Yao signs endorsement deal with US gaming firm

[Craig]

http://matrix.bangkokpost.co.th/afp_news/0...2.9rrh8623.html (http://matrix.bangkokpost.co.th/afp_news/070103/030107050752.9rrh8623.html)

China's Yao signs endorsement deal with US gaming firm
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AFP)
© 2003 AFP

China's Yao Ming has signed an endorsement deal with a California-based gaming company which plans to create a interactive game named after the Houston Rockets rookie.

"Wireless phones and wireless entertainment are very popular in China," said Yao in a statement released by Sorrent Inc., which is known for making interactive sports games for cell phones. "I have always loved video games."

Yao Ming Basketball is expected to be available in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in the first half of this year. If the game hits the US market it won't be until the end of 2003.

China boasts the world's largest mobile phone market with over 200 million users.

The 2.26m (7ft 5in) Yao was the first pick of Houston in last year's National Basketball Association entry draft and is a front-runner for the league's rookie of the year title.

The 22-year-old Shanghai native's popularity is growing. The latest results of fan voting for the all-star game showed that Yao has more votes than Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal.

Yao is second in the league in shooting percentage, making 56 percent percent of his shots. He is also averaging 13.2 points a game.

This is the first endorsement deal for Yao since he joined the Rockets at the beginning of the 2002-2003 season.

"Yao is a phenomenal player with a huge following in his homeland China and growing popularity in the US," said Isaac Babbs, president of Sorrent.

"Partnering with Yao in China is an exciting opportunity for Sorrent as we continue to establish ourselves as a leading wireless sports game provider."

Sorrent has signed partnership deals with AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS, Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm.

"Yao Ming is one of the most exciting and charismatic players I have seen in years," said former National Football League player Ronnie Lott, a Sorrent adviser.

Financial terms of the deal were not released.

[VV o n g B a]

:o go yao!! :)

[himura-dono]

awesome ^_^ it's kinda cool to see an asian dominate in a us sport.

[SunWuKong]

good for him
he's getting $$$

[BaiginLong]

sadly though I doubt it will be a very successful deal
Yao's marketablity as a video game star doesn't seem to high except to a fairly specific and narrow market group

*let's marketing and business knowledge and intuition out of storage where it had been collecting dust*

[contra_diction]

that's true, i honestly don't see Yao as a very marketable person... yet. i doubt if this game will ever hit U.S. shores, and if it does i question its success. but i truly am not trying to jinx him, i think he's an incredible player with soooo much potential. i can feel his game improving as we speak. plus, he's asian. congratulations, catdaddy! stick with it.

[SunWuKong]

well how marketable he is really depends on the marketting team, and not the guy himself.
look at the Mac commercial. all he had to do was sit there with a computer.

[igcognito]

Yao Ming is a BEAST!!!!!! And it is funny seeing him, hang in there, I thought he was just going to be a "intimidator", because of his weight, but he has game.

[BaiginLong]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Jan 16 2003, 01:42 PM
well how marketable he is really depends on the marketting team, and not the guy himself.
look at the Mac commercial. all he had to do was sit there with a computer.
errr i'd say that Macs were already a fairly marketable product plus i liked the other commercials better so heh

[deez nuts]

Thursday, January 16

Yao will change the way society thinks, too

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Kevin Frazier
Special to ESPN.com


When Yao Ming arrived in Houston, Rockets owner Les Alexander said that his new 7-foot-5 center would someday be bigger than Michael Jordan.


Yao Ming is just starting to conquer the NBA and the world.
At first, that statement made me laugh out loud. But then again, I thought, Alexander didn't become a millionaire by making stupid business decisions. And thus far, Yao has made Alexander a man of his word.

Yao is a heck of a basketball player who will eventually lead the Rockets to a championship. Yao is the real deal -- a shot-blocking, frapuccino-drinking, jump-shooting, money-making machine!

And that, my friends, is key. Because money talks. When you speak the international language of dollars and cents, people listen, like in the old E.F. Hutton commercials. And once people are listening, the real fun begins.

Business people are salivating at the untapped Chinese-American consumer market. That's approximately 2 billion people who have yet to view their first NBA-related infomercial. It's the financial wild, wild west. For the companies that sell sneakers, cell phones and other goodies and services -- you know, the stuff we just can't live without -- it will be a bonanza.

Good news for the Phil Knights of the world. Better news for the Chinese-American population in search of a sports icon. Those people won't benefit financially but will gain by leaps and rebounds socially by Yao's mere presence.

Think about how poorly the Asian-American population is represented on television. Now, in sports specifically. Sports, after all, play a huge role in influencing social change.

In our great country, while people of different races, creeds and colors are accepted, Chinese-Americans are not adequately represented. At least not front and center. Well, until now. Thanks to Yao.


http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/frazier_kev...in/1493942.html (http://espn.go.com/nba/columns/frazier_kevin/1493942.html)


Nike Yao Dunks or Nike Yao Air Force One's! hehehe

[Hanuman]

This dude is so great for us! Go Yao!