Cultural adaptation of social games for Japan

In business, sooner or later you realize that you need to explore new markets, reach a different audience. Asia is a good solution for such initiatives. Several billion people, hundreds of thousands of avid players, new opportunities in the field of monetization. But, it is worth noting, a completely different mentality, culture and perception of the world.

Entering the gaming market in Japan is a severe test. Users have a huge selection of products, and competition among manufacturers is fierce. A real hardcore for an app developer. But this risk is justified. The Japanese are a nation of active players, having managed to win their favor, you will get an army of loyal, gambling users and a recognizable brand. 

We have taken by storm the popular gaming platforms Mobage and Mixi, which are home to a fifth of the local population. To please Japanese users, we had to radically revise the interface and logic of the game. We decided to tell you a little bit about how it happened.

1. Change your appearanceWhen our company Nika Entertainment began to bring the game “The Mysteries of Atlantis” to Japanese platforms, we made a lot of changes to the project: this is the entire visual part, from the screensavers to the characters.

I had to work on the color scheme: in the Japanese game everything had to be bright, without dark colors.

We have completely removed creatures even remotely resembling mutants in order to avoid any associations with the events at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Compare the international and Japanese versions of the “game compass”:

The closest attention was paid, of course, to the heroes. After all, the Japanese are used to the doll-like appearance of the characters, huge shiny eyes, sharp sweeping movements, small torsos and fantasy costumes. Now it is the standard for the entire Japanese entertainment industry.

Notice how the game environment and the heroine herself have changed. Even the bridge was redrawn in accordance with the eastern architecture:

We also had to change the soundtrack: add more national percussion and wind instruments, build a melody in accordance with recognized local standards. However, the Japanese like to discover something new, so players can appreciate an electronic melody or a dynamic guitar background; experiments are not superfluous here.

2. New mechanicsFor Asian markets, it is often necessary to change more than just the interface.

If we were coming out in China, then any online game would have to be optimized and simplified so that it would work on the weakest devices. Japan or South Korea is a different culture, a different approach to quality, where developers are required to work flawlessly and there is an opportunity to endlessly complicate the mechanics of the game.

3. The New EconomyVirtual products have value, so things and accessories for characters can be sold very expensive.

The main thing is to make them unique and attractive to the Japanese player.

The Japanese are aimed at achieving results in the “right”, natural way – without using accelerators, bonuses and purchase loopholes. But they are willing to buy extra lives to make the game cycle last longer. We took this into account when putting up price tags for virtual goods. 

4. The Art of ArgumentThe Japanese like to compete with each other in almost everything.

Not only sports, but also intellectual competitions are very popular in Japan. Many educational institutions, public and other organizations have their own sports teams, for which the Japanese excitedly support. The reason for making a bet, a dispute or even a long-term competition can be any everyday trifle. The Japanese tend to openly show their prowess, brag about their successes and achievements. Considering these national traits, Nika Entertainment has optimized the interface by adding notifications, for example, that a friend has broken your record, passed more levels or made some progress. Now there are such functions in other versions, but they are not used as often as in Japan.

5. On-site supportThe population of Japan is a rather pedantic people, and the attitude towards players should be appropriate – both in the game itself and in gaming communities.

It is very important to respond quickly to all comments, listen to the opinions of users and their suggestions. Your slightest delay will be perceived as disrespect. Therefore, you just need local support and community management.

All this, of course, requires a lot of material and time costs. Based on the results of our work in the Japanese market, we have made the following conclusions about how to win the recognition of Japanese users:

1. Don’t be afraid to radically change the product – both externally and internally.
2. In fact, you should have a separate design team that will remake the game for another market. The more detailed the culturalization, the more time and money it requires. On the other hand, you need to react very quickly, you can’t delay with the completion of the game. Competitors, unfortunately, do not waste time and may well release a similar product at the same time with you.
3. It is worth creating a separate company or branch in the Japanese market and giving them the maximum possible freedom in operational decisions. You can also use high-quality local outsourcing. You are not creating a product for the Japanese, but together with the Japanese.
4. User testing is required. It should be conducted by local psychologists, local analysts will analyze the results, because you yourself will never be able to understand the logic of Japanese decisions.
5. Do not try to create advertising campaigns that evoke emotions that are understandable to you as Europeans. Trust the local experts.

All these conclusions were not easy for us, but it was worth it. The game “Mysteries of Atlantis” has been held in the top of games on the Japanese Mobage platform for more than 40 weeks.