March 1999

• DeNA is founded as a private limited company

It all started at a small "apartment" office in Tokyo

August 1999

• DeNA becomes a joint-stock corporation and is renamed DeNA Co. Ltd.
• Headquarters is moved to 1-17-9 Tomigaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

October 1999

• Headquarters is moved to 5-3 Kamiyama-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

November 1999

• The Bidders auction site is launched

Current President Isao Moriyasu and his teammates launch bidders.

A superior lack of sense

"See what you believe in through to the end" - this attitude has not changed since the our founding. However, this policy hasn't always led us to success. In fact, in the beginning it was related more to failure. Those failures became formative experiences and led to our proudly proclaimed philosophy even now: a superior lack of sense, which we continue to utilize as we resolutely set our eyes on even greater challenges.

A risk worth taking

In consulting, you put in your two yen, but you never have the opportunity to get your hands dirty and actualize your recommendations - something that Tomoko Namba had always aspired to do. At long last, she had such an opportunity when she approached a former client with her proposal, but was encouraged to try it herself. Abandoning her life as a partner with consulting firm McKinsey & Co., Namba founded DeNA in 1999. Starting with an online auction business, she aimed to create a company whose name would last not years, but centuries.

Founder Tomoko Namba at her desk

Unprecedented failure(s)

The establishment of Bidders should have been easy, with no competitors in sight during the planning phase. However, two months before the site's release, Yahoo!Japan unexpectedly launched its own auction service, threatening Bidders with little to no market share. One month before the launch of Bidders another problem came to light. The outsourced development of the underlying system was incomplete. When Bidders opened for business, the makeshift system, in unprecedented fashion, couldn't even display items - only accept bids. It was then we realized we needed to develop our own production abilities if we were to succeed in the future.

Founder Tomoko Namba at her desk

July(2000)

• The Bidders EC Platform for mobile sites is launched

December(2000)

• Headquarters is moved to 2-19-7, Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

May 2001

• Club Bidders, VIP services for enterprise members, is launched
• Bidders is redesigned into an auction and shopping site

December 2002

• The Bidders shopping services are branded as Bidders Shopping

Impending death of profitability

In those days, a "winner takes all" mentality was prominent - if you weren't number one, there was little chance you'd make it through the quarter. However, we wanted to prove that even if you're number two - or worse - you could survive. With the desire to break even with Bidders before diversifying, we pressed forward and, in 2002, against all odds, turned a profit. Then, in a decision that was to set the stage for our growth into the future, the management decided to change direction and aim to be number one in the mobile web services market.

October 2003

• The Bidders auction and shopping site is certified under the Antique Business Law

March 2004

• Headquarters is moved to 2-1-6 Sasazuka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo





• Mobaoku is launched

June 2004

• Pocket Bidders is launched

July 2004

• Pocket Affiliate is launched

A change in strategy

Seizing the advent of the mobile web, we established the mobile auction service Mobaoku (Moh-bah-oh-koo). This time around, the decision was made to develop an entirely new system for what was to essentially be a mobile version of Bidders. Common sense would dictate that the established PC user base could be connected to the mobile service, but aiming for number one called for an entirely new approach. In three months, our super-engineers completed a new system and with peerless determination, snatched the label of ichiban (No. 1) from our competitors.

Founder Tomoko Namba rings the Tokyo Stock Exchange bell

January 2005

• The au Auction mobile site is launched (currently known as au one Mobaoku)
• The first auction services on the i-mode official menu are launched by Pocket Bidders

February 2005

• DeNA is made public on the Mothers section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange

February 2006

• Mobage Town (currently known as Mobage) is launched
• au Shopping Mall is launched

May 2006

• Mobakore Co., Ltd. is founded as a subsidiary

July 2006

• PAYGENT Co., Ltd. is founded as a subsidiary
• Air Link Corp. and Takimoto Co., Ltd. become wholly-owned subsidiaries
• DeNA Beijing Co., Ltd. is founded as a subsidiary

August 2006

• Payment escrow services are launched by PAYGENT Co., Ltd.
• Mobapay at Mobaoku au auction (currently known as au one Mobaoku) is launched

November 2006

• NETSEA is launched

Global growth

Companies can no longer grow by doing what led them to profitability in the first place. The Japanese mobile web market has reached the limits of its growth. With this knowledge and our earlier experience in China under our belts, we reached out across the Pacific to Silicon Valley. There we forged a relationship with ngmoco:), establishing it as our new base of operations for our global expansion.

February 2007

• Mobadepa is launched.
• Soramaru, an online international flight reservation site, is launched by Air Link
• DeNA's first television commercial is aired in Japan

March 2007

• Skygate Co. Ltd. becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary

April 2007

• The Comprehensive Insurance Center is launched on Air Link, providing one-stop insurance shopping via the web

December 2007

• DeNA is made public on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange
• Shumee-to Club is launched

January 2008

• DeNA Global Inc. is founded in the U.S.

February 2008

• Headquarters is moved to 4-30-3 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

March 2008

• Air Link and Skygate Co., Ltd. are merged

April 2008

• Mobage Town membership surpasses 10 million
• Mobage Town Niigata Customer Center is opened
• Mobage Town Emergency Call, a youth helpline service, is launched

May 2008

• Pocket Match is launched

September 2008

• MobaMingle, a social networking site for the English-speaking community, is test-launched

April 2009

• Fundraising for charities through Mobage is launched

July 2009

• WAPTX Ltd. becomes a subsidiary

August 2009

• Mobage Town platform is opened to third-party developers

October 2009

• Kaito Royale social game is launched

December 2009

• The Mobile Affiliate Council is established

January 2010

• Third-party games are released on the Mobage Open Platform

April 2010

• Everystar is founded as a subsidiary
• Business partnership with Yahoo! Japan is established

May 2010

• DeNA invests in Incubate Fund

June 2010

• E*Everystar is formally launched

July 2010

• Mobage membership surpasses 20 million

September 2010

• US-based Gameview Studios, LLC. becomes a subsidiary
• DeNA makes a capital tie-up with US-based Astro Ape Studios, LLC.

October 2010

• Yahoo! Mobage is officially launched
• US-based ngmoco, LLC becomes a subsidiary

December 2010

• Mobage Town is made compatible with smartphones

March 2011

• "Mobage Town" is rebranded as "Mobage"

May 2011

• Mobage app for Android devices is released

June 2011

• Isao Moriyasu becomes president
• DeNA Seoul Co., Ltd. is founded in South Korea.

July 2011

• Launches Mobage in China, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.

August 2011

• DeNA Asia Pacific Holdings Pte. Ltd. is founded in Singapore.

September 2011

• Acquires Punch Entertainment's Vietnam Studio

October 2011

• Acquires Chile's Atakama Labs S.A.

December 2011

• Acquires Yokohama DeNA BayStars professional baseball team

Looking to the future

With the launch of Mobage worldwide, we have officially made our presence known globally. Learning from our past failures and successes, we intend to continue producing innovative services, venturing into new industries, and following our superior lack of sense - wherever it may lead.

January 2012

• Establishes DeNA Studios Canada Ltd.

April 2012

• Headquarters is moved to Shibuya Hikarie

July 2012

• ZEROSTORE is launched

October 2012

• Comm is launched

November 2012

• Japan Social Game Association is established by DeNA and other five companies

January 2013

• Changed corporate logo