Japan Social Game Growth on Android and iOS
Japan is home to some of the biggest names in computer gaming with Xbox the only major non-Japanese brand in the market. Future growth, however, is moving away from consoles and towards social and mobile gaming applications. With the slowdown in the growth of console games and concomitant increase in the social gaming market, it is expected that social gaming will be the dominant platform by 2015.
When it comes to social gaming, the Japanese statistics are totally different from the rest of the world. For one, the games are mostly home-grown – it is impossible to make inroads in the Japanese market without localization and Japan-ization.
Localization is not only limited to changing the language to Japanese but altering graphics to incorporate Japanese place names and posters. Culturalization addresses the issue of being Japanese-appropriate. A straight translation of the game app might not take into account the Japanese culture in terms of in-game character behavior. Porting social media games to take advantage of localization and culturalization means the difference between guaranteed failure and a fighting chance. In most instances, getting help from a third-party experienced in localization and culturalization jobs would be the only path to follow before launching the app in Japan.
Besides the above, there is the issue with the gaming platform. Currently, Android and iOS platforms have snatched a combined 50 percent of the market for smartphones. The remaining 50 percent is composed of feature phones which are sold only in Japan, resulting in greater market fragmentation than the rest of the world. This may be a barrier to selling more games, but also an opportunity to have a foothold in the Japanese market. The key is to port the games to run on local feature phones. Normally, this would be a daunting task. However, since the developer would also need to reprogram for localization and culturalization, overhauling the program would incur merely a one-off cost.
Any developer entering the Japanese market should also have a partner as a conduit for promoting and accepting payment for the apps. These partners should be established companies which have a complete roster of games. Of course, the developer has the less burdensome option of simply licensing the app to these channels. The developer only needs to sit back and relax while the money rolls in. Small companies may find this ideal. Larger companies with more games desiring a larger presence in Japan might opt for a more hands-on approach.
The prudent game developer has to understand the major differences between Japan and the Western approach to mobile and social gaming. Developers must have a “man on the ground” for a better understanding of what they should both do and avoid.
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About the Guest Author:
Rodolfo Lentejas, Jr. is a fulltime freelance writer based in Toronto. He is the founder of the PostSckrippt, a growing online writing business dedicated to producing top quality, original and fresh content. To know more about him, please visit www.postsckrippt.ca. Like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest.
