Joystiq

Molyneux's Godus goes mobile, Mobage with publisher DeNA

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:00:00 EST

Godus, the Kickstarted god game from Peter Molyneux's 22Cans, will be published on mobile devices by DeNA in western territories, Japan and Korea. Godus raised £526,563 ($852,000) with Kickstarter in December, exceeding its goal of $£450,000 ($730,000). It will launch on PC and Mac, alongside mobile devices Android, iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

Godus will use DeNA's Mobage platform for mobile and social games, joining previous handheld iterations within the No More Heroes, Final Fantasy and Professor Layton franchises, to name a few.

Continue reading Molyneux's Godus goes mobile, Mobage with publisher DeNA

Molyneux's Godus goes mobile, Mobage with publisher DeNA originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ninja Gaiden attacks smartphones in Japan

JC Fletcher — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 21:30:00 EST

Ryu Hayabusa is embarking on his second touchscreen murder spree (after Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword), in an iOS/Android game for Mobage. Ninja Gaiden for One Million People (rough translation) has players swipe for sword attacks and tap the screen to throw shurikens, in order to beat various giant monsters and robots.

Ninja Gaiden for One Million People is also a card-based game, allowing you to collect virtual cards featuring Ryu, Ayane, and the other familiar Ninja Gaiden characters, along with newly designed ninja characters. Being a Mobage-published game, it's so far only announced for Japan; we're asking Tecmo Koei when our chance to frantically swipe our phones will arrive.

Ninja Gaiden attacks smartphones in Japan originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grasshopper/DeNA partnership releasing new Frog Minutes this spring

JC Fletcher — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST

A year after the release of the charity app Frog Minutes, Grasshopper Manufacture is preparing an updated version for iOS and Android. As announced last September, this new Frog Minutes game will be published by DeNA on its (newly worldwide) Mobage network. The release is set for the spring. The last game had players catching bugs to lure various species frogs, then capturing the frogs.

This game is being released under the Grasshopper/DeNA joint venture, whose name appears to have been changed from "Grasshopper Social Network Service Inc." to the infinitely snappier "Grasshopper Universe."

Grasshopper/DeNA partnership releasing new Frog Minutes this spring originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DeNA and Square Enix bringing Final Fantasy Brigade to Japan's smartphones

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST

Square Enix's smartphone-based social RPG, formerly titled Final Fantasy x Mobage, was detailed and properly titled during a recent press conference hosted by Japanese cell network operator DeNA. It's now titled Final Fantasy Brigade, and will allow players to team up with their friends' characters and perform quests while exploring the world, unlocking series-standard jobs and summons along the way.

You can check out a few screens (like the one posted above) over at 4Gamer, and take a moment to soak in its Theatrhythm-esque charm. Or, you know, be completely disgusted by it. We're not going to tell you how to live.

DeNA and Square Enix bringing Final Fantasy Brigade to Japan's smartphones originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grasshopper and DeNA form joint venture for Mobage games

JC Fletcher — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 EST

Grasshopper Manufacture's relationship with mobile game company DeNA is extending beyond the production of games for DeNA's Mobage service. Well, sort of. Today, the two companies announced that they're forming a joint venture called Grasshopper Social Network Service, Inc., and will work together to ... produce games for Mobage.

DeNA is looking to build up its catalog of exclusive games to help Mobage take off outside of Japan; Grasshopper is looking for "a new world of players" to experience the company's unique style.

Grasshopper's other recent, high-profile partnership is with Digital Reality. Together, the two companies are working on Black Knight Sword and Sine Mora for XBLA and PSN.

Grasshopper and DeNA form joint venture for Mobage games originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tales series spinning off onto Mobage

JC Fletcher — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 11:30:00 EST

Namco Bandai is already comfortable spreading the Tales series out across multiple platforms, including cell phones, which have received numerous ports of the RPG series and even original games. The latest phone service to have the honor of a new Tales is the smartphone social networking service Mobage, for which Namco is preparing "Tales of Kizna."

Kizna (a creative spelling of "kizuna," meaning "bonds") features over 100 characters from past Tales games as cards, who can be arranged into parties for battle. Players will be able to form guilds in order to pool their parties and take on bigger enemies.

While Japanese mobile games -- and most Tales games -- are stuck in Japan forever, there's an outside chance we could see this one eventually, as DeNA has launched a Western version of the Mobage network.

Tales series spinning off onto Mobage originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 15 Oct 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No More Heroes for Mobage is a 'social assassination battle' game

JC Fletcher — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:30:00 EST

No More Heroes for Mobage, an iOS/Android game for the Mobage service, looks an awful lot like No More Heroes, as revealed by the first screens. But it has some rather important differences from the original game -- like, of course, touchscreen controls. NMH for Mobage is a "social assassin battle" with unspecified coop and competitive multiplayer features, a departure from the strictly solo Wii (and later Xbox 360 and PS3) game.

The new game is being published by Marvelous AQL. Mobage is starting up in North America -- with some other Grasshopper Manufacture properties, even -- so there's a chance Travis Touchdown will make it to our phones.

No More Heroes for Mobage is a 'social assassination battle' game originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No More Heroes social game will be appropriately bloody

JC Fletcher — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:30:00 EST

Suda 51's contribution to DeNA's "Super Creators Initiative" is a social No More Heroes game. And, being a No More Heroes game, it'll be about people assassinating one another. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise, then, that Suda 51 told attendees at a press conference, "We're aiming to make it the social game with the most blood."

We suppose it could be a surprise, given that the original Japanese and European releases of No More Heroes were bloodless, subsituting a shower of coins. So by being even a little bloody, the new social game is bloodier than the real game in Japan.

Suda also expressed a desire to give this game enough "power" and "impact" to make it outside of Japan, a lofty goal for a Japanese mobile game. That was a goal that the three previous mobile NMH games, released by Marvelous in 2008, couldn't achieve.

No More Heroes social game will be appropriately bloody originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inafune, Suda 51 signed for mobile development

Griffin McElroy — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST

DeNA's popular Japanese mobile gaming platform, Mobage, is getting a major boost from some of the nation's leading gaming industry figures. During a press conference held earlier today (as translated by Andriasang), DeNA revealed that five famed producers will develop games for the platform, including Keiji Inafune, who's creating a game titled J.J. Rockets with his new studio Comcept, and Suda 51, who will make a new installment in the No More Heroes franchise.

Other contributors include Marvelous Entertainment's Yoshifumi Hashimoto, who is working on a Harvest Moon mobile title, former Sonic Team lead Yuji Naka, who will develop an adventure game with his new studio Prope, and Crafts & Meister co-founder Noritaka Funamizu. Sounds like a pretty great lineup, though we wish the five would also collaborate on a single project. The idea of a No More Heroes farming simulator is, well, the best idea.

Inafune, Suda 51 signed for mobile development originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Infinity Blade X for Mobage goes free in Japan, supported by virtual goods sales

David Hinkle — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST

DeNA, Japan's most successful mobile internet company, will offer a free-to-play version of Epic and ChAIR's incredibly successul iOS game, Infinity Blade. Over there it'll be called Infinity Blade X for Mobage, and promises to offer multiplayer and co-op features through DeNA's immensely popular Mobage network -- the game will be free to play and supported by the sale of virtual goods.

Infinity Blade, which is considered a "premium" title everywhere else but Japan (see: it costs more than a buck), was just recently updated with head-to-head multiplayer and survival modes. The game's latest milestone saw it surpass $10 million in sales.

Infinity Blade X for Mobage is scheduled to launch in Japan sometime this fall.

Infinity Blade X for Mobage goes free in Japan, supported by virtual goods sales originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Professor Layton solving social scene in 'Professor Layton Royale'

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EST

Professor Layton developer Level-5 is teaming up with social gaming's DeNA on Professor Layton Royale. Andriasang reports the new social game has players selecting from three different classes and is a crossover of Layton and Kaito Royale.

The game will initially launch in Japan, with the potential of "localized versions to international users on the highly anticipated global Mobage service." With DeNA's acquisition of ngmoco last year -- and Layton's international appeal -- the company would be leaving money on the table if it didn't take advantage of the global opportunity.

Crossovers are something Professor Layton is getting comfortable with, as the puzzle master also has an upcoming collaboration with Capcom's ace attorney in Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright for 3DS.

Professor Layton solving social scene in 'Professor Layton Royale' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ngmoco to launch Swedish branch with former EA Easy boss Ben Cousins

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:30:00 EST

When Ben Cousins left EA Easy as head of the studio earlier this year, he didn't leave a forwarding address. Cousins and his new employer revealed today his position as head of newly formed ngmoco Sweden, where he'll be leading the studio in the development of "freemium games for mobile platforms like iOS/Android" (according to Cousins' Twitter feed). His last major project with EA was Battlefield Play 4 Free.

The official PR from ngmoco puts the Swedish branch in a position of support for parent company DeNA's "Mobage" social gaming platforms. And the new studios puts Cousins in a position to hire up colleagues in a part of the world ripe for the picking -- Sweden. Don't be surprised if you see some high profile ex-DICE staffers showing up at ngmoco's new Swedish office over the next few months, as we totally warned you.

[Image credit: OfficialGDC]

ngmoco to launch Swedish branch with former EA Easy boss Ben Cousins originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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