Finally, GREE reveals what everyone actually cares about: the games

Japan's mobile social gaming network GREE has leaked details regarding its global expansion through OpenFeint ever so slowly. Painfully so, in fact. Now, Andriasang reports that DeNA's archenemy has finally announced a number of big time games that will be right there with GREE's launch on iPhones and Android phones in the US and abroad. How does some DDR sound?

Konami revealed that it's bringing the iconic dance machine arcade-gone-mobile game, DanceDanceRevolution, to GREE. Capcom is in on the global GREE launch, set to happen between April and June 2012, with a mobile version of Resident Evil Mercenaries VS and Monster Hunter Dynamic Hunting, which is already available for iPhone. Tecmo Koei is bringing over a version of its hit Dynasty Warriors franchise to GREE as well.

This is all well and good, but we have one concern: All of these games, including those from Japanese game makers we didn't mention, appeal to a very niche, dare we say "hardcore" audience. While part of GREE's global expansion is to merge with OpenFeint (and likely many of games under that Western service's umbrella), the network is going to need games that appeal to a mass audience to live up to its expectations of beating Nintendo.

GREE claims that, after the merge with OpenFeint, its games will be exposed to 150 million players. But 150 million players or not, those players are going to need all types of games to be interested in. Granted, we're still a long ways away from the GREE global launch. Oh ... about that.

OpenFeint co-founder leaves, Gree International head becomes CEO

Well, that sure was quick. Just months after Japanese social game network Gree acquired OpenFeint (for a cool $104 million, mind you), the latter's co-founder and CEO has left the company, VentureBeat reports. The Burlingame, Calif.-based mobile social game network's 26-year-old co-founder Jason Citron has moved on to new opportunities, and has been replaced by Gree's head of international operations Naoki Aoyagi (pictured).

"In just over 24 months, OpenFeint has grown to over 120 million users across 7,000 games," Aoyagi said in a release. "I thank Jason for his leadership growing the company and wish him well in his new adventures." But, according to VentureBeat, the old switcheroo might not have been so cut and dry.

VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi reports hearing rumors that Citron had been fired from the company before contacting OpenFeint and Citron, both of which declined to comment on the news until Aoyagi made the above statement in a release. However, both companies aim to announce their plans for integration between the U.S. operations of both companies in the coming weeks.

In other words, Gree's westward expansion into the U.S. through OpenFeint is imminent, and Gree will likely have even more of a say in how OpenFeint handles things now with a former Gree executive at the reins. Gree hopes to turn U.S. mobile gamers into the apparently wild spenders that Japanese mobile gamers tend to be.

However, direct Japanese competitor DeNA has already launched its Mobage mobile social games platform in the U.S. through recent acquisition ngmoco, and already has support of major U.S. carrier AT&T (though, it is AT&T). It looks like this holiday season will prove whether Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to their new rivals, not to mention existing western competitors like Zynga and EA, both of which have global and mobile ambitions. At any rate, it's going to be a very merry Christmas for mobile gamers.

[Image Credit: VentureBeat]

Do you think Gree and OpenFeint can catch up to DeNA under its new management? What do you hope to see from Citron now that he's freed himself from the company he helped bring up to this point? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment