By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry
DeNA just announced it will establish a joint venture with video game powerhouse Bandai Namco Games on October 1. The new company, which will be called BDNA, will be based out of Tokyo and capitalized at 100 million yen (US$1.3 million). The idea is to combine Bandai Namco’s (decade long)...
After GREE announced they will open an office in Singapore “this spring” (which never happened, but they are partnering with mig33 there), DeNA followed suit today: the company just announced the establishment of DeNA Asia in Singapore to drive forward the expansion of Mobage to other...
It took them a while, but DeNA finally released Mobage for iOS on the Japanese App Store on Thursday (iTunes, Japanese only). The free app was made available at the same time as three games, namely Solitaire, Reversi and Ninja Royale. Smartphone users in Japan were able to access Mobage through the...
Here’s a quick run-down on DeNA (Mobage)-related news I wasn’t able to cover in the last 2 weeks (listed chronologically): July 25, 2011: Five Japanese star game makers decide to create games exclusively for Mobage (article in English) July 27, 2011: DeNA starts offering Mobage worldwide (my...
It’s hard to believe, but Tamagotchi, the handheld digital pet from Bandai, was launched in Japan way back in 1996. And to commemorate the 15th anniversary, Bandai Namco announced it will turn the pet-breeding concept into a mobile social game and distribute it exclusively on Mobage...
Both GREE and DeNA are adding games to their platforms on a daily basis, but almost all of these titles are either feature phone exclusive or released for use on those handsets first. Consequently, GREE and Mobage on smartphones currently have just a few dozens games on offer – on feature...
By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry