DeNA to Provide Support for VNG to Develop Social Games for Mobage Platform

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM and TOKYO, JAPAN – Nov. 22, 2011 – VNG Corporation, Vietnam’s largest Internet company, and DeNA Co., Ltd. today announced that the companies have agreed to enter into a strategic partnership to bring VNG’s social games exclusively through Mobage, DeNA’s global social gaming platform.
Under the agreement, DeNA will provide support for VNG to develop social games which will be distributed exclusively on Mobage. The two companies plan to release at least three social games for smartphones on Mobage in 2012.
As a part of this partnership, DeNA has already supported VNG to develop the Japanese version of Pig Farm, a VNG social game for PC browsers. The title was launched on November 15, 2011 on Yahoo! Mobage, a Japanese social gaming website for PCs. Pig Farm is the first Vietnamese social game to have launched in Japan. DeNA and VNG also plan to soon launch the Japanese version of Sky Garden, another VNG social game, on Yahoo! Mobage.
Through DeNA Asia Pacific Holdings Pte. Ltd. (DeNA Asia), the mobile leader’s Singaporean subsidiary, DeNA plans to build close relationships with and support the global expansion of the game industry throughout Southeast and South Asia. DeNA, recognizing the high quality of Vietnamese game developers, acquired Hanoi-based Punch Entertainment (Vietnam) Company Limited in September.
Vietnam’s largest Internet company and as a premier tech leader in Southeast Asia, VNG has chosen Japan as its first territory for international expansion, and DeNA as its partner.
“Vietnam has a surprisingly strong Internet startup and game developer community,” said Tetsuya Mori, Managing Director, DeNA Asia. “DeNA believes Vietnam will produce world-class developers and VNG is undoubtedly the strongest candidate. We are excited to develop a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship with VNG. DeNA is committed to supporting developers in Vietnam with and beyond Punch Entertainment and VNG.
“Our partnership with DeNA marks an important milestone for VNG as well as the whole developer community in Vietnam,” said Le Hong Minh, CEO, Chairman and founder of VNG. “Achieving success in the Japanese market is a dream for every game developer in Vietnam. Through close collaborations with DeNA, VNG is committed to produce world-class social games.”

About DeNA

DeNA Co., Ltd. is a world-leading online service company, and operates Mobage social gaming platform, social networking services and e-commerce websites. Drawing on its extensive community base and rapidly expanding developer line-ups, Mobage currently serves over 32 million users in Japan with more than 1,500 game titles for smartphones, feature phones as well as PCs. The company generated annual sales of more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in fiscal year ended March 2011. To expand the Mobage platform globally, DeNA is building a presence in the US, Europe and Asia. DeNA is listed on the Tokyo stock exchange (2432). For more information, visit www.dena.jp/intl.

About VNG

Founded in 2004 by just 5 people, VNG Corporation is the largest Internet company in Vietnam today, with 1,500 employees, offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and a projected 2011 revenue of 90 million US dollars. VNG operates Zing, Vietnam’s top Web portal with more than 15 million monthly unique visitors, or approximately 65 percent of the entire online population in Vietnam. VNG is also the top game publisher in Vietnam with over 60% market share, providing more than 15 game titles including MMORPG and casual games. The company has 250 staff developing social and mobile games in its dedicated R&D division.

Media Contacts

DeNA Co., Ltd. (Japan)
Tomoyuki Akiyama
pr@dena.jp
+81-3-5304-1732