By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry
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:...
If there is one mobile game out there now that people in Japan will remember in 10 years, it’s Puzzle & Dragons. Maker GungHo is now worth a staggering US$10 billion, thanks to a single game that sees sales of US$62-86 million (per month) and racked up 12 million users after 14 months by...
There is no end to the Puzzle & Dragons hype in Japan, it seems. The country’s top smartphone game now has over 12 million users, is generating a staggering US$62-86 million – per month, and has been advertised with a new campaign on national TV since the end of March. Maker GungHo...
Puzzle/RPG hybrid Puzzle & Dragons and messenger app LINE aren’t the only hypes in Japan’s smartphone world right now. The third big name that must be mentioned in this context is “Nameko Saibai”, a series of super-quirky smartphone games that center on cute mushroom...
The World Online Gambling Law Report is organizing an event focusing on the global social gaming and social gambling industries next month. Named “Social Gaming 2013”, the event will take place on May 23 in London. (Please note that as stated on the conference’s website, the...
By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry