amount in full in 2015. See Note 15The allowance on long-term receivable in 2015 was related to the consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 20-F for more information regarding the allowance made in 2013 and the reversal in 2014.receivable from WoW game points refund agent.

GainGain/loss on Disposal of Subsidiaries.Subsidiaries. We recorded a gain on disposal of a subsidiary of RMB3.3 million (US$0.5 million) in October 2015 in connection with the disposal of 58% equity interest in Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement, which operates our mobile advertising platform. We recorded a gain on disposal of subsidiaries disposal of RMB165.4 million (US$26.7 million) in 2014 in connection with disposal of our equity interests in Huopu Cloud and Shanghai Kai Yue Information Technology Co. Ltd., or Kai Yue. We did not record any gain on disposal of subsidiaries in 2013.

Other Operating Income.Income(Expenses). We had operating expenses of RMB1.6 million (US$0.2 million) in 2015, representing a loss on disposal of property, equipment and software. Our other operating income in 2012, 2013 and 2014 represented rental income, which amounted to RMB120,000 RMB120,000 and RMB75,000, (US$12,088), respectively.

Holding Company Structure

We are a holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and rely primarily on dividends and other distributions from our subsidiaries and our affiliated entities in China for our cash requirements. Current PRC regulations restrict our affiliated entities and subsidiaries from paying dividends in the following two principal aspects: (i) our affiliated entities and subsidiaries in China are only permitted to pay dividends out of their respective accumulated profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations; and (ii) these entities are required to allocate at least 10% of their respective accumulated profits each year, if any, to fund certain capital reserves until the cumulative total of the allocated reserves reach 50% of registered capital, and a portion of their respective after-tax profits to their staff welfare and bonus reserve funds as determined by their respective boards of directors. These reserves are not distributable as dividends. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulations.” In addition, failure to comply with relevant SAFE regulations may restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to make dividend payments to us. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Doing Business in China —PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident shareholders or us to penalties and fines, and limit our ability to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to increase their registered capital, distribute profits to us, or otherwise adversely affect us.”

Income and Sales Taxes

The National People’s Congress of the PRC adopted and promulgated the EIT Law on March 16, 2007. The EIT Law went into effect as of January 1, 2008, and unified the tax rate generally applicable to both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises in the PRC. Our company’s subsidiaries and affiliated entities in the PRC are generally subject to EIT at a statutory rate of 25%. Our subsidiaries and affiliated entities in the PRC that hold a HNTE qualification are entitled to enjoy a 15% preferential EIT rate.

In addition, under the EIT Law, enterprises organized under the laws of their respective jurisdictions outside the PRC may be classified as either “non-resident enterprises” or “resident enterprises.” Non-resident enterprises are subject to withholding tax at the rate of 20% with respect to their PRC-sourced dividend income if they have no establishment or place of business in the PRC or if such income is not related to their establishment or place of business in the PRC, unless otherwise exempted or reduced according to treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and the governments of other countries or regions. The State Council has reduced the withholding tax rate to 10% in the newly promulgated implementation rules of the EIT Law. As we are incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we may be regarded as a “non-resident enterprise.” We hold equity interests in certain PRC subsidiaries through subsidiaries in Hong Kong. According to the Tax Agreement between the PRC and Hong Kong, dividends paid by a foreign-invested enterprise in the PRC to its corporate shareholder in Hong Kong holding 25% or more of its equity interest may be subject to withholding tax at the maximum rate of 5% if certain criteria are met. Entitlement to such lower tax rate on dividends according to tax treaties or arrangements between the PRC central government and governments of other countries or regions is further subject to approval of relevant tax authority.

Furthermore, the SAT promulgated Circular 601 which provides guidance for determining whether a resident of a contracting state is the “beneficial owner” of an Item of income under China’s tax treaties and tax arrangements. According to Circular 601, a beneficial owner generally must be engaged in substantial business activities. An agent or conduit company will not be regarded as a beneficial owner and, therefore, will not qualify for treaty benefits. The conduit company normally refers to a company that is set up for the purpose of avoiding or reducing taxes or transferring or accumulating profits. In June 2012, SAT further promulgated Circular 30 which provides that the tax authorities shall make the decision based on comprehensive consideration of all determining factors provided in Circular 601 rather than the status of a single determining factor. We cannot assure you that any dividends to be distributed by us or by our subsidiaries to our non-PRC shareholders and ADS holders whose jurisdiction of incorporation has a tax treaty with China providing a different withholding arrangement will be entitled to the benefits under the relevant withholding arrangement.

The EIT law deems an enterprise established offshore but having its management organ in the PRC as a “resident enterprise” that will be subject to PRC tax at the rate of 25% of its global income. Under the Implementation Rules of the New Enterprise Income Tax Law, the term “management organ” is defined as “an organ which has substantial and overall management and control over the manufacturing and business operation, personnel, accounting, properties and other factors.” On April 22, 2009, the SAT further issued Circular 82. According to Circular 82, a foreign enterprise controlled by a PRC company or a PRC company group shall be deemed a PRC resident enterprise, if (i) the senior management and the core management departments in charge of its daily operations are mainly located and function in the PRC; (ii) its financial decisions and human resource decisions are subject to the determination or approval of persons or institutions located in the PRC; (iii) its major assets, accounting books, company seals, minutes and files of board meetings and shareholders’ meetings are located or kept in the PRC; and (iv) more than half of the directors or senior management with voting rights reside in the PRC. On July 27, 2011, SAT issued SAT Bulletin 45 which further clarified the detailed procedures for determination of the resident status provided in Circular 82, competent tax authorities in charge and post-determination administration of such resident enterprises. Although our offshore companies are not controlled by any PRC company or PRC company group, we cannot assure you that we will not be deemed to be a “resident enterprise” under the EIT Law and thus be subject to PRC EIT on our global income.

According to the EIT Law and its implementation rules, dividends are exempted from income tax if such dividends are received by a PRC resident enterprise on equity interests it directly owns in another PRC resident enterprise. However, foreign corporate holders of our shares or ADSs may be subject to taxation at a rate of 10% on any dividends received from us or any gains realized from the transfer of our shares or ADSs if we are deemed to be a resident enterprise or if such income is otherwise regarded as income “sourced within the PRC.” See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Company and Our Industry—The PRC income tax laws may increase our tax burden or the tax burden on the holders of our shares or ADSs, and tax benefits available to us may be reduced or repealed, causing the value of your investment in us to suffer.”

With respect to sales taxes, before December 31, 2011, all the services provided by our PRC subsidiaries were subject to business taxes at the rate of 5%. In October, 2011, China’s Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued the Circular 110 to launch the VAT reform pilot program in Shanghai. Following the Circular 110, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued the Circular 111 in November 2011 to provide detailed implementation rules for the program. The two circulars, which would be effective from January 1, 2012, stipulated that certain services, subject to the pilot programs, shall be subject to VAT instead of business tax. On July 31, 2012, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued Circular 71 which further extended areas subject to the pilot program to eight more provinces. On December 12, 2013, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued the Interim Implementation Rules on the Pilot Program for the Collection of Value Added Tax Instead of Business Tax and a series of other rules, which annulled the preceding trial rules and extended applicable areas of the pilot program to the whole country. As a result of such Implementation Rules, some of our services provided by Shanghai IT Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement and The9 Computer are subject to VAT at the rate of 6%. Shanghai IT and Shanghai Jiucheng Advertisement and The9 Computer, as General VAT Payers under the applicable tax regulations, may reduce their Input VAT. Certain services provided by Shanghai The9 Education Software Technology Co., Ltd. and other PRC subsidiaries or affiliated PRC entities shall be subject to VAT at the rate of 3%, and these companies as Small-scale VAT Payers under the applicable tax regulations may not reduce their VAT payable by their Input VAT.

On March 23, 2016, the Ministry of Finance and the SAT jointly issued the Circular on the Pilot Program for Overall Implementation of the Collection of Value Added Tax Instead of Business Tax, or Circular 36, which will take effect on May 1, 2016. Pursuant to Circular 36, all companies operating in construction, real estate, finance, modern service or other sectors which were required to pay business tax are required to pay VAT in lieu of business tax. As a result of Circular 36, the services provided by Shanghai IT, The9 Computer, C9I Shanghai, Shanghai Fire Wing and The9 Education as general VAT payers will be subject to VAT at the rate of 6%, and the services provided by our other PRC subsidiaries or affiliated PRC entities as small-scale VAT payers will be subject to VAT at the rate of 3%.

Our subsidiaries in the United States are registered in California and are subject to U.S. federal corporate marginal income tax at a rate of 34% and state income tax at a rate of 0.48%, respectively.

Critical Accounting Policies

We prepare financial statements in conformity with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or U.S. GAAP, which requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities on the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the financial reporting period. We continually evaluate these estimates and assumptions based on the most recently available information, our own historical experience and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Since the use of estimates is an integral component of the financial reporting process, actual results could differ from those estimates. Some of our accounting policies require higher degrees of judgment than others in their application. We consider the policies discussed below to be critical to an understanding of our financial statements as their application assists management in making their business decisions.

Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, or VIEs

PRC laws and regulations, including the GAPP Circular, currently prohibit or restrict foreign ownership of Internet-related businesses. We believe, consistent with the view of our PRC legal counsel, that our current structure complies with these foreign ownership restrictions, subject to the interpretation and implementation of the GAPP Circular. Specifically, we operate our business through Shanghai IT and have entered into a series of contractual arrangements with Shanghai IT and its equity owners. See the contractual arrangements set forth in “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions.” As a result of these contractual arrangements, we are entitled to receive service fees for services provided to Shanghai IT for an amount determined at our discretion, up to 90% of PRC entities’ profits. In addition, the equity owners of record for these entities have pledged all their equity interests in the VIEs to us as collateral for all of their payments due to the wholly-owned foreign enterprise, or WOFE, and to secure performance of all obligations of the VIEs and their shareholders under various agreements. In addition, the agreements provide that any dividend distributions made by the VIEs, if any, are required to be deposited in an escrow account over which we have exclusive control. Moreover, through the Call Option Agreements and Shareholder Voting Proxy Agreements, each shareholder of the VIEs granted WOFE or any third parties designated by the WFOE an irrevocable power of attorney to act on all matters pertaining to the VIEs. We believe that the terms of the Call Option Agreements are currently exercisable and legally enforceable under the PRC laws and regulations. We also believe that the minimum amount of consideration permitted by the applicable PRC law to exercise the options does not represent a financial barrier or disincentive for us to exercise our rights under the Call Option Agreements. A simple majority vote of our board of directors is required to pass a resolution to exercise our rights under the Call Option Agreements, for which consent of the shareholder of the VIEs is not required. As a result of the totality of these arrangements, we have both the power to direct activities that most significantly impact the VIEs economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses of or right to receive benefits from the VIEs that are significant to Shanghai IT. As a result, we concluded we are the primary beneficiary of Shanghai IT and as such Shanghai IT is consolidated VIE of our company.

The GAPP Circular reiterates and reinforces the long-standing prohibition of foreign ownership of Internet-related publication businesses via direct, indirect or disguised methods. However, it is not clear whether the regulatory authority of GAPPRFT applies to the regulation of ownership structures of online game companies based in China and online game operation in China. In addition, the GAPP Circular does not specifically invalidate VIE agreements, and we are not aware of any online game companies adopting similar contractual arrangements as ours having been penalized or ordered to terminate such arrangements since the GAPP Circular first became effective. Therefore, we believe that our ability to direct the activities of Shanghai IT that most significantly impact our economic performance is not affected by the GAPP Circular. Any changes in PRC laws and regulations that affect our ability to control Shanghai IT might preclude us from consolidating Shanghai IT in the future. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Company and Our Industry—PRC laws and regulations restrict foreign ownership of Internet content provision, Internet culture operation and Internet publishingnetwork publication service licenses, and substantial uncertainties exist with respect to the application and implementation of PRC laws and regulations.”

Revenue Recognition

Online Game Services

We earn revenue from provision of online game operation services to players on our game servers and third party platform and overseas licensing of the online game to other operators. We recognize revenues when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, services are delivered or performed, our price is fixed or determinable and collectability is reasonably assured.

Online game services to players on our game server

We generate revenue primarily from the sale of our prepaid game cards and prepaid online points for our online game services products to distributors who in turn ultimately sell them to players. We also sell the points directly to players via certain online payment platforms.

We utilize a virtual item/service consumption model to recognize revenue. Under this model, we generate online game service revenues through the sale of in-game premium features. In this model, players can access our basic games free of charge and then may purchase game points to acquire in-game premium features. The distribution of points to players is typically made through sales of prepaid game cards and prepaid online points. Fees for prepaid game cards and prepaid online points are deferred when initially received. This revenue is recognized over the estimated life of the premium features or as the premium features are consumed.

For in-game premium features that are immediately consumed, revenue is recognized upon consumption. For premium features with a stated expiration time, which ranges from one to 180 days, revenue is recognized ratably over the period starting from when the feature is first used to the expiration time. For perpetual features with no predetermined expiration, revenue is recognized ratably over the estimated average lives of the perpetual features, which are typically less than one year. When estimating the average lives of the in-game perpetual features, we considersconsider the average period that players typically play the game, other player behavior patterns, and factors including the acceptance and popularity of expansion packs, promotional events launched, and market conditions. Future usage patterns of players may differ from the historical usage patterns on which the virtual item / service consumption revenue recognition model is based. We continually monitor the operational statistics and usage patterns.

Online game services over third party platform

Certain social games, TV games, certain web games and certain MMOGS, have adopted the virtual item / service consumption model, and are launched on the third party game platforms and telecom carriers. Revenue from social and web games operated through third party game platforms are recognized upon consumption of the in-game premium features with the amount net of remittance to the third party game platforms as we do not set the pricing of the in-game currency of the third party game platforms.

Revenue from TV games operated through telecom carriers and certain MMOGS operated on the third party game platforms are recognized upon consumption of the in-game premium features based on the gross amount paid, as we are the primary obligor of the games operation. The remittance to the telecom carrier and third party game platforms is recognized as costs of revenue when incurred.

Licensing revenue

We license our proprietary online games to other game operators and receive license fees and royalty income in connection with their operation of the games. License fee revenue is recognized over the license period upon the commercialization of the game in the overseas market. Royalty income is recognized when earned, provided that collectability is reasonably assured.

Other Revenues

Other revenues include those generated from training and advertisement.advertising services.

Training and advertisement

Training and advertisement revenue include revenues generated from providing technical training to college students on mobile application programming and, prior to the sale of our 58% equity interest in our mobile advertising platform, advertising services on our mobile advertising platform. These revenues are recognized when delivery of the website advertisement has occurred or when services have been rendered and the collection of the related fees is reasonably assured.

Income Taxes.Taxes

We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method. Deferred taxes are determined based upon the differences between the carrying value of assets and liabilities for financial reporting and tax purposes at currently enacted statutory tax rates for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect on deferred taxes of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period of change.

A valuation allowance is provided on deferred tax assets to the extent that it is more likely than not that such deferred tax assets will not be realized. The total income tax provision includes current tax expenses under applicable tax regulations and the change in the balance of deferred tax assets and liabilities. Realization of the future tax benefits related to the deferred tax assets is dependent on many factors, including our ability to generate taxable income within the period during which the temporary differences reverse or our tax loss carry forwards expire, the outlook for the PRC economic environment, and the overall future industry outlook. We consider these factors in reaching our conclusion on the recoverability of the deferred tax assets and determine the valuation allowances necessary at each balance sheet date.

We recognize the impact of an uncertain income tax position at the largest amount that is more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant tax authority. Income tax related interest is classified as interest expenses and penalties as income tax expense. As of December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, we did not have any material liability for uncertain tax positions. Our policy is to recognize, if any, tax-related interest as interest expenses and penalties as income tax expenses. For the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, we did not have any material interest and penalties associated with tax positions.

Intangible Assets.Assets

Our intangible assets consist primarily of acquired game licenses and acquired game development costs from business combination.

Acquired game licenses are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the useful economic life of the relevant online game or license period, which range from two to seven years. Amortization of upfront licensing fees commences upon the monetization of the related online game. We recognize intangible assets acquired through business acquisitions as assets separate from goodwill. Acquired in-process research and development costs are initially considered an indefinite-lived asset. Subsequently, they are recorded as acquired game development cost upon completion of the research and development efforts and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the useful economic life of the relevant online game. Amortization of acquired game development cost commences upon the monetization of the related online game.

Goodwill.Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities acquired as a result of an acquisition we make. Goodwill is not amortized, but tested for impairment annually, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that it might be impaired. In December of each year, we test impairment of goodwill at the reporting unit level and recognize impairment in the event that the carrying value exceeds the fair value of each reporting unit. Goodwill impairment assessment requires significant judgment, including assumptions used to determine the fair value of the reporting units. We determine the fair value of our reporting units based on the present value of estimated future cash flows of the reporting units. If the carrying amount is in excess of the fair value, step two requires the comparison of the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill. Any excess of the carrying value of the reporting unit’s goodwill over the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill is recorded as an impairment loss. After completing our annual impairment reviews during the fourth quarter of 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, the reporting unit that was subject to the annual impairment testing had a fair value which exceeded its respective carrying value by a significant margin with no risk of failing the first step of the impairment test. We concluded that goodwill was not impaired as of December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014.2015.

Share-Based Compensation.Compensation

Under our Amended 2004 Stock Option Plan, we granted a total of 355,000 and 10,110,000 options to our employees and directors in 2013.2013 and 2015, respectively. We did not grant any options under the Amended 2004 Stock Option Plan in 2012 or 2014.

We measure the cost of employee services received in exchange for stock-based compensation measured at the grant date fair value of the award. For the awards that are modified, we determine the incremental cost as the excess of the fair value of the modified award over the fair value of the original award immediately before its terms are modified, measured based on the share price and other pertinent factors at that date. We recognize the compensation costs, net of the estimated forfeiture, on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the award, which generally ranges from one to four years. Forfeiture rates are estimated based on historical forfeiture patterns and adjusted to reflect future changes in circumstances and facts, if any. If actual forfeitures differ from those estimates, the estimates may be revised in subsequent periods. We use historical data to estimate pre-vesting option forfeitures and record stock-based compensation expense only for those awards that are expected to vest.

Determining the fair value of stock options requires significant judgment. We measure the fair value of the stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with assumptions made regarding expected term, volatility, risk-free interest rate, and dividend yield. The expected term represents the period of time that the awards granted are expected to be outstanding. The expected term is determined based on historical data on employee exercise and post-vesting employment termination behavior, or the “simplified” method for stock option awards with the characteristics of “plain vanilla” options for 2010 and 2011. Expected volatilities are based on historical volatilities of our ordinary shares. Risk-free interest rate is based on U.S. government bonds issued with maturity terms similar to the expected term of the stock-based awards. While we paid a discretionary cash dividend in January 2009, we do not anticipate paying any recurring cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

In addition, on December 8, 2010, we granted 1,500,000 ordinary shares to Jun Zhu, our chairman and chief executive officer, which will only be vested if our company achieves certain income targets and the shares are not entitled to receive dividends until they become vested. Of such shares, 500,000 ordinary shares were vested and issued to Incsight Limited, a company wholly owned by Jun Zhu, on November 17, 2015. We considered the grant of ordinary shares as an incentive to retain Mr. Jun Zhu’s services with our company. The awarded non-vested shares would be valid for five years from December 8, 2010. The fair value of the granted non-vested shares is US$6.48 per share, the market price on the date of grant. We record share-based compensation expenses for these performance-based awards based upon our estimate of the probable outcome at the end of the performance period (i.e., the estimated performance against the performance targets). We periodically adjust the cumulative share-based compensation recorded when the probable outcome for these performance-based awards is updated based upon changes in actual and forecasted operating results. Our actual performance against the performance targets could differ materially from our estimates.

In May 2011, the Board of Directorswe granted 30,000 ordinary shares to each of our four non-executive directors, of which 10,000 ordinary shares vest for each director on July 1 of each year from 2011 to 2013 so long as such director continues his service as of such date. An aggregate of 40,000 ordinary shares vested in each of July 2011, July 2012 and July 2013, respectively. The fair value of the shares granted was US$6.03 per share, being the market price on the date of the grant.

In February 2006, Red 5 adopted a Stock Incentive Plan, or Red 5 Stock Incentive Plan, under which Red 5 may grant to its employees, director and consultants stock options to purchase common stocks or restricted stocks of Red 5. Red 5 granted options to purchase an aggregate of 28,963,258 shares of common stock under the Red 5 Stock Incentive Plan from April 6, 2010 to December 31, 2013. In September 2012, Red 5 granted an aggregate of 6,122,435 restricted common stocks to two directors of Red 5 including Mr. Zhu for their services to Red 5. We measure the share-based compensation based on the fair value of the award as of the grant date. We measure the fair value of the stock options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with assumptions made regarding the fair value of the common stock, expected term, volatility, risk-free interest rate, and dividend yield.

Share-based compensation expenses of RMB37.4 million, RMB29.2 million, and RMB3.7 million and RMB34.0 million (US$0.65.2 million) were recognized for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, respectively, for options and warrants granted to our company’s and its subsidiaries’ employees and directors, including incremental compensation cost due to the modification of option exercise price in April 2013.2013 and November 2015.

Impairment Loss of Equity Investment.Investment

We assess our equity investments for impairment on a periodic basis by considering factors including, but not limited to, current economic and market conditions, the operating performance of the investees including current earnings trends, the technological feasibility of the investee’s products and technologies, the general market conditions in the investee’s industry or geographic area, factors related to the investee’s ability to remain in business, such as the investee’s liquidity, debt ratios, and cash burn rate and other company-specific information including recent financing rounds. If it has been determined that the carrying amount of equity investment are higher than related fair value and that this decline is other-than-temporary, the carrying value of the equity investment is adjusted downward to reflect these declines in value. Impairment loss relating to investment in an equity investee of RMB3.2RMB41.7 million, RMB41.7 millionnil and nil was recognized in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, respectively.

Impairment on Equipment, Intangible Assets, OtherLong-lived Assets and Allowance on Long-term Receivable.Receivable

We review long-lived assets and intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or asset group may not be recoverable. We assess the recoverability of long-lived assets and intangible assets (other than goodwill) by comparing the carrying amount to the estimated future undiscounted cash flow associated with the related assets. We recognize impairment of long-lived assets and intangible assets in the event that the net book value of such assets exceeds the estimated future undiscounted cash flow attributable to such assets. We use estimates and judgment in our impairment tests, and if different estimates or judgments had been utilized, the timing or the amount of the impairment charges could be different. Impairment charges relating to equipment amounting to nil, RMB1.9 million, nil and nil were recognized in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, respectively. Impairment charges relating to intangible assets and other assets amounting to RMB0.6 million, RMB3.8 million, and RMB3.6 million and RMB8.4 million (US$0.61.3 million) were recognized in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, respectively. Impairment charges relating to other long-lived assets amounting to nil, RMB11.8 million, nil and nil were recognized in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2014,2015, respectively. We determine the allowances on long-term receivables when facts and circumstances indicate that the long-term receivable is unlikely to be collected. When the collectability of the long-term receivable became likely subsequently, we reverse the allowance. We provided allowance on long-term receivables amounting to nil and RMB17.9 million in 2012 and 2013 respectively, while in 2014 we reversed the allowance on long-term receivables amounting to RMB17.9 million (US$2.9 million).million.

Refund of WoW Game Points.Points

As a result of non-renewal of WoW license on June 7, 2009, we announced a refund plan in connection with unactivated WoW game point cards. According to the plan, unactivated WoW game point card holders are eligible to receive a cash refund from us. We recorded a liability in connection with both unactivated points cards and activated but unconsumed point cards of approximately RMB200.4 million, of which RMB4.0 million was refunded in 2009. Upon the loss of the WoW license, we concluded that the nature of the obligation substantively changed from deferred revenue, for which we had the ability to satisfy the underlying performance obligation, to an obligation to refund players for their unconsumed points. Thus, we have accounted for this refund liability by applying the relevant derecognition guidance when determining the proper accounting treatment. In accordance with this guidance, the refund liability associated with these WoW game points, to the extent not refunded, will be recorded as other operating income after we are legally released from the obligation to refund amounts under the applicable laws. As we announced the refund plan on September 7, 2009, the statute of limitations of the creditors (in this case the game players with claims for refund of unactivated WoW game point cards) to assert their claims for refund is two years from such date under applicable laws and thus our legal liability relating to the unactivated WoW game point cards was extinguished on September 7, 2011 and the associated liability amounting to RMB26.0 million was recognized as other operating income for the year ended December 31, 2011. With respect to the remaining refund liability, based on current PRC laws, to the extent not refunded, we, in consultation with legal counsel, have determined that we will be legally released from this liability in 2029, which represents 20 years from the date of discontinuation of WoW in 2009. However, if management were to publicly announce a refund policy, we would be legally released from any remaining liability for these activated, but unconsumed points, sooner than 20 years. To date, we have determined not to publicly announce any refund policy with respect to this remaining liability, and no refunds have been claimed. The remaining refund liability relating to the activated, but unconsumed WoW game points was RMB170.0 million (US$27.426.2 million) as of December 31, 2014.2015.

Convertible Notes and Beneficial Conversion Feature (“BCF”)

We have issued convertible notes and warrants in December 2015. We have evaluated whether the conversion feature of the notes is considered an embedded derivative instrument subject to bifurcation in accordance with ASC 815,Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities. Based on our evaluation, the conversion feature is not considered an embedded derivative instrument subject to bifurcation as conversion option does not provide the holder of the notes with means to net settle the contracts. Convertible notes, for which the embedded conversion feature does not qualify for derivative treatment, are evaluated to determine if the effective rate of conversion pursuant to the terms of the convertible note agreement is below market value. In these instances, the value of the BCF is determined as the intrinsic value of the conversion feature, which is recorded as deduction to the carrying amount of the notes and credited to additional paid-in-capital. For convertible notes issued with detachable warrants, a portion of the note’s proceeds is allocated to the warrant based on the fair value of the warrants as of the date of issuance. The allocated fair values for the warrants and BCF are both recorded in the financial statements as debt discounts from the face amount of the notes, which are then accreted to interest expense over the life of the related debt using the effective interest method.

Warrants

We account for the detachable warrants issued in connection with convertible notes under the authoritative guidance on accounting for derivative financial instruments indexed to, and potentially settled in, a company’s own stock. We classify warrants in our consolidated balance sheet as a liability which is revalued at each balance sheet date subsequent to the initial issuance. We use the Black-Scholes pricing model to value the warrants. Determining the appropriate fair-value model and calculating the fair value of warrants requires considerable judgment. A small change in the estimates used may cause a relatively large change in the estimated valuation. The estimated volatility of our common stock at the date of issuance, and at each subsequent reporting period, is based on historic fluctuations in our stock price. The risk-free interest rate is based on U.S. government bondswith a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the warrants at the valuation date. The expected life of the warrants is based on the historical pattern of exercises of warrants.

Redeemable Non-controlling Interests

Redeemable non-controlling interests are equity interests of our consolidated subsidiary not attribute to us that have redemption features that are not solely within our control. These interests are classified as temporary equity because their redemption is considered probable. These interests are measured at the greater of estimated redemption value at the end of each reporting period or the initial carrying amount of the redeemable non-controlling interests adjusted for cumulative earning allocations.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board or FASB and International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB,(FASB) issued their convergedan accounting standard update on revenue recognition. The objective of the revenue standard Accounting Standards Update 2014-09, or ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” isrecognition that will be applied to provide a single, comprehensive revenue recognition model for all contracts with customers to improve comparability within industries, across industries, and across capital markets.customers. The revenue standard contains principles thatupdate requires an entity will apply to determine the measurement ofrecognize revenue and timing of when it is recognized. The underlying principle is that an entity will recognize revenue to depict the transfer oftransfers promised goods or services to customers atin an amount that the entityreflects what it expects to be entitled to in exchange for thosethe goods or services. For public companies,It also requires more detailed disclosures to enable users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-14, deferring the effective date for ASU 2014-09 by one year, and thus, the new standard iswill be effective for the first interim period withinfiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, with early application permitted only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. The guidance allows for either a full retrospective or a modified retrospective transition method. We are currently assessing the impact that the guidance will have on our financial condition and earlyresults of operations.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-02 to respond to stakeholders’ concerns about the current accounting for consolidation of certain legal entities. Stakeholders expressed concerns that current generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) might require a reporting entity to consolidate another legal entity in situations in which the reporting entity’s contractual rights do not give it the ability to act primarily on its own behalf, the reporting entity does not hold a majority of the legal entity’s voting rights, or the reporting entity is not exposed to a majority of the legal entity’s economic benefits or obligations. Financial statement users asserted that in certain of those situations in which consolidation is ultimately required, deconsolidated financial statements are necessary to better analyze the reporting entity’s economic and operational results. Previously, the FASB issued an indefinite deferral for certain entities to partially address those concerns. However, the amendments in this update rescind that deferral and address those concerns by making changes to the consolidation guidance. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods thereafter. Early adoption is not permitted. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of the standard on our consolidated financial statements.

On August 27, 2014,

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15,2015-03 to simplify presentation of debt issuance costs, which provides guidance on determining when and how reporting entities must disclose going-concern uncertaintiesrequires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in their financial statements. The new standard requires management to perform interim and annual assessments of an entity’s ability to continuethe balance sheet as a going concern within one yeardirect deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by the date of issuance of the entity’s financial statements (or within one year after the date on which the financial statements are available to be issued, when applicable). Further, an entity must provide certain disclosures if there is “substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern.”amendments. The ASU is effective for annual periods endingfiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. We have adopted this guidance as of December 31, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In May 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-07, Topic 820, and Fair Value Measurement, which permits a reporting entity, as a practical expedient, to measure the fair value of certain investments using the net asset value per share of the investment. Currently, investments valued using the practical expedient are categorized within the fair value hierarchy on the basis of whether the investment is redeemable with the investee at net asset value on the measurement date, never redeemable with the investee at net asset value, or redeemable with the investee at net asset value at a future date. For investments that are redeemable with the investee at a future date, a reporting entity must take into account the length of time until those investments become redeemable to determine the classification within the fair value hierarchy.

In November 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-17 to simplify the presentation of deferred income taxes, which requires that deferred tax liabilities and assets be classified as noncurrent in a classified statement of financial position. The amendments in this update apply to all entities that present a classified statement of financial position. The current requirement that deferred tax liabilities and assets of a tax-paying component of an entity be offset and presented as a single amount is not affected by the amendments in this update. We have adopted this guidance during the year ended December 31, 2015 with a retroactive application. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01 to improve and to achieve convergence of their respective standards on the accounting for financial instruments and enhance the reporting model for financial instruments to provide users of financial statements with more decision-useful information. The amendments in this update address certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of financial instruments. The FASB board is also addressing measurement of credit losses on financial assets in a separate project. For public business entities, the amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. The ASU shall be applied at theis effective date,for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and weinterim periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of the standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-06, which clarifies the requirements for assessing whether contingent call (put) options that can accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts. An entity performing the assessment under the amendments in this update is required to assess the embedded call (put) options solely in accordance with the four-step decision sequence. For public business entities, the amendments in this update are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those fiscal years. An entity should apply the amendments in this update on a modified retrospective basis to existing debt instruments as of the beginning of the fiscal year for which the amendments are effective. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. If an entity early adopts the amendments in an interim period, any adjustments should be reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

In November 2014,March 2016, the FASB issued a new pronouncementASU 2016-07, which provides guidance on determining whethereliminates the host contract in a hybrid financial instrument issuedrequirement to retroactively adopt the equity method of accounting. The amendments require that the equity method investor adds the cost of acquiring the additional interest in the form of a share is more akininvestee to debt or to equity. The new standard requires management to determine the naturecurrent basis of the host contract by consideringinvestor’s previously held interest and adopt the economic characteristics and risksequity method of accounting as of the entire hybrid financial instrument, includingdate the embedded derivative feature that is being evaluatedinvestment becomes qualified for separate accounting from the host contract.equity method accounting. The new standard isamendments in this update are effective for all entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015. Early adoption, including adoption in an interim period, is permitted.2016. The effects of initially adopting the amendments in this Update should be applied on a modified retrospective basisprospectively upon their effective date to existing hybrid financial instruments issuedincreases in the formlevel of a share asownership interest or degree of influence that result in the adoption of the beginningequity method. Early application is permitted. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of adoption of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, which simplifies several aspects of the fiscal yearaccounting for employee share-based payment transactions for both public and non-public entities, including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification in the statement of cash flows. For public entities, the ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those annual reporting periods. Early adoption will be permitted in any interim or annual period for which the amendments are effective.financial statements have not yet been issued or have not been made available for issuance. We are assessingin the effectprocess of evaluating the impact of adoption of this guidance on our consolidated financial statements.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth a summary of our consolidated statements of operations for the periods indicated.