Moving in on what it claims is a burgeoning genre, Yahoo! has announced it is to go into business with Japanese firm DeNA to launch a social games platform in the region.

The company claims it and DeNA will release the platform – currently called Yahoo! Mobage – in the late summer, with the service set to tap into existing games portla Moba-ge-town, which boasts 18 million registered members.

"Yahoo! Japan’s strength and ability to attract customers, plus the game development and operational expertise that DeNA has cultivated in the mobile arena, offer the opportunity for major synergies," the company said in the statement.

A mobile move

Mobage is being designed to work on both PC and mobile, enabling the same titles to be played in both environments.

Yahoo! has also committed to help studios promote and structure games on the network, aiming to ensure titles are identical on both formats.

It's this cross-platform focus that looks to be Mobage's signature, the company stating it will be the first major player to link up an already existing PC network with the potential of the mobile gaming market.

Linking with Yahoo! ID accounts, there's also the potential to reach out to users who haven't encountered social games yet, the firm clearly hoping to trigger the kind of rush from mainstream gamers titles like FarmVille and Mafia Wars have enjoyed in the west.