GREE, one of the world’s leading publishers of social video games for mobile devices, has announced that Jim Ying is the firm’s new Vice President of Developer Relations and Business Development.
Ying has been working at GREE’s office in San Francisco since November 5, however. According to the company, his primary role is to manage GREE’s Developer Relations team, including business development, account management and a consulting service, which is aimed squarely at helping new video game developers who are looking to join the firm’s platform.
A quick glance at Ying’s resume and it’s easy to see how he landed the job. Back in 2005, he was hired as the Global Product Manager for Microsoft Xbox, where he led numerous marketing strategies for top tier video games over a four year period. Afterwards, he became a director at RealNetworks, overseeing the development of the firms’ social video games available on Facebook.
Most recently, however, Ying has been the Senior Vice President of Publishing at 6waves, itself a leading publisher of independent video games on social networks such as Facebook and mobile devices, including the iOS and Android platforms.
Eros Resmini, Senior Vice President of Developer Relations and Marketing at GREE, said the company was “very excited” to bring him on board. “GREE continues to develop the ways in which we partner with game makers in this rapidly changing space,” he said. “Jim will be a critical leader in our global expansion.”
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Ying’s experience not only in the traditional home console space, but with social titles and games built for smartphones and tablets makes him an ideal fit for GREE at the moment.
“GREE and I have a shared vision – to support developers by giving them the tools and know-how to reach gamers worldwide – and I look forward to working with them to continue to build this industry, “ said Ying. “I am excited about all the potential in the mobile games market – both as a gamer and part of the industry – and helping to drive that growth and support is one of my true passions.”
The company, headquartered in Japan, has been desperate to grow into consumer markets overseas – particularly in the United States.
However, the move has come at a cost. Earlier this month the company posted its fiscal earnings for the first quarter of 2013, which were down by 8 percent from the previous quarter. Operating profits, meanwhile, were at $197 million, representing a 5 percent decrease from the previous 12 months.
Some of that has been due to Japan’s decision to ban the controversial “kompu gacha” system in its video games, although GREE has offered that “higher labor costs and other costs concomitant with our expansion” are also to blame.
It also follows an announcement, made by GREE just before posting its financial results, which revealed that it would be stepping away from the app store model by introducing HTML5 web app games to its global userbase.
Image Credit: Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images
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