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Author: Dan Gendro

Mobile games spell major success for GungHo Online

Dan Gendro | February 21, 2013

GungHo Online sees major revenue spike through mobile games

GungHo Online Entertainment, a Japanese game publisher, recently acquired Grasshopper Manufacture, an innovating game developer that has a strong focus on mobile games. Since the acquisition, GungHo Online has been seeing significant increases in its revenues, largely due to the popularity of mobile games in the Japanese market. Japan has long been on the cutting edge when it comes to technology and gaming, so it is no surprise that Japanese consumers have been adopting mobile technology en masse. This widespread adoption has given consumers access to a vast assortment of mobile games, but consumers have shown strong interest in a particular game that is netting GungHo Online a great deal of revenue.

Financial report notes GungHo Online pulling in $65 million in monthly revenue

GungHo Online recently released its latest financial report, which suggested that one of its mobile games is bringing in a proverbial fortune on a regular basis. The report highlights Puzzle & Dragons, which was developed by Grasshopper Manufacture. Game industry analysts claim that this single mobile game is bringing in more than $65 million on a monthly basis due to popular in-game purchases and advertising. The game is only a year old, having been released in February 2012, and boasts of more than 8 million users.

Company claims growth has yet to slow

The success of the company’s mobile games have lead to a spike in profits. GungHo Online saw its sales grow by more than 168% in 2012, with operating profits climbing a staggering 690% during the same period. GungHo notes that it is still see aggressive growth in mobile games. In January 2013 alone, the company reported that sales had reached $91 million, growing by 1,022% from what they had been in 2012.

Mobile games beginning to dominate the game industry

Mobile games continue to prove that they have become a very lucrative market for the game industry. These games had once been considered a marginal sector of the game industry that would never serve as more than a gimmick for consumers. Due to strategic in-game transactions and advertising, however, mobile games have become a very influential part of the game industry as a whole, with many developers that have long been focused on consoles now making the transition to become more mobile-oriented.

Mobile commerce making waves in Chinese retail

Dan Gendro | February 19, 2013

Mobile commerce sparks major growth in the retail sector

E-commerce is growing in China, backed heavily by an interest among consumers in mobile commerce. Jingdong Mall, the country’s largest online retailer, has announced receiving more than $700 million in funding from a consortium of investors that are interested in the company’s prospects in e-commerce. The funds are expected to help expand the company’s digital operations and new business ventures. Jingdong Mall is not the only retailer that has been seeing heavy investment activity recently. Several others have been finding success through a stronger focus on mobile commerce and the consumers enthralled by mobile technology.

Transaction volume growing quickly due to online shopping

According to a recent report from the E-Commerce Research Center, digital payment volume in China’s retail sector has been growing aggressively. By the end of December, 2012, online transaction volume in the retail market reached more than $160 billion, a growth of more than 64% over what this volume had been in 2011. The number of online shoppers has also increased in the country, reaching 247 million consumers by the end of 2012. Many of these consumers made purchases throughout the year using their mobile device.

Consumers show favor for mobile shopping

The growth of mobile commerce and e-commerce is expected to have a significant impact on physical retailers in the coming years. Many of these retailers in China has begun making the transition toward e-commerce, with tentative plans to abandon their old brick-and-mortar shops at some point in the future. Those that have no plans to embrace e-commerce may find some success through the adoption of mobile commerce, but this success may be short lived as consumers begin to favor online platforms for shopping.

Internet connection proves to be a problem for mobile commerce

The development of mobile Internet continues to gain speed in China. As consumers gain access to better Internet connections, they will be more likely to participate in mobile commerce. Currently, slow load times for e-commerce sites and digital retail services keep many consumers from participating in mobile commerce. The retail sector is working to alleviate this issue, however, in order to capitalize on the prospects of mobile consumers.