By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry
It was about time: super-popular action manga Naruto will be turned into a mobile social game, and it’s GREE that has scored the licensing rights.Tentatively named “NARUTO×GREE”, the social card battle RPG will hit GREE for feature phones next month, followed by a smartphone...
As I mentioned previously, the “kompu gacha” (complete gacha) shock isn’t over, even after the Japanese government officially clamped down on the controversial game mechanic. Over the weekend, GREE, DeNA, Mixi, NHN, CyberAgent, and Dwango (the same companies that formed a...
Was this the plan? GREE finally announced the launch of their global platform today, but the company is mainly addressing developers. As I mentioned earlier, following a developer-centric strategy is the best that GREE can do – but rolling out a new app and two new games to, you know, appeal...
GREE‘s globally unified social gaming platform is expected to launch by the end of this month, but that didn’t stop the company of closing what is probably the last international deal before that happens. Mind Candy, the UK- and US-based maker of the popular Moshi Monsters franchise...
Japan already has a solid number of social game developers that are listed at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and now CNET Japan is reporting that there will be another one coming soon. According to the report, Tokyo-based mobcast will go IPO at the Mothers market (“Market of the High-Growth and...
As I have been saying repeatedly, the “kompu gacha” shock in Japan’s social gaming industry is far from over, at least as far as the aftershocks are concerned. A new report suggests that the main players in the sector are continuing to work on ways to prevent the government from...
By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry