By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry
Famous IP+card battle game = sure success: that’s what GREE probably thought when the company secured the rights to turn manga mega hit BLEACH into a social game. Announced as BLEACHxGREE back in July, the title just hit GREE on smartphones and feature phones as BLEACH – Soul Masters. I...
It seems like GREE‘s housecleaning wasn’t over: the company is shutting down yet another one of their first-party games, social card battle game Majin Kingdom. In the fantasy title, players enter a “Summons School”, collect God/Devil/Hero cards, team up with other...
It took a long time, but months after DeNA announced it has secured the talent of high-profile game maker Goichi Suda (aka Suda51), the first title is finally out. Available for Mobage on Android and in Japanese only, No More Heroes – World Ranker is marketed as a “social assassin...
If you thought that Japan’s online gaming industry solved the real-money trading (RMT) problem, think again: Japanese business daily The Nikkei yesterday ran a story on the phenomenon, pointing out that players sell off virtual items from hit game Dragon Quest X for real money. Dragon Quest X...
Gundam Royal, a social “space action” game offered on Mobage for feature phones and smartphones, now boasts 4 million registered users. Maker Namco Bandai released the title, which is based on Gundam, a super-popular Japanese anime series, in December 2010. Gundam Royal took 7 months to...
I have mentioned it multiple times in the past: the App Store and Google Play will see a flood of made-in-Japan card battle games in the next few weeks and months. Rage Of Bahamut, Dragon Collection, Deity Wars, Driland, or Dark Summoner were just the beginning. Now Tokyo-based (and listed) social...
By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry