The japanese company has unveiled its third mobile game, Fire Emblem Heroes. It uses an economic model that is very efficient on a smartphone, the “gacha”, where the random and the lottery have a central place.
And three! On Wednesday evening, Nintendo unveiled its third foray into the world of mobile in less than a year after the social network Miitomo and the game Super Mario Run. The japanese company target this time fans of its gaming license tactics Fire Emblem, which will be available on smartphone into the application Fire Emblem Heroes. These strategic battle between the armies of the enemy will arrive on February 2, on Android devices. The opportunity for Nintendo to test a new economic model, after the performance in half-tint Super Mario Run.
Despite more than 50 million downloads on the iPhone in December, Super Mario Run has sparked the ire of a large part of mobile users. Only three levels of the game are available for free ; to unlock the twenty following, the player must pay ten euros. “Scandal”, “scam”, “too expensive”: in a few hours, the comments outraged have flourished on the App Store, dropping the note application to two small stars. Bet Nintendo was risky: on a smartphone, players have for years been accustomed to the free games with paid options (free-to-play). According to the firm Newzoo, only 3% of people who downloaded the Super Mario Run have bought the full game. The amount gained is far from being negligible, but not enough to make Super Mario Run a machine to cash as was able to be Pokémon GB. The game quickly disappeared from the top 10 applications in the most profitable in the United States.
With Fire Emblem Heroes, Nintendo drops the fee to go to a particular type of system free-to-play: the “gacha”. The application is free, but to facilitate its progress, the player can unlock heroes from different games to Fire Emblem. Their statistics for the battles are varied and some can be really powerful. To get these characters, the player must use magic stones that will, at random, one of the characters from the series. Chance: this is the key to the system of so-called “gacha”, which made the fortune of the publishers of mobile games in Japan.
“Gacha” comes from “gachapon”, these small machines that are found at every street corner in Japan and who have experienced their hour of glory in the centre commercial in French. The user inserts the equivalent of a euro, turn a crank and get a random little toy. In Japan, manufacturers are increasing the trading figures of the same theme. Often, the user of gachapon will draw the figure the less pretty ; great will be the temptation to put a coin to try his luck.
The principle of the “gacha” has been copied into the mobile games of the archipelago. A very powerful can be won by participating in these online lotteries that are embedded in the application. If it does not pull the jackpot, the player will start with an interesting object. To enter the draw, the player must use the game’s currency, purchasable for real money. The probability of obtaining the coveted award is very low. In January 2016, the mobile game Granblue Fantasy had been controversial. The publisher had promised to double during the three days the chances of getting through the lottery a character very rare. Of people have filmed their trials: one of them has spent more than 6,000 euros before to draw this character.
The japanese publishers of mobile game earned more than $ 7 billion in 2015 thanks to this system. The players in the title of the most lucrative, Monster Strike (Mixi), spend 350 euros per month! It is an average, and the majority of users of Monster Strike have never put a penny in this application. conversely, some players are capable of spending that much money. It is often in adults 30 to 40 years winner of their life. The industry nicknamed “the whale”.
the effectiveness of The gacha is such that this economic model has begun to make its appearance in the games western, as the Clash Royale (SuperCell), Rocket League (Psyonix) or Overwatch (Blizzard). For Fire Emblem Heroes, Nintendo has promised to set limits. “The miners will not be able to spend more than 12,000 yen per month,” explained the company in the business newspaper Nikkei. Is 98 euros per month, or 1200 euros per year.
No comments:
Post a Comment