By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry
I can’t say this is a big surprise: GREE has just launched its own messenger app on the App Store and Google Play – very, very quietly. Aptly named GREE Messenger, the app is limited for download in a few countries for this soft launch. On iOS, for example, it’s available in the...
The following charts are part of a presentation I recently gave on Japan’s social gaming industry, highlighting the differences between GREE, Zynga, and Mobage operator DeNA in terms of financials. What many people outside Japan don’t realize is that when it comes to business, both...
Square Enix’ Mana series of RPGs, which started in 1991, is getting its first social version. “Seiken Densetsu – Circle Of Mana” will be exclusively available on GREE sometime next year (in the form of an app for iOS or Android). Players can already pre-register for the...
GREE, which hasn’t seen a few hits on its platform in quite some time now, can be happy: Metal Gear Solid Social Ops, the first social game in the Metal Gear franchise, seems to be a success. The GREE-exclusive title launched on December 4, was off to a good start, and passed 500,000...
Tokyo-based mobile game maker Colopl got listed at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Thursday and saw its share price soar 88% from 3,000 to 5,650 yen on the first day (ticker: 3668). The listing was announced last month. And it is a pretty big one: Colopl is boasting a 40 billion yen (US$480 million)...
It took them a bit longer than expected (the plan was to launch last month), but NTT Docomo today launched its social gaming platform dgame. At the start, Japan’s biggest telco (60 million mobile subscriber) is offering a total of 11 games inside dgame, which itself is nested inside...
By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry