DeNA launches Mobage platform in South Korea

Mobile gaming giant DeNA today launched a version of its Mobage mobile games platform in South Korea, via an agreement with Daum Communications. Daum Mobage, revealed late last year, is a localized version of the Mobage platform, offering a range of games for Android devices in South Korea. The two companies hope to attract more than 10 million users to Daum Mobage within its first year, with Daum's existing network of 38 million users already able to sign-up to Daum Mobage. In-game purchases are handled via Daum's payment system, through which users can buy Moba-coins, Mobage's virtual currency. As part of the move, DeNA plans to launch a Korean-language developer website next month, that will support developers who are using the Mobage SDK with other game engines such as Unity. It's notable that Daum Mobage uses the same API as the Japanese Mobage platform, and therefore Japanese developers can easily localize their games for the Korean market. Steven Yang, DeNA Seoul’s regional head, explained, "Daum has been a strong market leader in South Korea with its extremely popular mobile Web services. DeNA is excited to partner with Daum to bring a strong slate of high-quality social mobile games to millions of smartphone users in South Korea in an effort to establish Mobage as the world’s top social gaming platform."