UPDATE: No sooner had the story gone live than we discovered an official statement by GREE confirming the legal action.
Original story follows:
In a development that's as complex as it is potentially significant, Bloomberg has claimed Japanese social giant GREE and mobile carrier KDDI are suing DeNA for breaking Japan's antitrust law.
The site claims both parties allege DeNA has been advising against developers on working on games for rivals to its social gaming platform Mobage - a practice GREE claims has hit its business hard.
Tussle in the social circle
The story states both parties are seeking combined damages of ¥1.05 billion (around $14 million), with GREE - which owns social platform OpenFeint - looking for a lion's share of ¥900 million ($11.7 million).
It's claimed Japan's fair-trade commission issued a cease-and-desist letter to DeNA in June after it was suggested it was advising developers not to support GREE.
Such 'blocking' activities have reportedly continued, however, resulting in today's action.
"We can't allow DeNAs behavior," GREE founder Yoshikazu Tanaka said at a press conference. "We needed to take some kind of action to recover damages."
Not that DeNA acknowledges the lawsuit even exists.
In an email sent out to the press received by PocketGamer.biz, the company claims it has received no contact from either GREE or KDDI on the issue, refusing to offer comment on any claim it has violated the antitrust law as a result.
[source: Bloomberg]
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Related Articles
Top Stories
Feature
May 7th, 2024
Mobile Mavens: The industry has its say on Squad Busters ability to draw in “untapped audiences” with its “influence from a range of genres”
Feature
May 7th, 2024
Hot Five: Supercell’s Squad Busters supremacy, Brawl Stars bounces back, and a games industry journey at King
Feature
May 7th, 2024
April 2024 mobile game charts: Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile loses launch momentum and Brawl Stars’ astronomical rise
Events
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Develop: Brighton 2024 | Europe | Jul 9th |
Mobidictum Meetup Barcelona September 2024 | Europe | Sep 1st |
Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2024 | Nordic | Oct 1st |