The presenter discusses the Japanese mobile game market. It is growing rapidly, with native apps driving most of the growth. Competition is intense but the top games can be hugely profitable. The top 10 games tend to have easy controls, encourage cooperation between players, tap into large potential audiences, and use graphics styles popular in Japan like anime. Success requires understanding what the Japanese market responds to.

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JAPANESE MOBILE GAME MARKET
Presenter: TADAO OGIHARA

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TODAY’S CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET IN JAPAN
III. COMMON FACTORS AMONG TOP 10
GAME APPS IN JAPAN

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I. INTRODUCTION
1. Presenter
Name: Tadao “TAD” Ogihara
Job Title: Project Manager/Director/Planner
• Started my career in this industry 3 years ago
• Before that, worked for Cirque Du Soleil, a world-renown
circus company

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2. Company
KLab Cyscorpions
• Subsidiary company to KLab Global Pte. Ltd.
• Multi-cultural organization in the pursuit of providing the
world’s best-loved services
• Planning, development, quality-
control and operation of
smartphone apps for both
global and Japanese market
I. INTRODUCTION

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2. Company
KLab Cyscorpions Products
I. INTRODUCTION

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2. Company
KLab Inc.
• Planning, development, quality-control and operation of
smartphone apps for Japanese market
• Considered as one of major mobile game companies in
Japan
I. INTRODUCTION

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2. Company
KLab Products
I. INTRODUCTION

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II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN
1. Global
• Total Sales in Mobile Game Market: $ 81 Billion
• Growth from 2013 to 2014: + 8.0%
• Estimated growth from 2014 to 2015: +8.0 %

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2. On-line Game Market in Japan: Share
PC/Console
SmartPhone/Tablet
Feature Phone
[2013]: 8.4 Billion Dollars
1.6 1.3
5.5 (65.4%)
[2014]: 9.3 Billion Dollars (+ 10.5%)
0.8
1.1
7.3 (78.4%)
• [Feature Phone] + [PC/Console] markets shrink
• [Smartphone/Tablet] Market Expansion
= On-line Game Market Expansion
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN
(Billion Dollars)

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4. Smartphone/Tablet: Share
• Native App is only one expanding in this market
• Though the above is obvious, some companies stay in Web Game still
$0
$2,000,000,000
$4,000,000,000
$6,000,000,000
$8,000,000,000
2013 2014
Native App
Web Game
$3.2 BLN
$2.3 BLN
$5.9 BLN
$1.4 BLN
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN

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5. Dynamics of Mobile Game Industry
• Mobile game history started with SNS platform
• Years later, Native App began taking over the majority of mobile
game market and expanded it
2007 Around 2012 2015
Platformer
Native App
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN

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II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN
6. Competition
[Past] There was a boundary between
console game and mobile game company
[Now] The boundary is off,
and the fight begins!

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7. Cost
 Production Cost: $1 Million (Minimum)
 Advertising Cost: $100 K/per month (Top ranking titles)
 Running Cost: Monthly $3~5K/ per member
These costs are forecasted to increase even more
Outsourcing a portion of the production from abroad
to downsize these costs
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN

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8. Sales
[Current Situation]
 Competition is expected to become even more severe
 Production and operation costs are likely to grow higher
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN

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8. Sales
[Current Situation]
 Competition is expected to become even more severe
 Production and operation costs are likely to grow higher
Why do we create a mobile game in this market?
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN

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8. Sales
[Current Situation]
 Competition is expected to become even more severe
 Production and operation costs are likely to grow higher
Why do we create a mobile game in this market?
BECAUSE IT BRING LOTS OF PROFITS!!
(ONCE IT IS RANKED HIGH in SALES!)
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN

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8. Sales
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Top 3 4 to 10 11 to 25 26 to 50 51 to 100
JAN, 2013
JAN, 2014
JUN, 2015
JAN, 2014: Over $50 Million
JUN, 2015: Over $100 Million
JAN, 2013 23.9 2.4 1.1 0.5 0.2
JAN, 2014 Over 50 8.5 4.5 1.9 0.8
JUN, 2015 Over 100 15.8 6.5 3.7 1.5
(Million $)
RANK RANGE
MONTHLY
AVERAGE
SALES
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN

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8. Sales (The Share of Top 100 Apps)
Total Native App sales in 2014 = $5.9 Billion
Top 100 Apps Sales in Jan, 2014 = $4.3 Billion
(Calculated based the given average sales from the previous page)
Top 100 Apps occupied 73% of total Native App sales
“Winner takes more, loser… won’t get much”
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN

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8. Sales
i.e.) Mixi
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
13.07-09 13.10-12 14.01-03 14.04-06 14.07-09 14.10-12 15.01-03 15.04-06
Sales
Net Income
(Million $)
PERFORMANCE
QUARTER
Deficit + App “Monster Strike” released
Not only the app overturned the deficit, but also it
increases the company sales more than x20.
II. MOBILE GAME MARKET in JAPAN

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 Top 10 Mobile Games in Japan
(As of August 1, 2015)
III. Common Factors among Top 10

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III. Common Factors among Top 10
The Common Factors among These Titles:
1. EASY CONTROL
2. COOPERATION (Sychronization)
3. POTENTIAL USER POOL
4. GRAPHICS

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1. Easy Control
Most of Top 10 games focus on “easy control”
“Easy-control” opens door to game as many potential users
as possible.
The images on the right are from App
Store. There are a common wording
among them.
III. Common Factors among Top 10

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1. Easy Control
What defines “Easy Control” ?
“One finger, One action”:
With such an effort, a lot of people are able to enjoy these games.
III. Common Factors among Top 10
Drag
TAP

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2. Cooperation
All Top 10 mobile games have some kind of cooperation system, either
fighting together or fighting against each other. There are 2 types of
cooperation.
A) Asynchronization: Operation-side Oriented
Player A
Player CPlayer B
Player D
EVENT PERIOD
III. Common Factors among Top 10

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2. Cooperation
B) Synchronization: User Oriented
Player D
Player B
Player A
Player C
Ready and GO!
EVENT
III. Common Factors among Top 10
- Becoming a popular choice among the top ranking titles recently

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2. Cooperation
B) Synchronization : User Oriented
III. Common Factors among Top 10

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2. Cooperation
B) Synchronization : User Oriented
Friends Bond
Older
Less
Time
HEAT UP
III. Common Factors among Top 10
# of Play↑
Sales ↑

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3. Potential User Pool
Ranking among Top 10 is established by many factors. One
of the most essential factors is acquiring a vast number of
players constantly.
Most of the titles in Top 10 have a “Potential User Pool” to
achieve this goal more efficiently than others.
III. Common Factors among Top 10

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3. Potential User Pool
SNS C2M
Media
Inheritance
III. Common Factors among Top 10

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3. Potential User Pool
SNS
III. Common Factors among Top 10

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3. Potential User Pool
CONSOLE MOBILE
III. Common Factors among Top 10
C2M
(Console to Mobile)

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3. Potential User Pool
III. Common Factors among Top 10
Inheritance
2014
2015
i.e.) COLOPL, Inc.

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3. Potential User Pool
Movie etc.
Game
Anime
Media
III. Common Factors among Top 10

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4. Graphics
Among Top 10 titles mentioned here, there are a few titles
using 3D graphic (Some are using both 3D and 2D). The rest
is using 2D graphics.
2D graphics used by these titles is the style of drawing
similar to the ones from Manga and Anime in japan.
III. Common Factors among Top 10

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Summary
1. Japanese mobile game market is expanding. Native app
is the most promising in the market.
2. A lot of competition is expected in the market. However,
you will be rewarded if you survive.
3. Sometimes Japanese market seems very different from
the rest of world. But if you look closely what the market
favors or what it doesn’t, you will see the common
elements you can implement.
…Thank you!

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…And