Gree Launching New Social Gaming Platform In 2012

Major Japanese networking provider Gree has announced plans to launch a brand new social mobile gaming platform in 2012, with the aim to offer more services to players and developers. The as-of-yet unnamed platform, due for release midway through next year, will be available globally and continues Gree's push into the international free-to-play market. Naoki Aoyagi, CEO of GREE International, said of the announcement, "This new platform allows our partners to focus on increasing engagement and revenue, while continuing to offer the most comprehensive free-to-play gaming experience." "The new platform will leverage OpenFeint and GREE assets and will bring together Western and Asian mobile social markets with a goal of reaching over one billion users." The company also revealed financial results for the previous fiscal quarter ended September 30, noting a significant rise in profits year-over-year. It put this down in part to the purchase of OpenFeint back in April for $104 million, and its expansion into key markets such as Korea, Singapore, the UK, Netherlands and Brazil. Overall, Gree posted profits of $216 million for the quarter, up 70 percent compared to the same quarter last year.