Tag: gree

DeNA joins Entertainment Software Association

| January 27, 2013

DeNA joins ESAESA welcomes latest member DeNA

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a U.S. game industry trade group, has announced that DeNA, a developer of social mobile games, has joined its ranks. With the inclusion of DeNA, the ESA now boasts of 36 companies from throughout the U.S., as well as several other countries, all representing the various aspects of the game industry. DeNA will bring its expertise in social mobile gaming into the mix, which is expected to be a major benefit to the trade group because of the increasing focus the industry has begun to place on the mobile space.

Social mobile games growing in popularity

Social mobile games are extremely popular. Companies like Zynga and Storm8 have pioneered this field of gaming, showing just how willing mobile consumers are to play these games over the past few years. Mobile games themselves are widely popular, but when social elements are introduced into these games, they become much more enjoyable for some consumers. As such, social mobile gaming has begun to gain the full support of the game industry, with interest even coming from developers that have traditionally been solely involved in console gaming.

DeNA finding success around the world

DeNA is based in Japan but recently established a strong presence in California through its acquisition of San Francisco-based Ngmoco last year. This acquisition provided DeNA with a significant amount of attention throughout the global game industry and positioned the developer to enter into partnerships in China, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, and elsewhere. DeNA has established a very extensive network of connections, making its social mobile games widespread and common in several of the world’s most popular gaming markets.

Developer poised to compete with GREE more aggressively

The developer’s primary rival in the social mobile gaming space is GREE, a Japanese social networking and Internet media company with a heavy hand in the game industry. GREE is responsible for many of the most popular mobile games in Japan and the rest of the Asian market and is one of the reasons DeNA has had to expand into other markets to find success. Backed by the ESA, DeNA expects to find the clout it needs to compete with GREE more effectively.

GREE launches messaging application in test markets

| December 27, 2012

GREE messaging appGREE begins testing new application in small markets

GREE, a Japanese developer of mobile gaming applications, is setting up to launch its GREE Messenger in 2013, which will be available for the iOS and Android platforms. Though the developer has plans to launch the new application next year, the GREE Messenger is actually already available in some markets. This is because GREE has decided to push a test launch to determine the impact the application may have in the already crowded Asian market.

India, New Zealand, and Australia get GREE Messenger

The Asian market is filled with messenger applications that are designed to connect consumers to one another. These applications are typically very simple, allowing consumers to chat with their friends and make use of animated graphics to spice up their messages. GREE is keen to enter into this sector and has decided to test its messenger application in three markets: India, Australia, and New Zealand. The test version of the application has limited features and has seen relatively little coverage due to the fact that GREE has not actually announced that it is available in these markets.

Application may feature gaming aspects in the future

Mobile gaming has become much more than a craze among consumers; it has become a very important and accepted part of the mobile technology space. Though the GREE Messenger is not a mobile gaming application, GREE does have tentative plans to introduce some gaming elements into future versions of the app. For now, users will be able to text chat with their friends, invite their friends to group chats, share photos and videos, and check into locations they visit.

Foreign markets may be good testing grounds

Introducing the GREE Messenger to smaller markets in Australia and New Zealand where messaging applications are not as popular as they are in Asia may be a good move. Asia’s most popular messaging application, WeChat, boasts of more than 200 million users, with others also taking up a similar portion of the consumer base. This makes its difficult for similar applications to find any headway in the market and GREE is primarily focused on exposure and ensuring that its application can actually live up to consumer expectations.