Zynga, the game-maker best known for Farmville and Mafia Wars, has acquired Tokyo, Japan-based Unoh, which will become the basis for the company’s mobile efforts in the country.
The acquisition closely follows the $150 million investment in Zynga by Japanese telecom powerhouse Softbank, which led to the creation of a joint venture between the two companies. Zynga did not disclose how much it paid, but rumors fluctuated between $12 million and $30 million.
Founded in 2001, Unoh is one of Japan’s leading social game companies, producing games such as Machitsuku!, Band Yarouyo!, and Kaizoku Chronicle. Unoh will operate as part of Zynga Japan and will help localize Zynga games and develop new games for the Japanese market. Shintaro Yamada, Unoh’s founder and CEO, will help lead Zynga Japan’s mobile efforts.
VentureBeat reported that the blog’s former advisor, Robert Goldberg, will become CEO of Zynga Japan, and believes that Zynga Japan will be able to bring its games to a variety of the platforms, including the mobile carriers and the mobile social networks such as Mixi, Mobage-Town, and Gree.
