Gala Inc.

Gala Inc. 株式会社 ガ ー ラ
legal form	Kabushiki kaisha (German stock corporation ; English here incorporated)
founding	3rd September 1993
Seat	Shibuya , Tokyo Prefecture , Japan
management	Satoru Kikugawa
Branch	Online games
Website	http://www.gala.jp/

KK Gala ( Japanese 株式会社 ガ ー ラ , English Gala Inc. ) is a holding company based in Shibuya , Tokyo Prefecture , Japan, and manages the Gala Group , which consists of Gala Inc. subsidiaries. The group of companies works in three different business areas: MMORPG , web design and data mining . For the company's own portal gPotato, Gala Lab Corp. Games developed. Gala Lab is a subsidiary that emerged from the merger of Aeonsoft and nFlavor and is based in Seoul, South Korea. The Gala Group focuses on developing MMORPGs and distributing licensed games worldwide. Subsidiaries have been set up in the EU, the USA, Brazil, Japan and South Korea in order to better respond to local needs.

Gala's games are free-to-play , which means there are no monthly subscription fees. Instead, revenue is generated through micropayments . The games are available through gPotato's localized portal pages . In addition to online games, which represent the most important branch, Gala is also active in other areas of business related to the Internet. The core business of Gala Web is in the area of ​​web design; Gala Buzz offers services related to data mining and risk monitoring.

Company history

Founding years

Gala Inc. was founded by Satoru Kikugawa in September 1993 with the aim of establishing an IT company that connects people all over the world. During his student days at Keio University , Kikugawa was an avid event organizer, often renting venues in Roppongi and bringing students together there. He called these events "Gala". Against the background of the rapid expansion of the Internet in the 1990s and inspired by the student events, Kikugawa founded Gala with the intention of bringing people together online.

The first business model was the creation of websites. One of the first sites Gala created was the All Japan Pro Wrestling site in 1996. The original approach was to create the site for free and split ad revenue. Gala Inc. also set up forums on web sites for users to express their opinions. In February 2000, Gala took over RIS Inc., which was then renamed Gala Web. Since then, Gala Inc. has acted as corporate headquarters, while Gala Web continues the website development business for corporate clients in Japan. The former business model of Gala Inc. ultimately merged into the business model of Gala games, in which the games are free and sales are generated through micropayments .

globalization

In November 2005, Gala-Net opened in Sunnyvale, California as a North American branch and publisher of online games. In October 2006 Gala Networks Europe was founded as a subsidiary of Gala-Net in Dublin, Ireland.

Also in 2006, the development studios Aeonsoft and nFlavor joined the Gala group. Aeonsoft's main title was Flyff , while nFlavor brought the MMO Rappelz into the group. The two studios then became Gala Lab Corp. in July 2010. united.

In December 2007, Gala Inc.'s Buzz Research department was spun off into its own subsidiary, Gala Buzz. The areas of responsibility of this company are data mining, e-mining and buzz research for corporate customers.

In May 2011, Gala Inc. announced that it was preparing to enter the smartphone game market. Another subsidiary will be founded for this area of ​​responsibility. In addition, another branch was opened in Seoul in 2011, which takes care of the technical issues of the group of companies.

Subsidiaries

Publishing

• Gala-Net Inc. (Sunnyvale, USA) - In August 2005, Gala-Net was established as a North American branch. The company covers support in English and Spanish. According to the Better Business Bureau , in the 36 months ended June 8, 2010, a total of 20 complaints were filed. The current rating is BBB on a scale from A + to F. The games are: Iris Online , AIKA Online , Allods Online , Luna Online , TalesRunner , Rappelz , Prius Online and Flyff , which is also offered in Spanish.

• Gala Networks Europe (Dublin, Ireland) - Gala Networks Europe was founded in October 2006 as a 100% subsidiary of Gala-Net. The company operates the gPotato portal in Europe. The games Flyff , Rappelz , Dragonica , Allods Online , Castle of Heroes , Terra Militaris , Age of Wulin and Canaan Online are offered through the portal . The company covers the languages ​​German, French, English, Italian, Polish and Turkish.

• Gala-Net Brazil Ltd. (São Paulo, Brazil) - Gala-Net Brazil was founded as a subsidiary of Gala-Net in April 2010 to bring gPotato's games to the Portuguese-speaking market. So far the games Flyff , Rappelz and Iris are available online.

• Gala Japan Inc.ガ ー ラ ジ ャ パ ン (Tokyo, Japan) - Gala Japan is the publisher for the Japanese market and was founded in April 2007. The games translated into Japanese are Iris Online , Flyff , and Rappelz .

• Gala Lab Corp. (Seoul, South Korea) - Gala Lab was created in 2010 from the merger of Aeonsoft Inc. and nFlavor Corp., which were previously part of the Gala Group. The combined company offers games for the Korean market. In addition, the company develops the games for the Gala Group and their sales partners.

Game development

• Gala Lab Corp. (Seoul, South Korea) - Gala Lab was created in 2010 from the merger of Aeonsoft Inc. and nFlavor Corp., which were previously part of the Gala Group. Aeonsoft was founded in 2002 in Seoul, Korea and developed Flyff - Fly for Fun; nFlavor was founded in Seoul, Korea in 2003 and developed the titles Rappelz , Street Gears and IL: Soulbringer .

1. Flyff - Fly for Fun was the first MMORPG in which you could fly freely. Flyff is a group-oriented online role-playing game in which no character can do everything, but has to work in a team to defeat monsters efficiently. However, the distinguishing feature of the game is flying. Flying is the normal form of locomotion for characters from level 20. The game offers content for a long game time and is continuously expanded through updates. In 2004 the game was named “Best Game of the Year” by the South Korean Ministry of Culture.

1. Rappelz takes place in a fantasy world, which is ruled by the following three peoples: Deva, who embody the light, Asura, who represent the darkness and Gaia, who are connected to nature. Every major expansion is called an "epic". The current version, the second part of Epic VII, is called "Epic VII: Dimensions". The game has been marketed under the name "Hope of Nations" since March 2009 for the Arabic-speaking area by Game Power 7.

1. Street Gears is a manga-style rollerblade MMO where players can challenge each other in races or trick contests. Tricks can only be performed in certain places. Some tricks can only be performed on the ground, others only while jumping or overcoming an obstacle.

1. Eternal Blade is a fantasy / manga role-playing game with innovative features such as the Pioh system, in which animal companions largely determine the abilities of the player character. Randomly generated environments also provide variety in the gameplay.

Web design

• Gala Web Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) - Gala Web Inc. previously traded as RIS Inc. and was acquired by Gala Inc. in February 2000. Gala Web is a provider of website and community systems, including:

1. Cyber ​​Cops - Cyber ​​Cops is an automatic moderation service that filters out questionable content. Customers work with Gala Web to create a word list for the filter, which is then continuously searched for on websites, forums, and blogs. If the service finds what it is looking for, the customer is informed when and where the relevant content was published by their company.
2. W-Cops - W-Cops is a complement to Cyber ​​Cops, where Gala Web employees manually search forums and websites. This ensures increased security and a better understanding of the published content.

Data mining

• Gala Buzz Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) - Gala Buzz Inc. provides data mining and data analysis services to corporate clients. The company was founded in December 2007 after the Buzz Research department was outsourced as a separate company. The services offered include:

1. E-mining / Net Risk Hotline - E-mining and Net Risk Hotline are risk monitoring services that search forums and blogs for reputable or illegal content. Reports are sent to the contact persons on a daily basis regarding information that has become known and rumors that are spread about the company. This service helps the company to better control its public image.
2. Buzz Reports - Buzz Reports are additional information about the e-mining service. With these reports, customers can check their marketing campaigns for their effectiveness. The report also includes justifications and examples of why certain campaigns are effective or not. In addition, it allows customers to test products and services for their market suitability.

Game Portal

Gala uses the game portal gPotato to distribute its own games. Users can download and play games for free. The gPotato portal was first launched in November 2006 in the US and has become one of the Gala Group's main assets. Five branches currently operate their own gPotato portal:

gPotato logo

Games

Developed games

title	developer	genre	Published	portal
Flyff	Gala Lab	Client-based MMO	2002	gPotato.com es.gPotato.com gPotato.eu gPotato.kr gPotato.com.br gPotato.jp
Street Gears	Gala Lab	Client-based MMO	2008	gPotato.eu
Rappelz	Gala Lab	Client-based MMO	2006	gPotato.com es.gPotato.com gPotato.eu gPotato.kr gPotato.com.br gPotato.jp
IL: Soulbringer / Eternal Blade	Gala Lab	Client-based MMO	2010	gPotato.jp gPotato.kr

Licensed games

title	developer	genre	Published	portal
ROSE online	Triggersoft	Client-based MMO	2005	gPotato.jp
Canaan Online	XPEC Entertainment	Browser game	2008	gPotato.eu
Prius Online	CJ Corporation	Client-based MMO	2008	gPotato.com
TalesRunner	Rhaon Entertainment	Client-based MMO	2008	gPotato.com
Castle of Heroes	Snail Games	Browser game	2009	gPotato.eu
Dragonica	Barunson Interactive	Side-scrolling MMO	2009	gPotato.eu
Luna Online	Eya Soft	Client-based MMO	2009	gPotato.com
AIKA Online	JoyImpact	Client-based MMO	2010	gPotato.com
Vandia Breaker	Namco Bandai	Browser game	2010	gPotato.jp
Allods Online	Nival	Client-based MMO	2010	gPotato.com gPotato.eu
Iris Online	Eya Soft	Client-based MMO	2010	gPotato.com gPotato.jp
KungFu Hero	9wee	Browser game	2010	gPotato.kr
Terra Militaris	Snail Games	Browser game	2010	gPotato.eu
Age of Wulin	Snail Games	Client-based MMO	2011	gPotato.eu

On January 22nd, 2014 the German version of Age of Wulin by gPotato went live.

Awards

• In 2008, Gala Inc. was ranked 12th in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for Japan.
• In 2008, Gala Inc. was ranked 135th in the Deloitte Fast 500 for the Asia-Pacific region.
• In 2008, Gala Inc. was ranked 24th in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for Japan.
• In 2010, Gala Inc. was ranked 41st in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for Japan.
• In 2010, Satoru Kikugawa, GALA Group CEO and Gala Inc. CEO, was in the finals for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Japan region.

Insider Trading Incident

In 2006, three Gala Inc. employees had to pay fines for purchasing shares, with the inside knowledge that Gala had reached an agreement with Dentsu. Group CEO Kikugawa-san publicly apologized for the insider trading incident. Gala also issued a press release that appropriate measures had been taken to effectively prevent insider trading in the future.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Aeonsoft and nFlavor Merger. (No longer available online.) Gala Lab Corp, June 2010, archived from the original on September 10, 2012 ; Retrieved May 5, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ 단독 키쿠 가 와 갈라 그룹 회장 한국 서 번 돈, 한국 에 쓰겠 다 ( Korean ) ZDNet Corp. May 20, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
3. ↑ GALA Group to launch smartphone social game platform (PDF; 43 kB) Gala Inc. May 12, 2011. Accessed June 9, 2011.
4. ^ Gala-Net BBB Business Review . Better Business Bureau. June 9, 2011. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
5. ^ Gala Lab history ( Korean ) Gala Lab Corp. June 2010. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
6. ^ Flyff news . MMORPG.com. 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
7. ↑ 프리프 등 3 편 6 월 의 우수 게임 으로 선정 ( Korean ) iNews24. June 24, 2004. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
8. ↑ 대한민국 게임 대상 을 향해 뛴다 눈길 끄는 출품작 ( Korean ) Naver. November 29, 2004. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
9. ^ Arabic Rappelz . Game Power October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 24, 2011. 
10. ↑ Technology Fast50 Japan 2008 Winners Report ( Japanese , PDF) Deloitte. January 7th, 2009. Archived from the original on December 4th, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 1, 2011. 
11. ↑ Lighting the way, Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific 2008 Ranking and CEO Survey (PDF) Deloitte. 2008. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
12. ↑ Deloitte Technology Fast50 News Release ( Japanese , PDF) Deloitte. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 2, 2011. 
13. ↑ Deloitte Technology Fast50 News Release ( Japanese , PDF) Deloitte. November 17, 2010. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved June 2, 2011. 
14. ↑ EOY 2010 Japan 日本 代表 が 決定 ( Japanese ) Ernst & Young. December 2010. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
15. ↑ ガ ー ラ 社長 、 イ ン サ イ ダ ー 取 引 を 謝罪 ( Japanese ) StockWeather. February 9, 2006. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
16. ↑ 当 社 の イ ン サ イ ダ ー 取 引 未然 防止 の 改善 策 に つ い ( Japanese , PDF; 128 kB) Gala Inc. January 16, 2006. Accessed June 1, 2011.