DeNA Claims ARPU 30 Times More Than Facebook's As Sales Double

Japanese mobile social network operator and game creator DeNA reported a 216 percent year-over-year jump in its second quarter sales to $336.4 million, and claims its ARPU is 30 times that of Facebook's. The company's record-breaking sales for the July-to-September period is a 12 percent increase over the previous quarter's. It says these sales figures put the firm on track to reach -- if not surpass -- its $1.25 billion forecast for the fiscal year. DeNA attributes its fortune to virtual goods sales in wholly owned and third-party games through its mobile social network, Mobage-town (MobaMingle in the West), which has over 20.5 million registered users. Though the Tokyo-based firm didn't share specific numbers to support the claim, DeNA believes its ARPU, or average revenue per user, is 15 times larger than FarmVille developer Zynga's, and 30 times larger than Facebook's, based on its calculations. DeNA says it achieved a large ARPU by increasing user engagement, which it accomplished through combining social networking and gaming instead of focusing on just one area like its competitors; and by allowing a large viral presence that enables games to become popular through word of mouth. "Through our various investments, DeNA has substantially increased its American presence this year," says DeNA CEO Tomoko Namba. "This is in line with our cross-border, cross-device strategy of expanding DeNA to multiple regions on multiple platforms and devices." The mobile social network operator says it intends to continue expanding its offerings to other countries and devices. DeNA also hopes to take advantage of recent studio acquisitions, such as its recent purchase of mobile game operator Ngmoco, to increase its presence in the West.