By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry
Shortly after DeNA (2432) and GREE (3632) pioneered the concept of mobile gaming as the world knows it today (free-to-play business model, bite-sized content embedded in social networks to increase stickiness, data analysis to improve monetization, etc.) in 2006/2007 on feature phones, a flood of...
US-based Niantic Labs, the Google spin-off that Nintendo (7974), The Pokemon Company and Google itself invested US$20 million in back in October, now has a presence in Japan. The company made it into the headlines in the gaming world in September as Nintendo’s chosen partner for the co...
DeNA has quietly shut down a total of five games on the Mobage platform in Japan recently, offering players who have purchased (but not yet used) virtual currency for the titles reimbursements. The list news site Social Game Info released today includes a few big titles, especially the first two:...
Back in September 2011, I first made my opinion public that both Mobage operator DeNA as well as GREE will not be able to replicate the tremendous success they have seen in Japan elsewhere, that Japan was unique. That was the time when both companies made a big push to bring their platforms into...
Yesterday was a big day for DeNA: the Mobage operator yesterday unveiled a new corporate logo and announced it has changed its brand identity on a global scale. The company explains: DeNA’s new corporate logo expresses the company’s revamped corporate slogan: “Delight and Impact...
First-person shooters aren’t really the first genre when one thinks about social or mobile games. But The Drowning is such a game, and it has been announced by no other company than DeNA. The Mobage operator explains: Under the leadership of industry veteran and free-to-play visionary Ben...
By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry