Despite Monster Strike being the #1 grossing mobile games globally, developer Mixi has been forced to rethink its western expansion plans.
Working closely with Facebook in North America, it had launched a big UA campaign in February 2016, which included TV ads.
However it now appears that initiative hasn't performed as expected, with the Japanese company reporting it's suspended large scale marketing because of the competitive nature of the US market.
China-bound
Instead Mixi is looking closer to home.
The game, which generates over 90% of its revenue as the #1 title in Japan, has gained strong traction in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, which effectively act as easily accessible Chinese market,
It has over 5 million downloads in the region and Mixi is now looking to use that base to re-enter the Chinese market proper.
Great minds
In looking to China for future growth, it's following the strategy of GungHo Online.
Like Monster Strike, its Puzzle & Dragons was a #1 Japanese and global top grossing game.
However, with a population of 120 million, it's hard to continue year-on-year growth within the Japanese market.
Puzzle & Dragons is now five years old, while Monster Strike was released three years ago.
After many delays, Puzzle & Dragons has now been officially launched in China with market giant Tencent, so it will be interesting to see who Mixi decides to work with in China.
Yet, there are differences between the games. For one thing, Puzzle & Dragons managed to find an audience in North America, gaining over 10 million downloads in the region.
That said, the vast majority of its revenue is still generated from Japanese players.
