Docomo to launch mobile gaming and e-commerce

NTT Docomo Inc will begin operating platforms for gaming in late November and online shopping in mid December via its dmarket portal of content and services for smartphones and tablets.

Docomo’s new mobile gaming platform, dgame, will offer high-quality games in cooperation with leading game providers such as Namco Bandai Games Inc, Konami Digital Entertainment Co, Sega Corp and Square Enix. Starting with 15 social gaming titles, including the latest original games from Docomo, dgame will steadily expand its menu of popular games.

For user safety, dgame will not offer compulsive-style content or games designed to tempt users, and will limit the amount of spending and social communication functions available to minors. Games offered by Docomo on dgame will be open to smartphones, tablets and feature phones of both Docomo and other mobile operators.

The service itself will be free, but some games may charge a monthly fee. Game-related fees will be payable with Docomo’s dcoin virtual money service, or “docomo points” earned by Docomo subscribers. Also, Docomo subscribers can pay fees with their monthly bills.

Docomo eventually aims to expand its mobile social gaming service on a global basis.

The other new service, dshopping, is a mobile shopping service that will enable people to live smarter, more convenient lives. It will begin by offering some 70,000 items, including daily commodities such as drinking water, shampoo and detergent, and products from Docomo subsidiaries Radishbo-ya Co, an organic foods retailer, and Oak Lawn Marketing Inc, an operator of TV home shopping channels. Another Docomo subsidiary, Tower Records Japan Inc, will be linked to the service. The lineup of products will be expanded going forward.

The dshopping service will be available to Docomo smartphone and tablet users without registration, and payments for purchases can be made easily with the subscriber’s monthly Docomo bill. It will be compatible with Docomo’s Shabette-Concier service, allowing users to place orders by voice command. Docomo smartphones and tablets running on Android 2.2 or higher are required.

© Japan Today