Yesterday, Rockstar Games released a fully localized version of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Japanese app store as more Western game brands invest in localizing and releasing iPhone apps. This comes at an opportune time for many Western gaming brands – not only is the Japanese games market showing signs of becoming increasingly insular on… Continue reading GTA Chinatown Wars Released On Japanese App Store As More Western Developers Use iPhone to Penetrate Insular Games Market
Tag: mobile games
DeNA (Mobage-town) Shuts Down Social Game “Bandit Nation” On Facebook
Back in May, Japan’s mobile gaming juggernaut DeNA ($3.8 billion market cap at the Tokyo Stock Exchange) took a serious step to bring Mobage-town (its highly successful mobile game community) global. DeNA formed a separate company for that endeavor (MiniNation KK) and localized a total of four games for Non-Japanese players, which were offered to… Continue reading DeNA (Mobage-town) Shuts Down Social Game “Bandit Nation” On Facebook
Japan’s Mobile Web Market Now Worth $17 billion. Virtual Items: $500 million.
Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications published an interesting report [PDF] about the country’s market for mobile content and services this week. According to the ministry, that market grew by 12% to hit 1.52 trillion yen ($17.3 billion) last year, including mobile advertising. The $17.3 billion breaks down into mobile commerce, which was worth… Continue reading Japan’s Mobile Web Market Now Worth $17 billion. Virtual Items: $500 million.
GREE Opens Its Platform, Attracts 30 Game Companies From The Start
Major Japanese mobile gaming social network GREE has taken a significant step yesterday: it’s now possible [PDF] for third parties to release games on the site (the move was announced back in January). Before, GREE offered its almost 20 million users self-developed titles only, meaning the company doubled as a platform and content provider. It… Continue reading GREE Opens Its Platform, Attracts 30 Game Companies From The Start