Japanese games firm DeNA boosts its mobile presence in China with Renren partnership

Japanese mobile social gaming company DeNA has increased its visibility on mobile devices in China after it announced a partnership with Renren that will see its titles included in the social network’s Android app.

A dedicated section has been created for DeNA’s Mobage platform within the Renren app. The new addition allows Android owners to access and play any of the near-40 titles that DeNA offers in China, simply by using their Renren details.

Renren is China’s largest social network, with 137 million active monthly users, while Android dominates the country’s smartphone industry. Devices powered by the Google-owned platform accounted for two thirds of sales in the final quarter of 2011, according to research firm Analysys.

The link-up with Renren follows a similar arrangement with microblogging site Sina Weibo, announced in March. That tie-up saw a unique Mobage website arrive on Sina’s popular domain, allowing Sina Weibo’ 300 million plus microbloggers to download a range of titles from Mobage direct to Android phones.

China has been a key focus of DeNA’s overseas expansion plans, and the country was the first outside of Japan that the games specialist came to. Mobage for Android was introduced in July 2011, and followed by support for iOS in November 2011.

DeNA introduced its iOS service to the US in March when it released its first Apple-compatible title, and it is focused on growing its presence in other international markets outside of Japan.