OREANDA-NEWS. April 25, 2011. NTT DOCOMO, INC. and DeNA Co., Ltd. announced today a business alliance to offer an enhanced mobile-based social-gaming platform in Japan and overseas, aiming to tap into the rapid growth of social gaming worldwide.

From May, Mobage, DeNA’s highly popular social networking platform centered on gaming, will be directly linked to DOCOMO’s i-mode™ mobile Web portal for feature phones (highly functional non-smartphones) and “docomo market” portal for smartphones. Linkage will enable DOCOMO customers—including more than 6 million smartphone users projected for the current fiscal year—to navigate easily to Mobage’s social-gaming services.

A dedicated Mobage application will be preinstalled in selected DOCOMO smartphones to be released beginning in the foreseeable future. DOCOMO users will enjoy special benefits when using Mobage, such as early access to sought-after new content and exclusive privileges for selected content, as well as easy direct billing via DOCOMO’s sp-mode™ service for smartphones.

DOCOMO and DeNA also plan to promote Mobage overseas starting in Europe and Asia through collaboration with mobile operators and game developers. The two companies will complement each other’s expertise in overseas mobile-service platforms and related services that they have developed together with their respective subsidiaries and partners in foreign markets.
About NTT DOCOMO
NTT DOCOMO is a world-leading mobile operator and growing provider of comprehensive services centered on mobility. The company serves over 58 million customers in Japan via advanced wireless networks, including a nationwide 3G network and one of the world’s first commercial LTE networks. Leveraging its unique capabilities as a mobile operator, DOCOMO is a leading developer of cutting-edge technologies for NFC mobile payments, mobile GPS, mobile TV, intuitive mobile assistance, environmental monitoring, smart grids and much more. Overseas, the company provides technical and operational expertise to eight mobile operators and other partner companies. NTT DOCOMO is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. Please visit www.nttdocomo.com for more information.