TOKYO, JAPAN - September 12, 2014 - DeNA Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 2432) today announced plans to upgrade and expand the scope of its virtual live show platform Showroom with new bilingual options as well as a wider variety of performers and user-generated content starting on September 13, 2014.

The interactive live streaming service has been available exclusively in Japanese and featured only label-signed artists up until now. Beginning tomorrow, Showroom will add English support and open up the platform to allow anyone to live stream their performances from their own computers. DeNA plans to add the option to live stream performances from users' smartphones in the near future as well.

As part of this expansion, users will be able to earn points based on how many performances they live stream, the size of the audience they attract as well as the number of free or paid virtual gifts and comments they receive during their performances. For its part, DeNA will share a portion of Showroom's total revenue with each performer based on the number of points they earn.

Showroom's artist lineup has mostly consisted of Japanese pop idols for relatively niche audiences, but DeNA plans to add channels featuring major label musicians, famous comedians and professional athletes. Among the musicians already scheduled to live stream their performances are the Japanese rock band Acidman and the singer-songwriter known as "bird" as well as the American band After Romeo. In addition, players from the Yokohama DeNA Baystars professional baseball team and members of the long-distance running team DeNA Running Club will also participate in Showroom live streams.

"With this Showroom upgrade, we are really excited to focus a new spotlight on hidden talents all over the world," said Showroom's chief producer Yuji Maeda. "We aim to have Showroom become a leading platform for interactive live performances by expanding our programming, having special live events and holding auditions to give new opportunities to talented performers everywhere."

DeNA first launched Showroom in November 2013 before adding Android, iPhone and iPad apps for the service soon after. Users can watch their favorite artists' live-streaming performances without signing up, but once they sign up for a free account, they can post comments and throw free or paid virtual gifts onto the virtual stage. The performing artists can respond to the comments and gifts in real time, allowing a new level of interactivity. In addition, DeNA shares part of the revenue generated from the paid gifts with the artists. Over 1,000 live streams have aired on Showroom to date.

DeNA plans to add other paid options such as monthly per-program subscription plans and pay-per-view programming in the future.

Access Showroom for PC here: www.showroom-live.com.

Download Showroom's Android app here: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.dena.showroom

Download Showroom's iPhone app here: itunes.apple.com/app/id734256893