Tokyo-based advertising network and game publisher Adways (TYO:2489) has announced the establishment of a US subsidiary, and a capital partnership with YetiZen, a game development studio and gaming startup incubator in San Francisco.
Over the past few months Adways has been expanding its business, most recently establishing regional subsidiaries through the acquisitions of JS-Media and Search Maximizer, located in Taiwan and Thailand respectively. So far the company has 11 offices in seven Asian countries, and claims to be in a “very unique position” to help western game developers penetrate Asian markets.
Adways Interactive president Nobuyoshi Noda explained why YetiZen was a logical partner for the company:
We feel very strongly that US and European developers need a lot more education and support to further engage in the Asian market. And partnering up with Yetizen enables us to do this to a greater audience… The Asian market, particularly Japan, China and Korea is a very attractive market which western developers should take more into consideration.
The announcement says that YetiZen will be opening a co-working space for game-related businesses this month, and Adways will be have a presence there as well to advise developers on launching games for Asian regions.
In some ways, this partnership aims to be the same kind of bridge that CyberAgent Ventures’ Startup Base Camp aspires to be in the future as well. It’s promising to see such initiatives that aspire to advise young companies on how to do business better across borders.