GungHo Online Entertainment was only a blip on the radar last year, until a little game called Puzzle & Dragons landed on the iPhone in February 2012. A mix of Bejewled and Pokemon, the game’s casual gameplay, polished graphics, and tight social integration spread like wildfire in Japan. Now available in English and on Android, the game is set to take on the world.
The basic game experience is free, but the user has a choice to buy Magic Stones for 99 cents each. This item allows the usage of the Rare Egg Machine, a randomized monster generator that sometimes nets the user a great (and sometimes not so great) ally in the game. With hundreds of monsters in the randomized pool, this can get pretty addictive if you’re trying to get a certain monster to join your team.
While 99 cents a pop doesn’t seem much compared to console and handheld games that cost $40-60, there’s power in numbers: the game currently generates around $3.75 million a day in Japan across 13 million users, which is over 10% of the country’s population. While most are content spending nothing, there are many who will unexpectedly pay hundreds of dollars, all with a smile on their face.
With this momentum, they recently surpassed the great Nintendo in stock value, shocking the industry as a whole. The shift to social games has been met with bitter disgust by hardcore gamers, but it’s impossible to ignore the great numbers that GungHo seemingly pulled out of a magic hat.
As the old saying goes, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. To cater to a whole new crowd, GungHo unveiled plans to release the game on Japan’s most successful console today, the Nintendo 3DS. Whether this game has in-game puchasing is unknown, but one thing is for sure: both parties are going to make lots of money.
Japan’s netizens on 2channel had a lot on their mind:
痛いニュース4 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 13:57:15.61 ID:UdYUgID6T
They’re making so much money8 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 13:58:39.71 ID:dv+7Gv/n0
The game industry is only profitable if it’s social now10 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 13:59:25.85 ID:CpI22M0WO
GungHo’s the one who knew how to beat Nintendo www15 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:00:47.80 ID:KKZnhL8J0
They’re not directly competing with Nintendo though23 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:03:09.02 ID:4+dFFeka0
>>15
The casual gamers on the Wii and DS went to GREE, Mobage, and GungHo
// ]]>
16 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:00:50.28 ID:QvOpHYm50
They're not that well known as a company compared to Nintendo though
I'm excited to see how low they can go when things turn sour17 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:00:51.17 ID:EtHOtySf0
GungHo beat them before GREE did19 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:01:51.21 ID:cXZKtUfy0
GungHo "What happened to that company that said they could beat Nintendo wwwwwwwwwwwwww"21 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:02:26.33 ID:PNAHBxv50
Nintendo's been doing bad, but GungHo's been doing good lately
I remember the days when they used to get flack for Ragnarok Online
Thinking back, maybe they were good at microtransactions from back then...26 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:03:21.25 ID:sUr00rVA0
It's amazing how Puzzle & Dragons grew, but there aren't any good characters
It's gonna get tough for them a few years from now
They've been doing collaborations lately with other companies, but they're not iconic like Mario, Pikachu, Zelda, etc.28 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:03:32.89 ID:mSwbZSCQT
GREE "Grrrrrrr"29 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:03:37.26 ID:7zGKnJQnP
Nintendo "Please teach us how we can beat social games"31 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:04:22.46 ID:FTVATDEh0
Well, Nintendo's not defeated yet
This isn't really a "how we beat" story yet w36 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:05:53.56 ID:h6+OPdu/0
Nintendo should do this too
They're overflowing with talented people
Gauge the audience for what they want on social networks or something37 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:06:07.22 ID:wyBclsD80
Well, this'll only last until new regulations kick in
News outlets love bashing microtransactions
They'll sink any ship if they feel like it44 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:08:52.01 ID:Xpz/AUp60
There's something wrong here
It just looks like speculative inflation at this point
I mean, there are only like 20 people working on this game
1 trillion yen made by a department of 20? Something's wrong84 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:16:53.38 ID:hGYmqFLxO
>>44
That's just how the world works right now52 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:10:29.47 ID:PNAHBxv50
I bet a ton of companies have ordered their teams to make a game just like this one58 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:11:30.32 ID:ekv8oseC0
I can just see the sour faces on GREE and Mobage
This is the result of them devaluing traditional games, bringing down the prices
Gaming platform isn't needed anymore, it's the age of the software company making their own terms60 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:11:43.17 ID:sUr00rVA0
The way GungHo is charging in Puzzle & Dragons is exactly the same as Ragnarok Online from 10 years ago
But back then, it wasn't as easy for casuals to get online to play
Smartphones are an easy gateway now to online gamingSimply put, now we can release MMOs on phones and succeed
61 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:11:53.95 ID:eHPBdVkbO
Nintendo should stick to what they do, they are a toy company.
There's meaning behind playing Mario and Zelda on consoles made by Nintendo.63 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:12:00.37 ID:klzpmZJ4O
I just can't wait until they crash70 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:13:34.13 ID:Tdwdwfzy0
I heard ex-Hudson staff made PuzzDra
It's made well, makes sense that this did well compared to just another game on the Wii81 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:16:04.97 ID:rL46vULg0
GungHo put me through some bad times during the Ragnarok Online days
Just hearing GungHo makes me feel sick
I guess those that play PuzzDra is too young to know GungHo's true shittiness90 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:17:57.81 ID:yRd56G710
>>81
They're not that shitty these days.96 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:18:54.50 ID:tAysyLrT0
>>81
This must be a piece of cake to manage compared to an MMO
They just sell those stones (in-game item)
I guess there's not much to screw up
103 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:21:09.83 ID:pvC+/uLA0
>>81
No no, see, the guys that know the shittness of the RO days is working on it, that's why it's better now
They've been to hell and back, so they're levelheaded even when they made 3-4 million a day
They're surprisingly steady...92 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:18:15.50 ID:8SEoXSAw0
Prices are going to suddenly hit rock bottom, and those who bought on trust alone will hang themselvse99 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:20:29.56 ID:pAT/I+DI0
>>92
They've been saying that for half a year now though w110 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:23:14.40 ID:havh3j8B0
Nintendo made a comeback with the DS
But now they're going downhill since they can't make something new115 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:24:19.86 ID:zGDK2LZF0
Don't expect it happening again, they're a one-hit wonder131 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:28:44.07 ID:yDT4+A8SO
I feel like the price is getting fixed
When's it going to burst?133 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:29:53.33 ID:e5/IP7WcP
Is this the one where you keep plugging money away to get rare items, until you're 100,000-200,000 yen in debt?143 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:31:30.97 ID:4+dFFeka0
>>133
This one makes little money per person, across many people145 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:31:49.26 ID:iem+yHOv0
>>133
You can still have a lot of fun for free
For a microtransaction game, it's a good one
That's what made it popular200 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:48:11.13 ID:Vn1b1n7BO
>>133
PuzzDra was the game to go againt that trendWhile traditional game companies were copying GREE and Mobage, another company was treading new territory, and then succeeded. Who knew it'd be GungHo...
142 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:31:27.21 ID:ElU9+mfF0
The era of playing core games at home is dead152 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:34:32.85 ID:bH4rMbS4P
To me GungHo equaled Ragnarok, but PuzzDra made more in one year what RO made in 10 years...
I wonder if RO will just get shut down w163 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:36:27.96 ID:ElU9+mfF0
PuzzDra is much more superior in money making than Wii U's Dragon Quest X166 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:38:02.26 ID:dIGjLJBv0
In gradeschool, I played Pokemon, Zelda, Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, etc. with my friends
I'm older now and having a baby soon, this news makes me sad
179 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:42:48.60 ID:CmBSZr0zP
RO and ECO are waning, but they're still making this much, thanks to PuzzDra199 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:48:09.13 ID:6NYbDoqEP
PuzzDra is well made, but you eventually get bored.
Are there any other GungHo games that do well?
Like that Puyo Puyo company, it's tough if you only have one hit game207 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:49:28.16 ID:iem+yHOv0
>>199
Princess Punt is a success if made by any other company, but PuzzDra is getting all the attention201 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:48:19.99 ID:d8QIoOox0
I tried PuzzDra for five minutes, deleted it
I don't get what's so fun about it w208 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:49:30.50 ID:dnQBYbPc0
This kinda makes you feel silly if you seriously spent time and made a good game246 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 15:00:13.78 ID:GmZLeaJHO
So this is reality.....
I don't like it74 : No Name@13th Anniversary: 2013/05/13 (Mon) 14:14:31.54 ID:RZlNAZiw0
I'll respect them if they're not a one-hit wonder
Though I'm guessing they'll be gone in about 10 years