DeNA Acquires Gameview For Mobile Social Games

Continuing efforts to expand its North American reach, Japanese developer DeNA has acquired Mountain View-based mobile social game company Gameview Studios (formerly known as Bayview Labs, LLC). Established just last April, Gameview produces social gaming apps for iOS platforms, and has released free titles like Tap Fish: Exotic and Tap Birds to the App Store. The company has new releases planned for Android devices, too, and hopes to eventually hold "a firm position in the smartphone market." DeNA intends to have Gameview working with MiniNation, its smartphone-focused subsidiary and iPhone social network. The Japanese firm believes that leading Gameview's socially active users to the MiniNation platform will bring more activity to the social network while increasing its value. The company adds that it is "aggressively investing" in promising social app developers around the world in order to push its "X-device" "X-border" strategy, which aims to promote game development across different mobile devices and borders. Its purchase of Gameview follows several other moves DeNA has made in the U.S. in recent years, such as its backing of Burlingame-based iOS developer Aurora Feint, which created mobile social network OpenFeint; and its acquisition of Bellevue-based mobile social network developer IceBreaker. DeNA operates Japanese mobile social gaming community Mobage-town, which currently claims more than 20 million subscribers. Last month, the firm reported a 175 percent increase in revenues to $279 million for the first quarter of 2010 (ending June), and it expects to generate $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year. "Our acquisition of Gameview today is congruent with our goal of rapidly expanding our mobile footprint as a leading brand and platform in mobile social gaming," says DeNA CEO Tomoko Namba. "We were impressed by the creativity and passion that the Gameview team has for creating addictive and engaging gaming experiences, and we're excited to welcome them into the DeNA family.”
 Namba continues, "The overwhelmingly wide range of games and active users in the community are the formula for success DeNA has utilized on Mobage-town in Japan. This acquisition will enable DeNA to replicate this success in the smartphone market and MiniNation platform, further expanding DeNA in the global market."