Tag: yahoo japan

GREE and Yahoo Japan to launch new venture focused on mobile games

Mobile games giant GREE has announced it has been working with its partner Yahoo Japan  over the past several months to introduce a new take of social games into the Japanese market. GREE and Yahoo Japan joined forced in November 2012 and put a strong focus on addressing some of the demands that had emerged among consumers in Japan. Now, the two companies have announced that they will launch a joint venture in March, 2013, that aims to revolutionize social games and the way people play them.

Consumers show strong support for social games

Mobile games are very popular in Japan, especially those with strong social elements. Consumers have proven time and again that they enjoy various forms of social media, with Twitter and Facebook serving as examples for such interest. When it comes to gaming, consumers typically enjoy those that they can play with friends or, in some cases, complete strangers. These games attract interest because of they tend to create a community atmosphere that can be both competitive and welcoming to a wide range of consumers.

Venture will draw upon strength of GREE and Yahoo Japan

The new joint-venture is being called “GxYz,” though its name is likely to be changed in the future. Both GREE and Yahoo Japan have invested more than $2 million into the venture and is being designed to build upon the strength of both of its parent companies. The venture will take advantage of GREE’s strong presence in mobile games and Yahoo Japan’s user acquisition capabilities to help draw more attention to the social gaming business. The venture is suggested to open up new possibilities in the development of mobile games and help introduce new ideas to the industry.

Developers may help revolutionize the game industry with mobile games

The venture will be focused exclusively on the Japanese market. Japan has long held a very prominent position in the game industry, as many of the world’s most acclaimed development studios call the country home. These studios helped shape the early years of gaming and may help usher in a new generation of mobile games that could have a major impact on the game industry as a whole.

Yahoo Japan sees major gains from mobile commerce and e-commerce

Yahoo Japan, one of the largest Internet companies in the country, had a very lucrative 2012. The company, which boasts of its own search, mobile, and e-commerce platforms, has done very well despite strong competition from Google and others looking to engage consumers in the mobile space. New analysis from Trefis, a financial and stock market analysis firm, suggests that there are two major factors that have contributed to Yahoo’s success over the last year: Mobile commerce and e-commerce.

Mobile advertising drives commerce higher

In 2012, Yahoo Japan generated approximately $3.5 billion in profit, with a company-wide gross margin of 90%. Trefis analysts expect that this growth will continue into 2013, especially as Yahoo looks to take advantage of the growing mobile commerce and advertising sector. Analysis shows that mobile advertising accounted for approximately 17% of Yahoo Japan’s total value in 2012. These advertisements helped spur mobile commerce, which also helped the company in terms of finances.

E-commerce initiatives prove successful

Yahoo’s e-commerce business is considered is most lucrative factor, accounting for 18% of the company’s value. E-commerce generated a significant portions of the company’s profits in 2012, largely backed by the performance of mobile commerce campaigns and mobile advertisements. Growth of the e-commerce sector is expected to slow in 2013, but Yahoo Japan will likely continue seeing promising results from this sector in the years to come, especially as more consumers become enthralled with mobile commerce.

2013 is likely to be a good year for Yahoo Japan

Yahoo Japan is expected to have a very strong 2013. The company has been putting more focus on engaging mobile consumers recently, largely because Japan is home to one of the largest mobile markets in the world. Smart phone penetration in the Japanese market is significant, eclipsing other countries by a healthy margin. This typically means that companies with a focus on mobile consumers tend to have a more powerful reach in the market than others.