사용자:JackleeGI/갈라

주식회사 갈라
Gala Inc.

형태	상장
창립	1993년 9월 3일
시장 정보	JASDAQ: 4777
산업 분야	컴퓨터·비디오 게임 산업
서비스	지포테이토
본사 소재지	시부야, 도쿄, 일본
핵심 인물	사토루 기쿠가와 Group CEO of Gala Inc.
제품	프리프 라펠즈 스트리트기어즈 이터널 블레이드
종업원 수	18 명 (2011년 6월 기준 Gala Inc.) 453 명 (2011년 3월 기준 Gala Group 전체)
모기업	Gala Inc. (일본)
자회사	갈라넷 (미국) 갈라 네트웍스 유럽 (더블린) 갈라넷 브라질 (브라질) 갈라랩 (한국) 갈라 재팬 (일본) 갈라 웹 (일본) 갈라 버즈 (일본)
슬로건	Global Online Community
웹사이트	http://www.gala.jp/

Gala Inc. (株式会社ガーラ, Gala Kabushiki gaisha) is a holding company based in Tokyo, Japan, that administers GALA Group, which is made up of subsidiary companies of Gala Inc. The group of companies embraces three types of business: MMORPG games, web design and data mining. Within the group companies, Gala Lab Corp., established after the merger of Aeonsoft and nFlavor, located in South Korea, develops games for the group's online gaming portal gPotato. GALA Group focuses on developing massively multiplayer online role-playing games and licensing games from primarily Asian developers for a North American, European, Asian and South American audience. To cover local areas, there are Group companies located in the EU, the USA, Brazil, Japan and South Korea.

GALA Group's games are free-to-play so no annual/monthly payment is required; revenue is generated from a micropayment system. Games and their premium item shops can be accessed by the Group's regional gPotato portal sites.

While the majority of GALA Group's business revolves around MMORPG games, not all Group companies are involved in online gaming. Within GALA Group, Gala Web Inc.'s main business is in web design and Gala Buzz Inc. offers data mining and risk-monitoring services.

History

Early Years

Gala Inc. was originally founded in September 1993 by Satoru Kikugawa to create an IT company with the goal of bringing people together from around the world. While at Keio University, Kikugawa was an avid event planner where he would rent out clubs in Roppongi and students could gather. He called these events "Gala". With the expansion of the internet in the early nineties, Kikugawa, inspired by his university events, founded Gala Inc. with the goal of bringing people together online.

The early business model of Gala Inc. was in homepage creation. One of Gala Inc.'s first website creations was for the All Japan Pro Wrestling site in 1996. The initial business approach was to create home pages free of charge and then share the advertising revenue. Gala Inc. also set up bulletin boards on sites for visitors to share their thoughts. In February of 2000, Gala Inc. acquired the company RIS Inc., which was then renamed to Gala Web Inc. While Gala Inc. acts as the headquarters for GALA Group, Gala Web continues to develop websites and systems for clients in Japan. Gala Inc.'s early business model eventually led to Gala's gaming business model, where its games are free and sales are generated from micropayments.

Globalization

In November 2005, Gala-Net Inc. opened as the North American subsidiary and online games publisher with its office in Sunnyvale, California. In October of 2006, Gala-Net established a wholly owned subsidiary, Gala Networks Europe based out of Dublin, Ireland.

Also in 2006, South Korean game developers Aeonsoft Inc. and nFlavor Corp. joined GALA Group. Aeonsoft's flagship game was Flyff, while nFlavor brought the Rappelz MMO into the Group. The two game developing companies would later merge to become Gala Lab Corp. in July 2010. In December of 2007, another subsidiary was created after Gala Inc. split off its buzz research section to create a new Group company named Gala Buzz Inc. The company's role is to offer data mining and information analysis services for corporate clients through its e-mining and buzz reports.

In May 2011, Gala Inc. announced it will enter the smartphone market. The company will launch a smartphone social game platform and the development of games for said platform. A new company will be established to operate the platform and Gala Inc.'s Seoul-based subsidiary Gala Lab Corp. will develop the games.

Subsidiaries

Game Publishing

The companies publish games by the Gala Lab development teams in Seoul and other third party developers. The publishing companies in GALA Group are:

• Gala-Net Inc. (Sunnyvale, U.S.A.) - In August of 2005, Gala-Net Inc. opened as a North American subsidiary and online games publisher. The company services the English and Spanish language markets. Gala-Net's CEO, Jikhan Jung, was an early employee of Gala Inc. in Japan. According to the Better Business Bureau, in the 36 months leading up to June 8th, 2011, 20 complaints have been filed against Gala-Net Inc. Gala-Net currently has a BBB rating of "A+." Games are offered in English and Spanish through their gPotato.com portal site: Iris Online, AIKA Online, Allods Online, Luna Online, TalesRunner, Rappelz and Prius Online, Flyff in English and Flyff in Spanish.

• Gala Networks Europe Ltd. (Dublin, Ireland) - Gala Networks Europe was founded by Gala-Net as a wholly owned subsidiary. It operates the gPotato brand in Europe by hosting, publishing and distributing free online games through the gPotato.eu portal. Established in Dublin, Ireland, in October 2006, it operates a portfolio of MMORPGs including Flyff, Rappelz, Street Gears, Dragonica, Allods Online, Castle of Heroes, Terra Militaris, Age of Wulin and Canaan Online. The languages serviced by GNE services are French, German, English, Italian, Polish and Turkish.

• Gala-Net Brazil Ltd. (São Paulo, Brazil) - Gala-Net Brazil was founded by Gala-Net in April 2010 as a wholly owned subsidiary that publishes games for the Portuguese market. Games offered through their gPotato.com.br portal site include Flyff, Rappelz and Iris Online.

• Gala Japan Inc. ガーラジャパン (Tokyo, Japan) - Gala Japan is the publisher for games in the Japanese market and was established in April 2007. Games localized into Japanese offered through their gPotato.jp portal site include Iris Online, Flyff, Rappelz, Castle of Heroes and IL: Soulbringer.

• Gala Lab Corp. (Seoul, South Korea) - Gala Lab was created by the 2010 merger of former GALA Group companies Aeonsoft Inc. and nFlavor Corp. The merged company now publishes games for the Korean market through their gPotato.kr portal site and also develops games for GALA Group as well as third party publishers.

Game Development

• Gala Lab Corp. (Seoul, South Korea) - Gala Lab Corp. was created by the 2010 merger of former GALA Group companies Aeonsoft Inc. and nFlavor Corp. Aeonsoft Inc., founded in 2002 in Seoul, developed the game Flyff, meaning "Fly for Fun". nFlavor Corp., founded in 2003 in Seoul, developed the games Rappelz, Street Gears and IL: Soulbringer.

1. Flyff, or "Fly for Fun", is the first MMORPGs to introduce free roaming flight. Flyff is a party-oriented MMO game where no character can do everything and efficient play requires working together in groups to level up by defeating monsters. One distinctive feature is its flying system; flying is the normal method of transportation for characters above level 20. The game offers a vast amount of content that is constantly being updated, and it caters to audiences both young and old. In June of 2004, the game was awarded the "Best Game of the Year" from South Korea's Ministry of Culture.
2. Rappelz is set in a medieval fantasy world, dominated by three races: the Deva, who represent light, the Asura, who represent darkness, and the Gaia, humans that possess an affinity with nature. Each major installment of the game is referred to as an "Epic". The current installment, which is the second part of Epic VII, is called "Epic VII: Dimensions". The game was also published in Arabic for MENA gamers by the Emirati company Game Power 7. The game was released under a different title known as Hope of Nations (아랍어: أمل الشعوب‎), and was launched on March 16, 2009.
3. Street Gears is based on a persistent manga-style universe. It is a massively multiplayer roller game where players can challenge each others in races or trick contests. As for how to use the tricks, it's related to the context and environment of the game. This means that some tricks can only be used while skating on the ground and/or during a jump, while others can be used while in the air, on walls or when there's a barrier that requires bypassing.
4. IL: Soulbringer is a fantasy/anime MMORPG with a new concept of “Postmodern RPG” and Pioh System where Piohs (pet-type creatures) evolve at three stages that aid the player during the course of the game. The game also has a randomized map system to add to gameplay variety.

Website Design

• Gala Web Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) - Gala Web Inc. was previously a systems development company called RIS Inc. when it was acquired by Gala Inc. in February of 2000. Gala Web became the website and community systems provider for GALA Group, which was previously handled by Gala Inc. The company offers a wide range of website and community services, such as:

1. Cyber Cops - Cyber Cops is an automatic moderation service that filters out objectionable content. Clients work with Gala Web to create a list of objectionable or negative words for the Cyber Cops program to search for on various websites, forums and blogs. When selected words are found, the client is alerted to where and when the content was posted about their company.
2. W-Cops - W-Cops adds to the Cyber Cops automatic search and filtration system looking for objectionable content by adding Gala Web employees to manually search websites and forums. This adds an additional layer of quality and offers a better understanding of content being written about their clients.

Data Mining

• Gala Buzz Inc. (Tokyo, Japan) - Gala Buzz Inc. offers data mining and information analysis services for corporate clients through its e-mining and buzz reports. The company was founded in December of 2007 after Gala Inc.'s buzz research section split off from Gala Inc. to become a separate company. The company offers several data analysis services, such as:

1. E-mining - E-mining is a risk monitoring service that checks blobs and forums for libel or slanderous posts for companies. Daily reports to public and investor relations representatives regarding any leaked information or rumors on the internet help companies work to improve their public image.
2. Buzz reports - Buzz reports give give additional analysis to the e-mining. These reports help clients understand the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. The reports also include reasons and examples of why a campaign's effectiveness is successful or not. This also allows clients to study product and service concepts to see whether there is a market for their ideas or not.
3. Net Risk Hotline - Net Risk Hotline is a consulting service that searches for illegal information posted on bulletin boards and blogs. Illegal information could include inside information leaked by former employees. This service also helps clients gain information regarding potential lawsuits through cooperation with client's lawyers.

Game Portal

To promote and publish games, GALA Group uses its gPotato game portal. People can play or download games from the gPotato portal for free. gPotato services a large variety of games from the casual flash games/browser-based games to downloadable client-based games. The gPotato portal first launched in November of 2005 in the USA. The gPotato portal and brand is one of the main assets of GALA Group. Currently, gPotato portals are serviced by five subsidiary companies of Gala Inc.

gPotato logo

Portal	Languages	Company
gPotato.com es.gPotato.com	English, Spanish	Gala-Net Inc.
gPotato.eu	English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Turkish	Gala Networks Europe Ltd.
gPotato.jp	Japanese	Gala Japan Inc.
gPotato.kr	Korean	Gala Lab Corp.
gPotato.com.br	Portuguese	Gala-Net Brazil Ltd.

Community

As of September 2011, the global gPotato community has over 20 million registered members playing on 18 games globally. As with all free-to-play games or gaming communities, the number of registered users has to be differentiated from:

• Unique users; i.e. the number of persons actually registered as differentiated from the number of accounts (a same user can make several accounts, all counted as a "registered user").
• Active users (users returning regularly).
• Paying users (since all of gPotato's games are F2P, it's possible to play without paying anything).

There are no public numbers for unique, active, or paying users.

Portal Features

gPotato portals have a variety of features. Each gPotato portal is designed and maintained based on the cultural trends where that gPotato portal is serviced so the features vary on each gPotato portal site. In general, the portals offer:

• Profile page
• Achievements
• gPotato balance and fill-up

Currency

The virtual currency is called gPotatoes. The gPotatoes can be used to obtain virtual game items via a premium item shop. Other users normally would not have access to these items or would have to spend more time in-game to obtain them. gPotatoes can be purchased using credit cards, PayPal, charging through the mobile phone, through gPotato pre-paid cards or through earning free gPotatoes by taking online surveys. Payment methods differ from each gPotato portal based on the regional payment options available.

Games

Games Developed

Title	Developer	Genre	First Released	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	2002	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	Gala Lab	Client-based MMO	2010	gPotato.jp gPotato.kr

Games Licensed

Title	Developer	Genre	First Released	Portal
ROSE Online	Triggersoft	Client-based MMO	2005	gPotato.jp
Canaan Online	XPEC Entertainment	Browser-based MMO	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 Game	Browser-based MMO	2009	gPotato.eu gPotato.kr gPotato.jp
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-based MMO	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-based MMO	2010	gPotato.kr
Terra Militaris	Snail Game	Browser-based MMO	2010	gPotato.eu
Age of Wulin	Snail Game	Client-based MMO	2011	gPotato.eu

Awards

• In 2008, Gala Inc. placed 12th on the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list for Japan.
• In 2008, Gala Inc. placed 135th on the Deloitte Fast 500 list for the Asia Pacific region.
• In 2009, Gala Inc. placed 24th on the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list for Japan.
• In 2010, Gala Inc. placed 41st on the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 list for Japan.
• In 2010, GALA Group CEO and Gala Inc. CEO Mr. Satoru Kikugawa was a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Japan region.

Insider Trading Incident

In 2006, three Gala Inc. employees were directed to pay fines for insider trading when they purchased stock with insider knowledge that Gala had secured a deal with Dentsu. On January 13th, 2006, it was announced that the three were the first employees in Japan ordered to pay fines under a new law created by the Financial Services Agency of Japan. Group CEO Mr. Kikugawa gave a public apology regarding the insider trading. Gala also released a statement outlining the changes to their compliance management system and procedures put in place to prevent insider trading from happening again.