Only lazy people don’t talk about the success of Puzzle & Dragons in Japan: 25 million downloads, conquering the top 3 box office games on iOS, Android and 3DS, earning over $ 1 billion. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, everything is not so smooth: a slow starting acceleration and “only” 3 million downloads per year.
However, GungHo is optimistic about the future. In an interview with PocketGamer.biz The executive director of GungHo Online Entertainment America, Jan Iwasaki, shared plans for the development of the game in the USA and Europe.
One of the main directions in which the company plans to move its title is active work with advertising networks and further development of co-branding programs. Now GungHo is successfully cooperating with such IP as Evangelion and Batman. Plus, we recall that the company promoted Clash of Clan in Japan with the help of co-branding. But the game itself will not develop as a marketing platform. Partnerships and co-branding for the sake of the game, not the other way around.
Iwasaki also shared some interesting facts about the Western release:
- At the moment, the retension of Western and eastern gamers into the game is almost the same. After the launch in the USA, there really were problems related to the lack of game events, but now they are solved;
- The console audience is slightly younger than the smartphone audience;
- The target audience of the game on both sides of the ocean are core- and mid-core gamers familiar with the JRPG genre, aged 10-24 years;
Before the release of Puzzle & Dragons, it was mainly known for hosting Ragnarok Online servers.