Exploring the Future Potential of Blockchain Games in Japan
Japan has a strong gaming foundation, making it an ideal region for the development of crypto games.Author: Footprint Analytics
Blockchain Games in Japan
Japan is one of the countries with the highest per capita profits in the global gaming market. Among them, the initial public sale amount of "My Crypto Heroes" reached 16,000 ETH.
Key Points:
- Japan has a strong gaming foundation, making it an ideal region for the development of crypto games.
- Popular cryptocurrency games in Japan include "My Crypto Heroes," "Captain Tsubasa RIVALS," and "Crypto Spells." Additionally, Line's NFT subsidiary plans to release five user-centered NFT games in 2023.
Japan is one of the most vibrant gaming markets in the world. Due to the popularity of gaming platforms like PlayStation (PS) and Nintendo, most people are very familiar with Japan's gaming industry. In addition to the traditional gaming market, Japan's crypto gaming industry is also rapidly emerging.
In addition to having a globally influential gaming industry, Japan is also one of the countries with the highest per capita profits in the gaming market worldwide. Japanese people have a deep affection for games and are willing to pay for them. Therefore, Japan's gaming market is very profitable.
If you want to learn more about the Japanese cryptocurrency market, you can click here to view the full report: ++Japan Crypto Market Report: Industry Trends and Future Prospects Study.++
Future Potential of Blockchain Games in Japan
Blockchain games are games built using blockchain technology, combining on-chain assets (cryptocurrencies, NFTs) to provide players with a more secure and transparent gaming experience.
In blockchain games, players can truly own the assets within the game. Moreover, all gaming actions, including transactions and exchanges, are recorded on the blockchain. By integrating blockchain technology, games can establish a more transparent and vibrant gaming economic system, allowing players to gain real economic value from the time and effort they spend playing.
"My Crypto Heroes" is an RPG battle game based on the Ethereum blockchain, launched in November 2018, and is Japan's first mature blockchain game. Since its release, the game has ranked first globally in terms of trading volume and daily active users. As of January 1, 2023, its initial public sale amount has reached 16,000 ETH.
Several major players in the Japanese gaming market are actively participating in the cryptocurrency field. This includes top publicly listed companies like Line. Line's NFT subsidiary also plans to release five user-centered NFT games in 2023. MIXI has also joined the Oasys blockchain and serves as a validator. In addition, Japan has some strong crypto-native companies, such as Double Jump and CryptoGames.
In summary, the blockchain gaming industry in Japan has three main characteristics:
- Solid Foundation: Japan's gaming industry has a long and rich history of traditional gaming, providing a solid foundation for the development of crypto games.
- Infinite Potential: Japanese players are known for their willingness to pay for high-quality games, giving Japan's blockchain gaming market enormous profit potential.
- Focus on Mobile Gaming: In Japan, mobile games are more popular than PC or console games, leading many gaming companies to prioritize the development of blockchain mobile games.
Overview of Japanese Blockchain Game Cases
In this section, we will introduce three relatively popular blockchain games in Japan and explore their opportunities and challenges.
My Crypto Heroes
"My Crypto Heroes (MCH)" is an NFT game developed by double jump.tokyo, originating from Japan. The economic foundation of the game is a GUM token. Since its release in November 2018, the game has amassed a large global user base and trading volume, allowing some players to achieve real economic gains.
The main gameplay involves collecting and training historical hero characters and using them to battle in dungeons (referred to as nodes in the game). Some heroes and game items are presented as NFTs, allowing players to trade among themselves.
From an economic perspective, the main economic cycle of MCH includes the following aspects:
- Quests: Players can use heroes to battle, earning experience points, crafting materials, and other expansion items as rewards.
- PVP (Player vs Player): Players can earn ranking points and items by participating in battles, which can be traded in the marketplace.
- Marketplace: Players can buy and sell their items and heroes using the in-game currency GUM.
- Land Activities: Players belong to a virtual nation called "Land" and participate in collection activities. These activities can increase the value of the nation's land and provide dividends in GUM.
According to Footprint Analytics data, although "My Crypto Heroes" has not consistently maintained a high number of active users, it has experienced several significant growth spurts in user activity. While these increases may seem modest, after several cycles of ups and downs, the game has successfully attracted a group of long-term participating users.
Recently, the development team has expanded their game development capabilities and launched "MCH Verse"—a Layer 2 Optimistic Rollup based on the game-specific Layer 1 blockchain "Oasys." This strategic move fully leverages the infinite scalability of blockchain technology, enhancing user experience and interoperability within the Verse.
Despite many mobile blockchain games tending to reduce on-chain resource usage and opting for more off-chain development to avoid complex on-chain functionalities, MCH still maintains a leading position in Japan's crypto gaming market. It quickly adopts and integrates various technologies to enhance the gaming experience.
Captain Tsubasa RIVALS
"Captain Tsubasa -- RIVALS" is a blockchain game developed based on the famous manga "Captain Tsubasa." The books and manga of "Captain Tsubasa" have sold over 70 million copies in Japan, and the game has over 70,000 followers on Twitter. This game leverages its long-standing popularity and large fan base from the anime, combining a football theme with a dual-token mechanism to create a high-quality game.
There are two tokens in "Captain Tsubasa -- RIVALS": TSUBSAUT and TSUGT. They are used as in-game utility tokens and governance tokens, respectively. By borrowing from the model of Axie Infinity, the game can better balance its in-game economy and improve user activity by distinguishing between the reward system and the governance system, effectively reducing token price volatility.
However, since the launch of TSUBASAUT, its value in USD has been steadily declining. This may be due to its unlimited issuance and its primary use for player cashing out. The operating company has adopted a balancing system in an attempt to stabilize the price of TSUBASAUT within a certain range, but so far, the results have been minimal.
Similar issues have arisen in other blockchain games, such as Axie Infinity and STEPN. For potential players, it is crucial to understand how "Captain Tsubasa -- RIVALS" maintains long-term user liquidity before starting the game.
Compared to other tokens, the governance of the TSUGT token has remained stable since its launch. This is because the supply of TSUGT tokens is limited, and they have utility directly related to key game functions such as upgrades, making their performance more robust and reliable. Currently, the team, investors, and advisors collectively hold 37% of the tokens, which will be released within 12 months after the lock-up period ends, helping to maintain supply-demand balance and establish a stable token ecosystem.
However, despite the game adopting a dual-token system, its game mechanics are very simple: each player has three different character cards, compares the numbers on the cards, and conducts three rounds of repeated comparisons to determine the winner. Players need enough strategy to choose the order of number usage.
In fact, the game has been criticized for being overly simplistic, as players only need to compare numbers, and users cannot play without purchasing NFTs.
Despite facing some issues, "Captain Tsubasa -- RIVALS" demonstrates the potential of combining Japanese intellectual property with blockchain gaming, as well as the integration of NFTs, intellectual property, and gaming. This opens up new possibilities for blockchain games.
Crypto Spells
"Crypto Spells" is a popular strategic digital trading card game launched by Crypto Games in 2019. The gameplay is very similar to "Hearthstone" and "Gods Unchained." The game features a built-in wallet function (supporting iOS and Android), making it easy for newcomers who are not familiar with the crypto world to get started.
Crypto Spells uses the L2 system of "TCG Verse" running on Oasys L1. Similar to "My Crypto Heroes," its goal is to further expand the blockchain-based gaming system. Recently, they also launched a new series called "NFTWars," allowing verified NFT holders to create their own game cards. By expanding the number of NFT holders, players have the opportunity to earn some OAS (the native token of Oasys). This ecosystem has the potential to expand into the global market.
In Crypto Spells, players can battle using a deck composed of 30 cards. Each deck can contain up to two identical cards. Additionally, players can add three skills to their decks to increase strategic diversity and competitiveness. Through gameplay, players can accumulate battle points, which can be used to mint new cards and have a chance to obtain rare NFT cards.
Since the fourth quarter of 2021, the total number of users in Crypto Spells has experienced significant growth.
However, when we observe the active user data, we find that the game has encountered difficulties in maintaining growth momentum. While it has attracted new users, the growth of active users has been relatively limited. As the game more closely integrates players with the gaming universe (Verse), the situation may change, thereby increasing user engagement and activity.
Given Japan's deep gaming culture, Crypto Spells regularly hosts official and unofficial competitions, with unofficial competitions led by the community. These competitions are held both online and offline, attracting more fans from outside the crypto community. The game emphasizes a strategic display of player skills, making Crypto Spells an ideal ecosystem centered around gaming. Winners receive rare NFT rewards, which can be traded in the secondary market.
Conclusion
Japan's gaming industry is transitioning from traditional gaming consoles to the rapidly growing crypto gaming sector. The Japanese market is particularly attractive to project teams because people here are willing to pay for high-quality games. Although Japan's crypto gaming business is still in its early stages, it has already laid a solid foundation and possesses enormous growth potential.
To attract more players, project teams must continue to adapt to the rules of the crypto world and engage more players through captivating games and other marketing strategies.
