Tag: mobile gaming news

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.

Mobile gaming highlighted in industry review from Digi-Capital

| January 17, 2013

Mobile Gaming industry reviewDigi-Capital reviews the game industry in 2012

Digi-Capital, an international investment firm, has released a new review of the game industry, which may help shed some insight on the growing popularity surrounding mobile gaming. The review offers an expansive look at the industry, documenting its breadth and the activity of the domestic and international gaming markets. Mobile gaming is highlighted in the review, as are social gaming investments and the trends that are emerging to affect the future of the game industry as a whole.

Game industry breaks previous M&A records

Digi-Capital found that the game industry beat out all of its M&A records that had been set in the past in 2012. The review shows that the industry accounted for more than $4 billion in total M&A for the year, an 18% increase in transactional value from what the industry had been in 2011. The game industry did see fewer blockbuster releases in 2012, but the few blockbuster titles that were released performed exceedingly well in the international market.

Investments for 2012 total $835 million

The industry saw more than $835 million in investments throughout 2012, 31% of which found its way to the mobile gaming sector. Approximately 35% of these investments went toward the gamification of websites and other services, making them more attractive to those using PCs and mobile devices. Though investments were significantly lower than they had been in 2011, they still managed to give the game industry a boost through a tumultuous year. This boost proved especially beneficial for the mobile gaming sector.

Social and mobile gaming expected to pick up steam in coming years

The review from Digi-Capital suggests that social and mobile games are likely to continue gaining momentum in the coming years. Social games have only recently begun to come into their own, thus account for modest transaction value. The review shows that the transaction value of mobile games continues to grow, but the MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game sector is likely to dwarf both social and mobile gaming in terms of M&A.