Tomoko Namba, the CEO of Japanese mobile social gaming giant DeNA (and one of my personal heroes), gave a pretty interesting interview at web industry conference LeWeb’10 earlier this month. LeWeb organizer Loic LeMeur asked her for a full 20 minutes about her company’s history, present and future plans Namba, speaking in excellent English, doesn’t… Continue reading Video: DeNA CEO Tomoko Namba’s Interview at LeWeb’10
Tag: DeNA
DeNA Exports Mobage In Alliance With Samsung
Yesterday issue of The Japan Times, on my monthly article I reported two social gaming network giants DeNA(Mobage Town) and Gree competition. And the competition between the two rivals is set to continue beyond their desire to be Japan’s leading social network as both companies are seeking another growth possibility — international markets. In the… Continue reading DeNA Exports Mobage In Alliance With Samsung
Breaking: Japan FTC Conducts Investigation On DeNA(Mobage-Town)
Kyodo reports [J] (11:08) that DeNA, who runs one of Japan’s largest mobile social networking Mobage-Town, is subjected to an on-site investigation by Japan Fair Trade Commission(JFTC). DeNA was rumored to ask their third-party game application providers not to provide games for Gree. [Update] Nikkei follows [J] (11:13) with more detail. It says that the… Continue reading Breaking: Japan FTC Conducts Investigation On DeNA(Mobage-Town)
Japanese Social Network Update With Quarterly Reports
The ranking by registered users keeps the same. Or, maybe DeNA is passing Mixi by population as Mixi’s number has October adding included. Gree: 22.46 million (at 2010-09-30, by 1Q report [pdf, J]) Mixi: 21.90 million (at 2010-10-31, mentioned on Socialphone release [J]) DeNA(Mobage Town): 21.67 million (at 2010-09-30, by 2Q report [pdf, J]) See… Continue reading Japanese Social Network Update With Quarterly Reports
How DeNA Beats Facebook and Zynga
Do you think Zynga is the hot player in town? Think again. At yesterday’s DeNA press conference, Founder and CEO Tomoko Nanba gave some great insight behind the seemingly unstoppable success of her company. An incredible ARPU With 20m users in Japan, Mobage Town, the social gaming network could be considered a small player compared… Continue reading How DeNA Beats Facebook and Zynga
Social Apps Provider Istpika Gets $2.5 Million From DeNA-Backed IncubateFund
I wonder in what shape the Japanese venture capital industry (and entrepreneur scene) would be without social games. Yesterday, TechCrunch Japan reported about Tokyo-based social apps provider gumi getting a “multi-million dollar” sum from GREE, which counts 21 million members in its mobile gaming network. And today, Japan- and Australia-based Istpika says it received $2.5… Continue reading Social Apps Provider Istpika Gets $2.5 Million From DeNA-Backed IncubateFund
Will DeNA Crack The Japanese Code For International Expansion?
DeNA, the company behind one of the big three social networking sites in Japan, Mobage-Town (20m users in Japan), cannot be clearer on its current strategy. It’s called international expansion. Everyone is abuzz of today’s acquisition of Ngmoco, an US iPhone game developer for a staggering USD 400m. The big tide in social gaming is… Continue reading Will DeNA Crack The Japanese Code For International Expansion?
Yahoo! Mobage In Abeyance By User Account Trouble
Yahoo! Mobage [J], a pretty huge joint business by two giants, Japan’s largest website Yahoo! Japan and one of Japanese biggest social networking service Mobage Town by DeNA, which had launched on 21st September as a beta, was surceased because there were troubles that some users saw another users’ account when logged in. The Yahoo!… Continue reading Yahoo! Mobage In Abeyance By User Account Trouble
Lots Of Popular Names Leaves And Joins Happens This Month
We reported that a Japanese web geeks’ icon Naoya Ito’s move on September 1st from Hatena to the No.1 social networking service Gree, but he was not the only one. There are several big names reported to leave and/or enter web/IT companies in Japan around the beginning of September 2010. Poupee Girl CEO Yoshimi Morinaga,… Continue reading Lots Of Popular Names Leaves And Joins Happens This Month
Tokyo’s Social App Provider Pokelabo Fundraises USD12M From DCM And Mobage-Town
On Wednesday, Tokyo-based social app provider Pokelabo[J] announced that they had fundraised USD12M from Silicon Valley-headquartered VC firm DCM and IncubateFund[J], an investment fund by DeNA owning social app and mobile game platform Mobage-Town. Pokelabo was founded three years ago by the company’s CEO and his “Mixi[J]-mates”. It has developed flash games for feature phones,… Continue reading Tokyo’s Social App Provider Pokelabo Fundraises USD12M From DCM And Mobage-Town