By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry
The saga between Rakuten and major Japanese TV broadcaster TBS has finally come to an end. After years of battling out in court (and on the Tokyo Stock Exchange), TBS has bought back Rakuten’s entire 19.94% stake yesterday. The purchase ended a capital partnership, which began back in 2005...
GREE posted the financial results for the third quarter of the current fiscal (that ends for GREE on June 30, 2001) on its website. In a nutshell, things are looking very good: net sales per quarter, operating profit, ordinary profit, and net income are up at least by 51% year-on-year. Download...
Mobage may have just added Star Girls to its social games catalog, but last week, an idol raising game also found its way to GREE. Dubbed “Love Kyun! Idol Battle”, the title lets GREE users take on the role of a producer in an artist agency. Players need to choose girls with potential...
Games, in which players have to train “idols” (stars) to rise to fame and fortune, are quite popular in Japan. Nagoya-based Ateam has just release Star Girls on Mobage, a social game that lets players take on the role of a music manager. The goal of the game is to choose a girl with...
Japanese toy maker Takara Tomy’s Choro Q toy cars have been used in countless video games so far, and today, Takara Tomy Entamedia unveiled “Combat Choro Q” for GREE. In a nutshell, the title can be described as a social tank battle game with some extra-cute graphics (Combat Choro...
Initial D, a popular Japanese anime and manga series, has seen quite a few video games over the years, and now Tokyo-based Butterfly Corp. decided to turn it into a mobile social game (also called Initial D) on Mobage. The game (obviously) takes place in the Initial D universe and lets players...
By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry