M&A-related news are relatively rare in Japan’s startup scene, but today we can report that mobile social gaming juggernaut GREE has acquired Tokyo-based ad exchange service Atlantis for 2.2 billion yen ($26 million). The company will be turned into a GREE subsidiary. Big G says that the acquisition marks their entry into the mobile/smartphone ad… Continue reading For $26 Million: GREE Acquires Mobile Ad Startup Atlantis
Author: Serkan Toto
English, Please: Social Gaming Giant GREE Seeks To Hire International Staff
Tokyo-based mobile social gaming juggernaut GREE (22 million users, US$3 billion market cap) seems to intensify its international efforts. As announced by CEO Yoshikazu Tanaka back in June last year, big G has recently opened an office in the US after having made an investment in Singapore-based mobile social network mig33. But Tanaka also said… Continue reading English, Please: Social Gaming Giant GREE Seeks To Hire International Staff
Social Gaming Platform Mobage-town Gets Monthly Price Plan For Virtual Items
Earlier this week, Japanese mobile social gaming juggernaut DeNA added a new pricing plan to its super-popular Mobage-town platform (which currently boasts 22 million users): users can now pay for virtual items through a monthly pricing plan. This first so-called Premium Course on Mobage consists of two offerings, one for the hit game “Kaitou Royale”,… Continue reading Social Gaming Platform Mobage-town Gets Monthly Price Plan For Virtual Items
Social Commerce Platform Flutterscape Cooperates With Human Translation Startup myGengo
Two Tokyo-based startups, social commerce site Flutterscape and human translation platform myGengo, have announced a partnership that will make it easier for Japanese Flutterscape users to post product discoveries on the site. The way Flutterscape works is that the site lets any individual living in Japan sell any cool product they have seen somewhere to… Continue reading Social Commerce Platform Flutterscape Cooperates With Human Translation Startup myGengo
GREE Opens Subsidiary In The US
GREE CEO Yoshikazu Tanaka announced it in June last year, and now the Japanese mobile social gaming giant did make the second step on the road to internationalization (following the mig33 investment in Singapore): it just announced the establishment of GREE International, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary in California. The office will be led by… Continue reading GREE Opens Subsidiary In The US
Report: Docomo To Launch New Tablet In March
Japan’s No.1 mobile carrier, NTT Docomo, which saw No. 3 SoftBank winning the rights to distribute the iPad in Japan last year, is planning to launch a tablet on its own. Japan’s biggest business daily, The Nikkei, reported yesterday that Docomo commissioned LG Electronics to manufacture a device designed specifically for the Japanese market. The… Continue reading Report: Docomo To Launch New Tablet In March
English Guide For Nico Nico Douga, Part 2: How To Use
We explained how to register for Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga in English here (click here for a list of all Nico Nico articles we’ve written so far). This quick guide should explains Nico Nico’s main features and how to actually get around the site (ignore our older guide). Nico Nico has changed… Continue reading English Guide For Nico Nico Douga, Part 2: How To Use
English Guide For Nico Nico Douga, Part 1: How To Register
It’s been a while since we explained how English speaking users can set up an account for Japan’s super-popular video sharing site Nico Nico Douga (click here for a list of all Nico Nico articles we’ve written so far). A few things changed in the registration process, which is why we thought it’s a good… Continue reading English Guide For Nico Nico Douga, Part 1: How To Register
Mixi Releases Android App
Mixi, Japan’s leading social network, already offers a decent mobile web site for smartphone users (Mixi Touch, which was launched in September). And today, the company finally announced an app for Android users (you can pretty much forget their much older iPhone app). The new app makes it possible to use Mixi’s main features, including… Continue reading Mixi Releases Android App
Report: Smartphones Account For 50% Of Current Handset Sales in Japan
Goodbye, Galakei feature phones: according to Tokyo-based market research firm BCN (published in The Nikkei today), smartphones accounted for 49.8% of the total number of handsets sold between December 13 and 19 in Japan. Sure, this is just a snapshot, but there is a clear tendency to be observed here, and the smartphone segment in… Continue reading Report: Smartphones Account For 50% Of Current Handset Sales in Japan