Image source @ Visual China
Text | DataEye
The two-dimensional theme of hand swimming out to sea, Japan is a must-fight place. According to Tencent's TGDC data, the revenue of secondary products accounts for up to 40%, contributing 4 billion yuan of revenue per year.
Source: Tencent TGDC
Looking back at 2021, in addition to the "Original God" in 2020, "White Night Aurora" and "Blue Files" are both new forces of China's two-dimensional mobile swim to Japan, and they perform well on the Japanese income list.
Source: SensorTower
But surprisingly, the three games are not highly bought in Japan.
01 There are not many materials to buy, and most of them are not sustainable
According to DataEye-ADX overseas edition data, "White Night Aurora" is less in the Japanese market. Although the iOS side accounted for 6.14% of the game's total overseas materials (the most), the peak was only 57 groups. The Google Store is even smaller, with only 4 sets in total.
"White Night Aurora" iOS and Google Play trends in Japan
Similarly, although the proportion of double-ended is ahead of other countries and regions (iOS: 76.92%; Google Store: 52.42%), the peak is only more than ten groups.
"Blue Files" iOS and Google Play trends in Japan
Even the intensity of "Original God" is not outstanding. The iOS side peaked at 52 groups and slowed down after about half a year. Although the Google Store side keeps serving intermittently, the peak is only 44 groups.
IOS and Google Play trends in Harashin Japan
The "noticeable" dragonfly dot water delivery on the channel is the norm in recent years when Chinese and even local mobile games are launched locally, including the two-dimensional games such as "Ark of Tomorrow".
Despite the purchase volume of the Buddhist system, it is obviously not a fluke to be able to enter the top 20 games in Japan.
There is no viral delivery, a set of traditional marketing methods, but to help them stand out.
02 Traditional channel marketing invests a lot of resources
Compared with the ever-changing domestic environment, Japan relies on the advertising of traditional channels, and routines tend to be modeled.
Known as the "kingdom of newspapers," Japan still accounts for 5 of the world's 10 most circulated newspapers, despite the onslaught of digitization. According to statistics, 469 out of every 1,000 Japanese subscribe to newspapers, and each family maintains 0.86 newspapers (data source: Japan Press Association).
It is conceivable that these figures will be more one-sided before digitalization prevails. Influenced by the print media for a long time, the Japanese people have become more willing to receive information from traditional media.
Also in the publishing industry, Japan is a "manga kingdom", and its manga monographs and various weekly magazines are even internationally renowned. Surrounded by books and magazines for a long time, people are more willing to go out of their homes to bookstores, and the attractive shop bonus is a major factor in attracting Japanese people to queue.
In my opinion, due to the influence of industries such as the newspaper and publishing industries that have flourished in the past, Japanese players have become dependent on traditional media, preferring to obtain intelligence from these channels and pay attention to their evaluation of products (games).
The product of the slow (long) culture of physical magazines and books has also penetrated all aspects of the Japanese people, and the operation of the long stream has won the popularity of the people.
Warm-up beforehand
According to the official Japanese twitter release of "Hara God" and "White Night Aurora", the advance reservation of both games exceeded one million, 3 million and 1 million respectively, which can be described as a win at the starting line.
The official clearance chart of "White Night Aurora" with 1 million people in reservation
Pre-appointment is already a normal way of warming up, unlocking the corresponding game rewards through the accumulation of people, but this plays a more important role in Japan.
In the early stage, through the release of game intelligence, the audience can see the exquisite standing drawing, story overview, gameplay, etc. In addition to attracting players with intelligence itself, the participating voice actors, illustrators and even songwriters can attract a considerable group of potential fans.
This information is usually brought out exclusively by authoritative media, such as Famitong, 4gamer, etc., and reservations will also appear on the official websites of these established media and some mainstream large-scale game collection websites, so that Japanese players who like to queue up can drink this "head soup".
TV/Print Advertising
In Japan, where traditional media and physical stores are still favored by the people, print advertising has a cost-effective advantage.
According to statistics in Japan, Akihabara had 250,000 passengers per day before the new crown epidemic (the daily passenger flow after the epidemic was also 150,000, data source: wikipedia).
According to statistics, the reach rate of Japanese TV advertising reached 72.4%, while tram advertising had 54.4%, and the print advertisements of stores and stations had a reach rate of 30% or more. Although the purchase reach rate in mobile phones/computers is close to 40%, it has the disadvantage of not being cost-effective and not vertical enough.
Source: MarkeZine
It is conceivable that the crowd (which can be widely considered a vertical user) who travels to famous landmarks in the second dimension, such as Akihabara and anime stores, will see the exquisite characters and illustrations of the game products in front of the station, during the ride, and when they arrive at the destination.
In addition to the spectacular scene, it can also trigger a communication effect on social media.
A single release can be seen by more than a million people in a week, which is far more expensive and vertical than the purchase volume on electronic devices.
"White Night Aurora" advertisement in the storefront of Akihabara
Advertisement for the "Blue Archives" on the Akihabara tram route
"Hara Shin" Akihabara "private" advertisement
"Original God" is covered by advertisements on trams
The crowd that watches the animations broadcast by various TV stations every day is also a wide range of vertical users, and TV ads between dramas can be described as the most direct way to users.