Closer Look: Tencent Has High Score in Mobile Gaming, but Baidu and Alibaba Want Next Turn

(Beijing) – In 2010, Jack Ma, the founder and chairman of Alibaba Group, pledged to none other than former premier Wen Jiabao that he "would not invest a penny into games" because it wasn't a worthwhile way for the country's children to spend their time.

And yet that is exactly what Alibaba is doing. In January, the e-commerce giant announced it is branching into mobile games, market that could be worth as much as 50 billion yuan. And now China's Big Three Internet companies – Alibaba, Baidu Inc. and Tencent Holdings — are all playing.