Do we need another demonstration of how free-to-play mobile games are generating huge amounts of cash and changing the entire market?
Well, we're certainly going to get them, and this week's example comes courtesy of Japanese publisher GungHo Online.
It's a puzzle
It's being in the business for over a decade, most famously running the Japanese servers for Korean online game Ragnarok.
It's also something of an umbrella organisation, operating developers such as Game Arts, Acquire and Gravity, not to mention recent US subsidiary GungHo Online Entertainment America.
And on that level, it's a fairly substantial company, with revenues of over $100 million in 2011.
So - as pointed out by Japanese consultant Serkan Toto - how come GungHo (current market cap $2.2 billion) is now worth more than Zynga ($1.98 billion)?
Blowing bubbles
One answer is its free-to-play game: Puzzle & Dragons.
Downloaded over seven million times on iOS and Android, the RPG/puzzler has been the top grossing app on the Japanese iPhone App Store since March 2012.
It's since been released in Korea and North America (not yet Europe), although Japan provides the vast majority of revenues.
Of course, we don't know how much revenue GungHo Online (3765:JP) is generating from the game, although we will get to see its 2012 financials before too long.
GungHo Online's share price over the past 12 months
Plus, it's always worth pointing out that a valuation based on share price is a product of market sentiment not necessarily underlying economics.
For example, DeNA or GREE could be trying to buy the company, artificially raising the share price.
Nevertheless, it still remarkable that the success of one game with less than 7 million active users can boost its publisher's worth past that of global player such as Zynga, which has around 200 million active monthly users.
News
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
Top Stories
News
4 hours, 4 minutes ago
Nintendo releases first official statement on "the successor to Nintendo Switch"
News
4 hours, 33 minutes ago
Microsoft closes Mighty Doom dev Alpha Dog, Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks and more
Feature
5 hours, 27 minutes ago
Mobile Mavens: The industry has its say on Squad Busters ability to draw in “untapped audiences” with its “influence from a range of genres”
Feature
8 hours, 14 minutes ago
Hot Five: Supercell’s Squad Busters supremacy, Brawl Stars bounces back, and a games industry journey at King
Feature
8 hours, 34 minutes ago
April 2024 mobile game charts: Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile loses launch momentum and Brawl Stars’ astronomical rise
Events
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 7th |
Valencia Indie Summit 2024 | Europe | May 16th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
WN Conference Istanbul 2024 | Jun 11th | |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Develop: Brighton 2024 | Europe | Jul 9th |
Mobidictum Meetup Barcelona September 2024 | Europe | Sep 1st |