Japanese game makers Nexon Co. and Koei Tecmo Holdings Co. say they have found success through a partnership model, turning proven hits from the traditional console market into mobile-friendly versions for the smartphone era.
Nexon and Koei Tecmo have found success by joining together on two projects: Last years Three Kingdoms and the recent release of Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed. Sales, including in the U.S., have outperformed expectations so far, Park Ji-won, chief executive officer of Nexon Korea, said in an interview in Seoul. Mr. Park declined to give further details.
Most consumers, said Mr. Park, dont have 10 mobile gamesyou have three or four or maximum, five on their smartphones. As a result, in recent years, the top-selling mobile-game charts have calcified, he added. It rarely changes.
Mobile games represent $50.4 billion of $61.9 billion spent at app stores last year, according to App Annie, which predicts that mobile-game sales could double to about $105 billion within five years.
Much of that market is based in Asia, where the majority of revenue and game developers are based. China is the worlds largest gaming market at $24.3 billion, followed by the U.S. at $23.5 billion and Japans $12.4 billion, according to Newzoo, a videogame industry market researcher. South Korea is the worlds fifth-largest market at $4.1 billion. These figures are for all types of gaming.
In the future, developing games for traditional consoles and smartphones could blur further. Koei Tecmo has about 40 people dedicated to developing technology that could support different platforms simultaneously, says Yoichi Erikawa, the Yokohama, Japan-based firms chief executive, in the interview.
