DeNA enlists Mega Man, Sonic creators to make social games

It looks like Japan is using some American moves in its bout with the US for control of the social gaming market. DeNA has announced, according to Andriasang, its Super Creators program. This new program has enlisted the help of legendary Japanese game designers to create social games for release through the company's Ngmoco-ran platform, Mobage. The news was announced at a press conference covered by Japanese outlet 4gamer.net, and here are all five creators, according to Andriasang's translation:

    Keiji Inafune: Comcept. The former Capcom development head is producing an app called J.J. Rockets. The nature of the game hasn't been revealed, but Inafune suggested it will be an action game.
    Suda 51: Grasshopper Manufacture. He'll be releasing something based off No More Heroes.
    Yuji Naka: Prope. The creator Sonic and Nights said that he hopes to release a game that uses positional information and has growth and adventure elements.
    Yoshifumi Hashimoto: Marvelous Entertainment. He'll be releasing a game based off Harvest Moon. The game will link up with weather and seasonal information and will allow for communication with friends.
    Noritaka Funamizu: Crafts & Meister. He'll be working on a brand called "Nama-ge."


Some of these names might be familiar with fans of hits hardcore franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog. However, all you need to know is that Japanese companies are beginning to mirror American companies that have attracted traditional veteran designers into social games. (Though, their approach is far more ... forced.) Designers like Ultima creator Richard Garriott with Portalarium, John Romero--one of two men behind Doom--ready to launch a second social game with Loot Drop, and Brian Reynolds, who joined Zynga last year to release FrontierVille.

The power players are turning into dream teams, so I say we settle this on the court--purely because of the humor in middle-aged coders and designers playing professional sports. Whether these games will eventually come to the US has not been announced, but since DeNA aims to expand into the US at some point, it is a possibility.

No More Heroes Royal maker starts social games company with DeNA

Will No More Heroes bring the blood and gore to mobile phones for good? That much we doubt. The Japanese creator of what is said to be "the social game with the most blood," Grasshopper Manufacture, has inked a deal with social game giant DeNA. The partnership has created a new company called Grasshopper Social Network Service, and company CEO Goichi Suda--aka Suda 51--sounds psyched.

"Our new venture with DeNA will allow us to explore creative ways to bring Grasshopper Manufacture's universe to a new world of players," Suda said, according to Gamasutra. "Mobage's world-class entertainment network and the power of social mobile games will unlock new types of experiences for our fans."

The deal will result in a number of mobile social games created (in addition to the three already in the making) solely for DeNA and now ngmoco's Mobage platform for smartphones. Grasshopper Social Network Service will begin operations in Japan this November, and will bring a number of new mobile social games to Japanese mobile smartphones and abroad.

No More Heroes Royal, Frog Minutes, Humans vs Zombies and Alien Busters--Grasshopper Manufacture's existing projects for Mobage--will all shift to this new joint venture once set up. DeNA has some big names on its side in this battle for mobile social dominance. Just last week, the company announced the first Final Fantasy social game with Square Enix. Look, if this means we get to see the social action fest that much sooner, then go at it, Suda.

Do you think Grasshopper Manufacture is making a good move getting this deep into mobile social games? Which of the companies announced social games are you most psyched for?