OpenFeint is an open source mobile social gaming network with millions of players, and it has recently been acquired by GREE, Japan’s leading social gaming platform, for $104 million. GREE and OpenFeint are uniting forces to build an ecosystem for 100 million users, but they say that both powerhouses will still maintain their individual focus. From their site:
GREE will continue to grow its network in Japan and develop great games that showcase their platform’s capabilities. OpenFeint will continue to grow our network, accelerating planned upgrades with GREE’s backing.
In addition to the $104 million, there will be additional capital put towards the accelerated growth of OpenFeint. GREE is quoted as the largest social network in Japan with over 25 million users of the service and a market cap of $3 billion. This acquisition will add to that successful network an additional 75 million users, all with an iOS and Android base.
A bit of a back story on OpenFeint is that it began as a two-person iOS gaming company called Aurora Feint. Aurora Feint was launched on the first day of the App Store’s release with a free game called Aurora Feint: The Beginning. Although the game did well, it soon became more of a social gaming network to provide high scores (and achievements), since at that time Apple didn’t yet provide such a system for the games on the App Store.
I’m curious about the number of players who use OpenFeint versus those that now use Apple’s own Game Center. Do people use both systems? Have you changed to Game Center only? Do you think one system is better than the other?
