The biggest hit title on DeNA’s social gaming platform Mobage-town (Mobage) is Kaitou Royal. It’s rumored that this one game accounts for a big chunk of DeNA’s revenue and profits. Now TechCrunch Japan editor Ryuichi Nishida is reporting on Twitter that Takeshi Otsuka, the master...
My answer on Quora to: “Is there a Japanese equivalent to Yelp?”
As food and cuisine play an important part in Japanese culture and everyday life, there are many sites that resemble Yelp over here. According to a study by Nielsen NetRatings Japan from February 2010, the biggest, in terms of reach, is Tabelog () with 12.4%. Right behind that site is Gourmet...
My answer on Quora to: “What are the most important things for Japanese IT startups for success in global market?”
In my opinion, a lot of Japanese startups fail on a global level because most of those that try aren’t serious enough about going global. And why should they be, at least initially? Japan has 100 million web/mobile users with high purchasing power, world-class technical infrastructure...
On Augmented Reality
Here is the link to a column I wrote on augmented reality for the journal for the American Chamber Of Commerce in Japan. Excerpt: In the 1990s, computer-generated worlds in which people could completely immerse themselves were believed to be the next big thing in technology. But the concept of...
My answer on Quora to: “Is there a Japanese equivalent of LinkedIn, not just for hiring but also for B2B communication?”
There have been various attempts at establishing a business social networking service in Japan in the past years, but none of these have taken off. In September 2007, LinkedIn inked a deal with Tokyo-based web company Digital Garage to bring the service to Japan, but that never happened (LinkedIn...
My answer on Quora to: “How many people are using Facebook in Japan now?”
Currently, it’s 1.5 million people: ;. Facebook translated its UI into Japanese in 2008. For Facebook, Japan is one of the few remaining white spaces on the world map, next to South Korea, Russia, and China (where it’s blocked). By way of comparison: Japan’s homegrown social...