Gala Inc. | |
Native Name: | 株式会社ガーラ |
Type: | Public |
Foundation: | September 3, 1993 |
Location: | Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan |
Area Served: | Japan South Korea |
Key People: | Satoru Kikugawa, Group CEO of Gala Inc. |
Industry: | Video games |
Services: | gPotato, Mobblo |
Products: | Flyff Rappelz Flyff Legacy Rappelz M |
Subsid: | Gala Japan Inc. Gala Lab Corp. (Korea) Gala Mix Inc. (Korea) |
Num Employees: | 65 (As of August, 2020)[1] |
is a holding company based in Tokyo, Japan, that administers GALA Group, which is made up of subsidiary companies of Gala Inc. The group of companies comprises three types of businesses: MMORPG games, web design, and data mining. Within the group companies Gala Lab Corp. was established in South Korea after the merger of Aeonsoft and n Flavor[2] and develops games for the group's online gaming portal gPotato. GALA Group focuses on developing largely multiplayer online role-playing games. To cover local areas, there are group companies located in the United States, Japan, and South Korea.
GALA Group's games are free-to-play. However, there is a micro-currency system that can be used to buy in-game upgrades. Games and their item shops can be accessed by the Group's regional gPotato portal sites.
Gala Inc. was founded in September 1993 by Satoru Kikugawa. While at Keio University, Kikugawa was an avid event planner and would rent out clubs in Tokyo's Roppongi district where students could gather. He called these events "Gala". With the expansion of the internet in the early nineties, Kikugawa, inspired by his university events, founded Gala Inc. to bring people together online.
The early business model of Gala Inc. was in homepage creation. One of Gala Inc.'s first website creations was for the All Japan Pro Wrestling site in 1996. The initial business approach was to create home pages free of charge and then share the advertising revenue. Gala Inc. also set up bulletin boards on sites for visitors to share their thoughts. In February 2000, Gala Inc. acquired the company RIS Inc., which was then renamed to Gala Web Inc. While Gala Inc. acts as the headquarters for GALA Group, Gala Web continues to develop websites and systems for clients in Japan. Gala Inc.'s early business model eventually led to Gala's gaming business model, where its games are free, and sales are generated from micropayments.
In November 2005, Gala-Net Inc. opened as a North American subsidiary and online games publisher with its office in Sunnyvale, California. In October 2006, Gala-Net established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Gala Networks Europe, based out of Dublin, Ireland.
Also in 2006, South Korean game developers Aeonsoft Inc. and nFlavor Corp. joined GALA Group. Aeonsoft's flagship game was Flyff, while nFlavor brought the Rappelz MMO into the Group. The two game developing companies would later merge to become Gala Lab Corp. in July 2010.[3] In December 2007, another subsidiary was created after Gala Inc. split off its buzz research section to create a new Group company named Gala Buzz Inc. The company offered data mining and information analysis services for corporate clients through its e-mining and buzz reports. Gala Buzz Inc. was sold to Hottolink Inc. in May 2012.[4]
In May 2011, Gala Inc. announced it would enter the smartphone market. The company planned to launch a smartphone social game platform and the development of games for said platform. Gala Pocket Inc. was established to operate the gPumpkin platform and Gala Lab Corp. and third-party developers would develop the games.[5] Gala Inc. also expanded in 2011 by opening a branch office in Seoul, South Korea that was tasked with handling the technical issues across all of GALA Group. In May 2012, that branch was transferred to Gala Lab also located in Seoul.[6]
In February 2013, Gala-Net, Gala Networks Europe, and Gala-Net Brazil were acquired by Webzen.[7]
The majority of GALA Group's business revolves around MMORPG and smartphone games. Within GALA Group, Gala Web Inc.'s main business was in web design, but this company was sold to Tribeck Strategies, Inc. in 2015.
The companies publish games by the Gala Lab development teams in Seoul and other third-party developers. The publishing companies in GALA Group are:
To promote and publish games, GALA Group uses its gPotato game portal. People can play or download games from the gPotato portal for free. gPotato services downloadable client-based games. The gPotato portal launched in November 2005 in the US and 2007 in Europe, and was sold to Webzen in 2013. The gPotato portal and brand is one of the main assets of GALA Group. Currently, gPotato portals are serviced by two subsidiary companies of Gala Inc.
Portal | Languages | Company |
---|---|---|
gPotato.jp | Japanese | Gala Japan Inc. |
gPotato.kr | Korean | Gala Lab Corp. |
As of September 2011, the global gPotato community has over 20 million registered members[5] [14] playing on 18 games globally.As with all free-to-play games or gaming communities, the number of registered users has to be differentiated from:
There are no public numbers for unique, active, or paying users.
Each gPotato portal is designed and maintained based on the cultural trends where that gPotato portal is serviced so the features vary on each gPotato portal site. In general, the portals offer:
The virtual currency is called gPotatoes. The gPotatoes can be used to obtain virtual game items via a premium item shop. gPotatoes can be purchased using credit cards, PayPal, charging through the mobile phone, through gPotato pre-paid cards or through earning free gPotatoes by taking online surveys. Payment methods differ from each gPotato portal based on the regional payment options available.
Title | Developer | Genre | First Released |
---|---|---|---|
Flyff | Aeonsoft Inc. | Client-based MMO | 2003 |
Rappelz | nFlavor Corp. | Client-based MMO | 2006 |
Eternal Blade | Gala Lab Corp. | Client-based MMO | 2010 |
Masquerade Flyff[15] | Gala Lab Corp. | Client-based MMO | 2013 |
Flyff All Stars | Gala Lab Corp. | Mobile RPG | 2014 |
Flyff Puzmon | Gala Lab Corp. | Mobile match-three puzzle | 2014 |
Flyff Stomp Run | Gala Lab Corp. | Mobile endless running | 2014 |
Flyff Legacy | Gala Lab Corp. | Mobile MMO | 2016 |
Rappelz M | Gala Lab Corp. | Mobile MMO | 2020 |
Flyff Universe | Gala Lab Corp. | Mobile MMO | 2022 |
Title | Developer | Genre | First Released |
---|---|---|---|
ROSE Online | Triggersoft | Client-based MMO | 2005 |
Canaan Online | XPEC Entertainment | Browser-based MMO | 2008 |
Castle of Heroes | Snail Games | Browser-based MMO | 2009 |
Dragonica | Barunson Interactive | Side-scrolling MMO | 2009 |
AIKA Online | JoyImpact | Client-based MMO | 2010 |
Vandia Breaker | Namco Bandai | Browser-based MMO | 2010 |
Allods Online | Nival | Client-based MMO | 2010 |
KungFu Hero | 9wee | Browser-based MMO | 2010 |
Terra Militaris | Snail Games | Browser-based MMO | 2010 |
Age of Wulin | Snail Games | Client-based MMO | 2013 |
In 2006, three Gala Inc. employees were directed to pay fines for insider trading when they purchased stock with insider knowledge that Gala had secured a deal with Dentsu.[21] On January 13, 2006, it was announced that the three were the first employees in Japan ordered to pay fines under a new law created by the Financial Services Agency of Japan.[22] Group CEO Mr. Kikugawa issued a public apology regarding the insider trading. Gala also released a statement outlining the changes to their compliance management system and procedures put in place to prevent insider trading from happening again.[23]