AERIA, INC. ACQUIRES CYBIRD CO., LTD. AS PART OF ITS STRATEGY OF STRENGTHENING GLOBAL DEPLOYMENT OF GAMES FOR WOMEN, NAMES SHUJI UTSUMI AS CEO

TOKYO, July 3 (Bernama) -- Japanese game developer CYBIRD Co., Ltd., which has been officially acquired by Aeria, Inc., announced on July 3 the appointment of Shuji Utsumi, who has been CYBIRD's President since 2016, as its Chief Executive Officer. CYBIRD is a Japan-based mobile game and entertainment provider with a history dating back to 1998. Its main-force products, led by the Ikemen Series of romance games targeting female game players, are among the most popular online games in Japan. Currently CYBIRD is providing its games to users globally. Aeria is a Japanese company specializing in the online game business. In recent years, it has been focusing its energies on the women's game market and acquiring other game companies that own and operate leading titles into its corporate group. By welcoming CYBIRD as a member company at this time, the Aeria Group has become the number-one provider of women's games in the Japanese market. Aeria's Representative Director/Executive Chairman Takayuki Nagashima: "As we attempt to further expand the presence of women's games from Japan in the global market, we are delighted to welcome the wealth of experience in the entertainment industry and in overseas business of CYBIRD, led by Shuji Utsumi, as a member of the Aeria Group. With CYBIRD on our team, we intend to expand the Aeria Group globally, and in this endeavor we have great expectations of Mr. Utsumi, who has an admirable reputation as a pioneering executive." Comment by CYBIRD's Representative Director/President Shuji Utsumi: "We are very excited to join the Aeria Group and contribute to distributing content from Japan overseas in our new role as a member of the Aeria Group. From now on we will endeavor to develop and market not only games but also content for women and technology in new areas." Mr. Utsumi began his career at Sony Corporation and was a founding member at Sony Computer Entertainment America and then an Executive Director at Sega America. Later, he served as Managing Director at Disney Interactive Asia Pacific and President/Chief Operating Officer at Warner Music Japan before being appointed President of CYBIRD in 2016. He has been active in global entertainment executive roles for over 15 years. He has a global entrepreneurial background as well as a deep understanding of the protocols of large international companies. http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=32224