Japan’s smartphone game industry, now estimated to be worth around 700 billion yen ($5.72 billion), is showing signs of maturing. At the same time, the cost of developing games has been soaring, due to the advance of smartphone technology according to a reports from Asian Nikkei Review.
Through capital and business tie-ups with Chinese partners, Japanese creators are securing the funds they need to focus on development. They are also opening doors to a massive market. Their Chinese backers, meanwhile, gain access to popular characters and other intellectual property.
For Motoki Arai, it’s business as usual. “We’re developing games just like we used to,” said the CEO of the Japanese production unit of Happy Elements Holdings, a Chinese gaming company. Happy Elements acquired Arai’s game studio in Kyoto in 2011. The Chinese parent has a separate unit in Tokyo — Happy Elements Asia Pacific — that handles administrative work.
Arai’s “Ensemble Stars,” a smartphone game that lets players train and produce fictional pop groups, was released in Japan last spring and became a hit. The parent company in the fall decided to release it in China. “Many Japanese companies hesitate to enter the Chinese market,” said Chiamin Lai, CEO of Happy Elements Asia Pacific. “We want to establish successful precedents to help bring Japanese content to China,” she added.
“A tie-up with a Chinese company provides a foothold for entering the vast market,” said Takashi Otomo, president of Tokyo game developer GAE. China’s overall gaming market is estimated to be worth more than 2 trillion yen, and the smartphone segment is expected to overtake Japan’s as the world’s largest.
Talkweb Information System, a Chinese company that offers online education and other services, acquired GAE in July.
Ledo Millennium, another Chinese gaming company, bought Osaka-based SNK Playmore, ostensibly to get hold of its popular titles such as “The King of Fighters.” “We need a partner who is well-versed in the local business culture and trends in order to launch related businesses, such as selling anime and goods in China,” an SNK director said. “Since Ledo officials were familiar with Japan, it was easy to build a good relationship.”
China’s Fuze Entertainment struck up a partnership with Osaka’s comcept, after the Japanese company asked for funding for new titles. Fuze decided to invest because it held comcept’s president, Keiji Inafune, in high esteem. Inafune used to work for Japan’s Capcom and is known as the man behind the “Mega Man” series of games.
Source: Asian Nikkei Review
