Earthquake in Japan’s social gaming industry today: a council of six major Japanese companies in this space today announced they will abolish the controversial “kompu gacha” (complete gacha) function from all of their titles by the end of May. No new games offering the mechanic...
“Complete Gacha”: Japanese Government To Regulate Social Game Mechanism Soon [Social Games]
Some people thought I went out on a limb when I speculated that Japan’s social gaming industry will get regulated “soon” four weeks ago (the post was later translated into Japanese by tech blog Startup Dating). But exactly that’s what’s very likely to happen. And as I...
Gacha: Explaining Japan’s Top Money-Making Social Game Mechanism [Social Games]
One of the main reasons DeNA, GREE and (some of) the 400+ third-party social game makers in Japan are raking in as much money as they do is “gacha”, a special element found in almost every social game in this country. I created a quick guide to explain the gacha phenomenon: I)...
Memento Mori: Japan’s Last Mobile Game Hit Made US$34 Million In 24 Days
It has been a very rare occurrence for a new mobile game in Japan to break into the top 10 grossing rankings (and to stay there, at least for a while) for a very, very long time now. I would say Japan’s last real “mega blockbuster” was Fate Grand Order by Aniplex, an RPG that...
Japan’s Blockchain Gaming Industry: A Primer
Even before establishing my consultancy Kantan Games, I have been active in the Japanese game industry since around 2008 – and a lot has happened since that time. Now, here is what I believe is one of the first comprehensive overviews in English on Japan’s blockchain gaming industry...
Uma Musume: Japan’s Latest Mega Hit Mobile Game Prints Cash
Uma Musume is the last really big hit in Japan’s mobile game industry, following the popular RPG Dragon Quest Walk from Colopl (3668) in 2019. Released only domestically in February 2021, Uma Musume instantly climbed up not only the download but also up the grossing rankings – and more...