Ensemble Stars Music reigns as #1 in 2021 and overtook Twisted Wonderland's #1 position in 2020. Its large franchise and player base from “Ensemble Stars” and its excellent media mix marketing contributed to the success of the game.
Disney’s Twisted Wonderland, although dropping a spot in the rankings, still remained to be one of the most popular mobile games in Japan. It has recently announced the release of its English Version, coming this January 20, 2022, and an anime series to be released sometime this year.
Promise of Wizard moved up to #3 and is gaining popularity despite being released only in November 2019. It was considered to be a breakthrough in the industry by removing all romance-aspects commonly found in female-targeted games and focusing only on its stat raising gameplay and story and character development.
At #4 is Idolish 7, which celebrated its 6th Year Anniversary last August 2021. While Hypnosis Mic A.R.B., a rap music rhythm game, stands at #5.
New titles that made the ranking are Starlight Orchestra (released February 2021) , a game based on the popular La Corda D’Oro Series, and Helios Rising Heroes (released August 2020), a super hero themed stat raising game by the makers of Ensemble Stars.
Mobile games that feature bishonens (handsome, beautiful men) tend to pull the hearts of its players, and a strong attachment to the characters is created as players walk through the game. Making in-app purchases is a way for players to show their love for the characters, and spendings are justified as a form of support to the developers to create more content.
While high sales don’t really equate to being the most loved game, and we can’t really put a price tag on our love for favorite characters; in the end, game companies still need to generate returns on their investments in order to survive in a highly competitive market.
Any POPTiCS playing any of these games?
Which game is your favorite and which one do you want to try next?
Comment and discuss your opinions below!
Post written by Akane (popjapan.ph)
Data summarized by Akane (popjapan.ph)
Data Source: https://game-i.daa.jp/?cmd=tagselect&tag=女性向け