EA Expands Mobile Division With Acquisition, Taito Deal

Electronic Arts has announced that it has agreed to acquire the assets of developer and publisher Hands-On Mobile Korea, a subsidiary of San Francisco-based Hands-On Mobile, intending to rename the studio EA Mobile Korea. EA hopes to strengthen its EA Mobile Asia development and publishing growth plans with the acquisition. Established in 2001, Hands-On Mobile develops and distributes mobile content to more than 200 of the world's leading operators in 60 countries. Hands-On Mobile Korea is best known for its mobile role-playing game, Heroes Lore. Current CEO Gilbert Kim will continue to head the studio after its EA Mobile Korea transition. Said EA Mobile senior vice president and general manager Barry Cottle: "This acquisition is a major milestone in growing our mobile business in Asia. Hands-On Mobile Korea brings us a great leadership team, proven studio talent, and outstanding carrier and OEM handset manufacturer relationships." Hands-On Mobile Korea’s acquisition follows Electronic Arts’ announcement earlier this week that the company has signed an agreement with Taito Corporation granting exclusive distribution and licensing rights for Taito’s entire catalog to EA Mobile for mobile devices across Europe. The agreement assigns rights across all existing mobile channels and mobile devices, as well as developing new channels and platforms such as smart phones. The first Taito games to be distributed under this new agreement with EA Mobile include Cooking Mama, Space Invaders, Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Puzzle Bobble, and Rainbow Islands among others. Said EA Mobile vice president of European publishing Javier Ferreira: “Taito has produced some of the all time games classics – such as Space Invaders, Puzzle Bobble, and Arkanoid - as well as innovating with new titles such as Cooking Mama. This deal gives EA Mobile immediate access to an incredibly popular catalogue on existing devices while offering us the opportunity to bring these titles to new mobile platforms.”