DeNA and Japanese social network Mixi have announced a partnership that will see Mobage and Mixi Games share a single game development platform.
Starting in January 2013, developers will be able to release their titles across both Mobage and the smartphone version of Mixi Games without the need for any significant re-coding.
Mixi's revamped games service won't be available until Spring 2013, however, when it will launch alongside "an increased number of captivating social games."
Pretty, pretty good
Following the announcement, Tokyo-based social gaming consultant Dr Serkan Toto took to his blog to explain that this deal represents "a pretty smart move for both companies."
Firstly, the two firms have a history of collaboration. Mobage users can already 'like' items using the Mixi 'like button', and the duo partnered also to launch online social shopping destination Mixi Mall in Q1 2012.
More importantly, though, this deal unlocks opportunities for both companies. For DeNA, the partnership provides access to Mixi's smartphone userbase a socially connected audience of more than 8 million monthly active users to target with its stable of social games.
For Mixi, the deal represents an opportunity to revive its gaming platform which, according to Toto, "never took off."
While the two services will share a game development platform, DeNA's announcement is keen to stress that "the mixi and Mobage social graphs will remain separate."
[source: DeNA]
Top Stories
News
4 hours, 12 minutes ago
Saudi Arabia partners with Japan to create original anime and gaming content
Feature
6 hours, 53 minutes ago
New release roundup: The best new mobile games from the potently papery to an RPG parody
Feature
May 23rd, 2024
Case study: How Supercent’s games made it to the top in a stagnating hypercasual market
Events
Nordic Game Spring 2024 | Nordic | May 21st |
Morocco Gaming Expo | Africa | May 24th |
MomoCon 2024 | North America | May 24th |
For The Win 2024 | Europe | May 29th |
Unreal Fest Gold Coast 2024 | Australasia | May 29th |
GDCy Fest 2024 | May 31st | |
Indie Game Fest & Indie Campus 2024 | Europe | May 31st |
Game Access Conference 2024 | Europe | May 31st |