DeNA pull out of western markets

Japanese mobile publisher DeNA has dissolved DeNA Global and ngmoco LLC in a filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, informally announcing their retreat from western markets,

DeNA Global was the company’s San Francisco based subsidiary, formed to oversee activities in the western markets. DeNA was one of the early leaders in mobile gaming, but in recent times its market has shrunk somewhat, and the mobile outfit’s revenues have fallen somewhat.

Most recently DeNA have been making the news for their partnership with Nintendo, and the forthcoming Super Mario Run title for Apple. These games will still be releasing for western markets, but these releases will now take place via partners, and won’t be handled internally. This is probably cause for relief for the 20 million pre-registrations for Super Mario Run, although DeNA didn’t mention in its filing whether pulling out of western markets would have any impact on its partnership with Nintendo.

In its filing with the Tokyo stock exchange, DeNA stated: "During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016, DeNA optimized the organizational structure and game portfolio in West, and has been developing games for the West market with a lean structure since; however, since the games did not meet expectations, DeNA has decided to dissolve and liquidate its West subsidiaries, including DeNA Global, Inc. The West market will continue to be a market of focus for DeNA, but the company will shift the strategy for this region towards collaborations with external partners rather than doing game development in a local studio,"

It’s not yet known how many jobs will be lost due to the closure of the studios.