One theme was made apparent after the conclusion of the Tokyo Game Show—mobile gaming continued to flex its muscles as the dominant platform for games in Japan. In total, TGS exhibitors showed off 310 traditional console and handheld games, but a whopping 505 iOS and Android games. Now here at Chartboost, we’ve seen firsthand the swift growth of Japan on our revenue platform.
Back in February 2014, we joined forces with Distimo (acquired by App Annie earlier this year) for a partnered report. In an analysis of average revenue per download (ARPD) among apps in the Games category vs. average CPI in the Chartboost Game Network, by country, Japan displayed the strongest revenue potential globally. Japan owned the highest ARPD worldwide, which was also coupled with an average CPI that was less than a third of the ARPD. The analysis told us two things—the strong profitability and revenue potential for mobile games in Japan.
It goes without saying that Japan is on the short list of countries that developers want to target in the Chartboost Game Network. So for this month’s Top Creatives report, we placed a spotlight on Japan. From our analysis of the top performing creatives in Japan in August 2014, we identified three common themes–localization, creatives for Japanese games performing well locally, and creatives for Western games making an impact internationally.
Localize Creatives for Maximum Effectiveness
Localizing your creatives can pay dividends.
The first theme that stood out to us among the top creatives in Japan was the effectiveness of localization. One of the top creatives was for Harpan LLC’s card game Solitaire. The game’s creative is simple and straight to the point, featuring the app icon and the game’s title, Solitaire, translated in Japanese. Even the App Store badge is in Japanese. On the whole, creatives translated in Japanese experienced better performance than creatives in English.
Japanese-Developed Elemental Knights Online Caters to Local Audience
A creative for Elemental Knights Online portrays the title’s gameplay.
The Japanese gaming market is radically different from any other place in the world. Many of the hit games in Japan, from console games to mobile games, never release outside of the country or release internationally with less-than-stellar results. Japanese gamers have a distinct taste for certain styles of game genres and visuals, but those tastes have been broadening in the past few years.
For example, you can take Winlight’s Elemental Knights Online—a real-time, free-roam MMORPG with anime-like visuals. Elemental Knights Online’s gameplay is right in a Japanese gamer’s wheelhouse, which is why one of the top creatives in August 2014 was for this game. The creative elicits exactly what type of game Elemental Knights Online is. At first glance, an experienced gamer can quickly interpret gameplay elements in the two screenshots of the game. The creative demonstrates the game’s free-roam action RPG gameplay in the top half, and in the bottom half, the creative shows off the real-time, online aspect of the game.
Creatives for Western-Developed Games Perform Well in Japan
A creative for Western-made The Sims FreePlay made a splash in Japan.
As we mentioned above, Japanese gamers are expanding their gaming horizons to more game styles and visuals. US-based developer EA is one of the many Western developers that had a top performing creative in Japan last month. A creative for life simulation game The Sims FreePlay was a top performer because EA paid close attention to detail. The call to action button, Google Play badge and game logo are all translated into Japanese. Additionally, the creative highlights one the title’s core gameplay elements of working a job—in this case, a chef.
We’ll continue to keep a close watch on emerging trends among creatives in Japan. Want even more insights on the top creatives in our network? Check out past reports here.