A Japanese gaming community Web site was unveiled Monday in conjunction with the launch of the Japanese subsidiary of AsiaContent.com, a pan-Asian consumer Internet company.
Based on the popular U.S. model of HearMe's multiplayer gaming site Mplayer (www.mplayer.com), 37play.com will allow to play popular network action games (such as Rainbow Six or Daikatana), as well as more casual games such as go and shogi, while chatting via text or voice. 17play.com, the English and Chinese versions of Mplayer, are currently active in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Founded last year in Hong Kong, AsiaContent.com has subsidiaries in Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and India and a partnership with the Internet advertising firm DoubleClick. The company, who announced its IPO in April, has localized global brands such as MTV Online, CNET, SportsLine.com and E!Online. Next month it will be launching two new sites devoted to fashion and women (which will be original content for Japan only).
Morimoto Miyuki, president of AsiaConent.com K.K., said that in the future they will not only be localizing brand sites but also building and rolling out Japanese Web content in seven Asian markets.