TOKYO, JAPAN - Oct. 31, 2011 - DeNA Co., Ltd. and Grasshopper Manufacture, Inc. announced today that the companies will form a joint venture company, provisionally named Grasshopper Social Network Service, Inc. Grasshopper Mobile will develop and operate social games for smartphones, provided exclusively on DeNA's Mobage social gaming platform in Japan and other markets. The new company is scheduled to be established in November.

Once Grasshopper Mobile begins operations, Grasshopper Manufacture will transfer its existing mobile games resources to Grasshopper Social Network Service and DeNA will provide support for the company's game development. Through the joint venture, DeNA aims to expand its catalog of high-quality social games on Mobage for the globally expanding smartphone market.

"We are very excited to expand our Mobage catalog with great games from new genres," Kenji Kobayashi, Director and Executive Producer, DeNA, said. "We are especially eager to deliver the creative magic of Suda51 to Mobage users worldwide."

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

Grasshopper Manufacture was established in 1998 by Goichi Suda, the iconic Japanese game creator also known as Suda51. Suda is most known for the No More Heroes series of console games, which have sold more than one million copies worldwide.