By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry
Big news from DeNA today: Tomoko Namba, the founder, Representative Director, President and CEO, will be stepping down on June 25, after DeNA’s 13th annual shareholders meeting. Namba, who apparently plans to take care of a sick family member, will be replaced by the Mobage operator’s General...
Video game powerhouse Konami has added yet another social game to its line-up: Mori No Kuma House (Bear House In The Woods) was released on Mobage today, a title specifically designed for a female target audience (official website). The title is available exclusively on Mobage for Japanese feature...
Nico Nico Douga operator Dwango has decided to pull the plug on Ai Sp@ce, which is (as Wikipedia puts it) a “virtual 3D massively multiplayer online social game (MMOSG)”, on June 30, 2011. Dwango and a bunch of other Japanese companies started the virtual world in 2008 but never managed...
Rakuten is expected to acquire a stake in Tokyo-based ticket startup TicketStar, the Nikkei is reporting today. Next month, TicketStar will be issuing new shares Rakuten will buy. Rakuten Enterprise, a subsidiary that’s currently handling Rakuten’s ticket business, will be shut down and...
Sony Music Network Japan released Recotsuku on Mixi, a social game that lets player take on the role of a music label boss. The aim is to bring the company the company by finding and negotiating with bands, selling their songs, setting up record stores, etc. Other Mixi members can help in the...
Seattle-based gaming company Popcap has been active in Japan (through a Tokyo-based country manager) for quite a while now, but the company has just announced its first title to be actually released by its Tokyo office. In fact, Pop Tower, a puzzle game, is the first mobile social game Popcap as a...
By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry