为实现向智能手机扩军的目标，手机游戏发行商Glu Mobile最近注资1350万美元作为战略储备基金，此举由Glu Mobile的股东联合发起，主要包括Greenway Capital、 Cannell Capital、Cypress Capital、Granite Global Ventures等公司。

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Glu Mobile总裁Niccolo de Masi表示，该款项将用于执行公司跨平台业务拓展计划，“我们已经勾勒出了这个振奋人心的蓝图轮廓，并将在今年10月初开始执行。”

Niccolo de Masi在上周的采访中表示，自从今年1月份他担任CEO以来，公司已招募到不少核心主管人员，并修补了运营管理上的漏洞。Glu Mobile作为一家拥有450名员工的游戏公司，在过去九年中一直是手机游戏开发领域的佼佼者，最近两年的产品重心已开始向智能手机倾斜。

Glu Mobile公司正积极向Google Android, Palm等智能手机游戏进军，并将在第四季度推出5款原创手机游戏，超出今年年初预期的3款游戏，de Masi表示这是公司实现高效运营的必然之举。

de Masi认为，即使是一款成功的手机游戏产品，它在单一网络平台上的运营也往往难以产生1千万的收益，因此选择跨平台运营对游戏开发商来说不但必要而且迫切，Glu Mobile将继续保证每年开发25到35款手机游戏。de Masi还预测，未来18个月内，Apple, Google Android和微软Phone 7三大平台之间必将爆发一场地盘之争，“希望这三者都能整合手机网络门店和实体门店的运营，使其合二为一”。

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de Masi还表示，为游戏命名时，使用一些与著名游戏相关联的提示性元素，有助于引导玩家发现一些他们可能感兴趣的新游戏。Glu Mobile公司目前正致力于为玩家优化游戏推荐服务，并针对不同手机制造商、运营商经营的app商店进行业务改良。

Glu Mobile raises $13.5M in private placement as it expands to smartphone games

August 30, 2010 | Dean TakahashiAdd a CommentMobile game publisher Glu Mobile has raised $13.5 million in a private placement as it aims to expand its position in smartphone games.

The money will be used to fully implement the company’s cross-platform expansion plans, said Niccolo de Masi, chief executive of San Mateo, Calif.-based Glu in statement. “We have an exciting roadmap which will roll out beginning in October of this year,” he said.

In an interview last week, de Masi (pictured, at our MobileBeat conference) said he has recruited several key executives and revamped the company’s operations since he joined as CEO in January.

The company, which has 450 people, has developed a big presence in the past nine years as a maker of games for feature phones. But it has been adapting its product line-up to focus on smartphones for a couple of years now.

In the second quarter, iPhone revenue doubled from the prior quarter. The company is also aggressively launching games for Google Android, Palm and Research in Motion smartphones as well. In the fourth quarter, the company is launching five original games. That’s up from three promised earlier in the year and is a testament to improved operational excellence, de Masi said.

Big hits in the mobile game market usually don’t make more than $10 million in revenue on any given platform. That’s why it’s important to spread out and address all possible platforms, de Masi said. Glu will continue launching about 25 to 35 games a year. In the next 18 months, de Masi believes the big platform war will be between Apple, Google’s Android, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform.

“We expect all of them to integrate their mobile storefronts with living room storefronts,” de Masi said, in a reference Apple TV, Microsoft’s Xbox Live, and Google TV.

De Masi says it’s critical for the company to cross-sell its games, using titles that are already popular to help users discover new titles that they also might like. It is working to automate recommendations for users. It is also working hard to get well-positioned on various app stores operated by phone makers and carriers.

The companies latest funding was led by existing shareholders Greenway Capital, Cannell Capital, Cypress Capital, Granite Global Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Scale Venture Partners and Stephens Investment Management.（source：venturebeat）