Gree vies for global takeover with mobile social game platform in 2012

Yeah, and so is everyone else. Gree announced its plans for a global mobile social game platform that is said to launch in mid-2012. The Japanese mobile social games giant plans to use OpenFeint to bridge the gap between Asian and Western gaming audiences in hopes of reaching 1 billion players. However, the company didn't say much of anything beyond that.

"This new platform allows our partners to focus on increasing engagement and revenue, while continuing to offer the most comprehensive free-to-play gaming experience," Gree International CEO Naoki Aoyagi said in a release. "The new platform will leverage OpenFeint and GREE assets and will bring together Western and Asian mobile social markets with a goal of reaching over one billion users."

Gree plans to release more details on the service this December, but said that its network in Japan grows at a rate of 3.8 new players per second. The company's main competitor is DeNA, the Japanese owner of ngmoco and the Mobage mobile social games network. Mobage is already available in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries on Android. However, both Zynga and EA--the largest social game makers in the nation--both already have a host of mobile games.

Let's not forget that the former has plans for a (somewhat) independent social games network, Project Z. We're almost certain that's going to extend to mobile devices, which would provide Gree and OpenFeint just one more competitor to worry about. We're not sure just what the duo is cooking up, but to come out on top of this healthy competition, it better be huge.

[Image Credit: Gree]

Do you think Gree has a shot at beating the competition in the mobile social games space? Which of the top companies are you most confident in when it comes to mobile games? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.