This text is a part of an ongoing sequence of data-driven articles from PocketGamer.biz and information.ai (previously App Annie) highlighting tendencies within the world cellular video games sector utilizing information.ai’s Recreation IQ analytics.
Whereas Apex Legends cellular incarnation has been a worldwide success, the sport’s success within the notoriously difficult Japanese market has been a standout, remaining within the high 10 video games by obtain for 54 consecutive days.
information.ai leveraged its gaming intelligence suite to interrupt down how Apex Legends cracked the market.
Japan is without doubt one of the world’s largest and most profitable markets for videogames of all types. Whereas the nation is the eleventh largest on the planet by inhabitants, it was the world’s third largest cellular video games market within the first half (H1) of 2022 with a shopper spend of over $6.7 billion.
International gaming hub
Japan can be a worldwide powerhouse in terms of recreation growth with most of the world’s best-loved titles rising from growth studios throughout the nation. This will results in charts that are stuffed with home-grown titles – which may improve the difficulties of success for titles developed abroad.
So how did Apex Legends obtain chart success? The info.ai platform offers perception into customers and helps them create a localised technique, based mostly upon extra knowledgeable decision-making.
The sport consists of a number of key options that play very effectively inside the Japanese market, together with:
A concentrate on robust characters and mental property (IP)
Japanese avid gamers could be seen to react favourably to heroes/character-based content material. To place this in context, Apex Legends changed Disney as essentially the most downloaded IP by whole app downloads in Q2 2022, throughout iOS and Google Play.
Advertising and marketing with a neighborhood flavour
EA centered arduous on localised promoting for person acquisition and was cautious to focus on the most well-liked platforms. Within the case of Apex Legends, EA noticed its share of voice on YouTube rise from 3.3% to 7.4% three weeks post-release, and from 0.33% to three.6% on Twitter.
EA additionally localised its promoting artistic, selecting a definite cell-shaded anime type which differs from the in-game graphics.
Offline, the corporate partnered with the Koshigaya Rice Paddy Artwork Government Committee in Koshigaya Metropolis, Japan to sponsor the creation of Bloodhound rice paddy artwork in a discipline seen to commuters on a busy practice line. Viewers may scan it to win prizes.
Understanding participant sentiment
Apex Legends scored extremely by way of participant opinions. information.ai’s Scores Over Time operate, which reveals historic rankings for an app reveals greater than 80% of reviewers in Japan rated it 5 Star for iPhone, in comparison with 72% for PUBG Cell and 62% for Knives Out.
It is price noting that information.ai subscribers can go deeper and analyze opinions by ‘subjects’ comparable to ‘efficiency and bugs’, ‘design’ and many others to assist prioritise ache factors that avid gamers are discovering in rival video games.
Obtain Now
DATA.AI’s Q2 2022 Cell Market Pulse Prime Apps and Video games provides even higher perception into the worldwide cellular markets and the efficiency of the main apps and video games in key areas worldwide. The report is offered free and could be downloaded right here.
Discover Out Extra
In case you’re having fun with the insights from information.ai, you possibly can pay attention in to the corporate’s new Recreation Changers podcast, which takes a deep dive into completely different points of the worldwide cellular video games market.
