Gree founder loses $702m

Japan’s youngest billionaire has lost $702 million as a result of legal concern’s over the IAP models used by social-mobile gaming giants including Gree and DeNA.

35-year-old Gree co-founder Yoshikazu Tanaka lost the sum after Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency questioned the legality of in-games purchasing models used in the social space, prompting a share nosedive that effected his own firm and rival DeNA.

Shares in Gree and DeNA tumbled by maximum daily limits as a result of the CAA’s consideration of the legal validity of the ‘complete gacha’, social gaming monetisation model, which encourages users to buy multiple virtual items via in-game vending machines, reports Bloomberg.

Tanaka’s personal fortune stands at $3.5 billion, and he holds a 48.12 per cent stake in Gree, which saw its net income in the three months leading up to March 31st total 13.4 billion yen.