News

GREE's Japanese games failing to gain ground in the US

Lost in translation

GREE's Japanese games failing to gain ground in the US
GREE's global ambitions are well documented, but according to an analysis by gaming consultant Dr. Serkan Toto, the firm's Japanese IP is failing to go down all too well in the US.

The Tokyo-based Toto's numbers suggest that none of GREE's Japanese born games have managed to penetrate the top 1,000 grossing apps list for the US App Store.

 

Instead, it's the platform's western-focused releases that are leading the charge.

Numbers game

Using analytics data gathered from App Annie, Toto claims the number of downloads registered for the Japanese releases is also relatively low.

Of the five Japanese-made GREE games available on the US App Store, Driland has achieved the highest position in the iOS free app charts – reaching #499 in June 2012.

However, three of the five apps have never entered the US App Store's free app charts at all.

As stated, GREE's US-developed games are currently performing better in the region, however, justifying the social giant's decision to court western studios.

Glass half-empty

For example, Zombie Jombie, which GREE referred to its first game "made in the US, for a US audience" peaked at #5 in the US App Store's top free apps chart, and at #7 in the list of top grossing apps.

But just a few weeks later, GREE's other US game – Alien Family – reached only #94 in the top grossing apps rankings, despite peaking at #3 in the free apps chart.

"I think with three of five made-in-Japan games not even making it into the top 1,000 in the American App Store, GREE's numbers so far speak for themselves," explains Toto.

And, although GREE's US output seems to be faring better in the region, Toto notes that these games have been "pushed by an undisclosed but undoubtedly high amount of marketing dollars."

GREE's attempts to amass support from western-based developers is notably different to rival DeNA, which on the whole has preferred to talk up the success its Japanese games have enjoyed on Mobage in the US - Rage of Bahamut the most notable chart topper.

"So how do things look at this point? In one word: bad," adds Toto, who is pessimistic about GREE's chances of becoming a leading global platform.

Global GREELast week, PocketGamer.biz spoke to GREE's SVP of marketing and developer relations Eros Resmini, who was unsurprisingly much more optimistic on this issue.

"GREE is focused on building a global mobile social platform and as such, we plan to work with developers around the world to get the best content on the platform for users," Resmini explained.

"For us, that means working with developers in North America, Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Latin America – everywhere."

[source: SerkanToto]
Staff Writer

PocketGamer.biz's news editor 2012-2013