#Arthur monster strike android#

The game’s premium currency, orbs, are for - among other things - obtaining new and exclusive monsters from the game’s random “hatcher” - the English name for the gacha mechanic. In Monster Strike, it was especially tough. This is thanks to the way Mixi designs its title’s “gacha” (random draw system),” notes Toto.įree-to-play games have to convince players that spending money is a good thing - which is a pretty tough obstacle to overcome sometimes. “In Japan, it’s known the game focuses a lot on very high-spending users: both the ARPU and ARPPU of Monster Strike are said to be multiple times higher than that of Puzzle & Dragons, for example. Monster Strike is one of Japan’s biggest app money makers. While some of these collaborations would not have worked well for an audience outside of Japan, like Ultraman and Doraemon, others, like Street Fighter and the megapopular anime Evangelion, would have grabbed some attention from curious players and perhaps also inspired casual players to engage more regularly had they been adapted for the English version. In addition, the Japanese version of the game received several “collaboration” events with other famous media properties that gave players a chance to obtain exclusive monsters and play limited-time dungeons. Players would see news on fansites about all of the cool monsters, events, and interface improvements happening in Japan with no clear timetable of if or when they’d see them in their version of the game. But at several points in time, the North American game was many months behind its Japanese counterpart. It’s understandable that Monster Strike’s content would lag somewhat behind its parent in Japan - localization takes time and effort to implement, after all, and some things need to be tailored to a different market. What did Monster Strike do wrong? Here are some of the mistakes Mixi made, from least to most egregious. “I think the game is, at its core, really made for a domestic user base (gacha monetization, high frequency of events, art and sound, etc.), so Mixi was facing a huge challenge from the get-go,” says Japanese mobile game industry analyst Dr. Were it not for a few major mistakes, the game could have been, if not a massive mega-hit, at least a sustainable source of side income for Mixi. But for those who’ve played the game since its English inception in 2014, this marks the tragic end of a great mobile game whose international release was stunningly mishandled.

Many longtime players were waiting for the other shoe to drop: Things already weren’t looking good when Mixi decided to suspend marketing in North America late last year. While Monster Strike continues to see international success in Taiwan, Mixi has finally decided to pull the plug on the English version (which covers North America and Australia), stating that the game will cease service by August of this year.

The mainland Chinese version shut down in 2015, followed by the Korean version last year.

#Arthur monster strike android#

It frequently ranks among the top-grossing mobile apps on both Android and iOS, boasts over 40 million downloads (in a nation of 127 million people), and it has spawned a devoted fanbase who watch an anime adaptation, go to special Monster Strike-themed live events, and even attend concerts featuring the game’s music.īut despite runaway success in its home country, things haven’t been as rosy for Monster Strike abroad. Mixi Inc.’s Monster Strike is a mobile juggernaut in Japan. We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Summit Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of 'Playing the Edge.' Apply to speak here and learn more about sponsorship opportunities here.