By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry
Tokyo-based MM Research Institute has released a few interesting stats on the Japanese market for tablets I thought are interesting to share (phones aren’t the only mobile devices people over here use to play games, after all). According to the company, total tablet shipments in fiscal 2012...
“Line Play”, the virtual world NHN Japan released in Japan back in November 2012 and that integrates with chat app LINE on smartphones, is now offering games. The first title is called “Tsuri Tomo”, hit LINE Play on Friday, and is currently available in Japanese only (the LINE-powered...
I’ll say it again: if there is one mobile game out there right now that people in Japan will remember in 10 years, it’s Puzzle & Dragons. The game, which boasts 13 million registered users in this country (10% of the population), has generated US$113 million in sales in April. Since...
Japan’s top smartphone game Puzzle & Dragons is continuing to make serious money for its maker, GungHo (3765). The company just released its latest financial report, according to which sales hit 12 billion yen in April – this amount currently translates to US$119 million and 1,142...
As I have mentioned earlier, Japan is the only country in the world where mobile games are regularly being advertised on television. And this isn’t about cheap night time slots in niche TV programs no one watches: DeNA, GREE, GungHo, and many other developers are paying for spots aired during...
DeNA has quietly shut down a total of five games on the Mobage platform in Japan recently, offering players who have purchased (but not yet used) virtual currency for the titles reimbursements. The list news site Social Game Info released today includes a few big titles, especially the first two:...
By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry