作者：James Nouch

在GREE于2011年4月以1.04亿美元的高价收购了OpenFeint前，他们已经面向全球市场展开了激烈的进攻。

而最近，GREE几乎每个月都会宣称其投入了数百万美元用于进军西方市场。

我们当然知道GREE拥有极其雄厚的资本，但是日本游戏公司在西方市场中到底取得了多大的成功呢？为了找到问题的答案，我们研究了App Store的排行榜。

美国之梦

发行于2012年3月的免费游戏《Zombie Jombie》是GREE旗下一款重要的游戏。

Zombie Jombie（from pocketgamer）

《Zombie Jombie》是GREE旧金山工作室创造的首款游戏，并且那时候GREE也表示这是他们第一款“在美国制作，并面向美国用户”的游戏。

Zombie Jombie（from App Annie）

（上图是《Zombie Jombie》在iPhone的美国App Store最畅销游戏排行榜单上的表现）

可以看出这种有针对性的策略在某种程度看来是有成效的。

一经发行这款游戏便挤进了iPhone最畅销游戏榜单的前25名，但是这种热潮也很快便退却了。下载量迅速下跌，在4月末，这款游戏甚至掉出了免费游戏榜单前1000名之外。

而在5月初，它又奇迹般地回到榜单上——也许这是该公司支出的高额用户获取成本所带来的结果。

反正不管什么原因，玩家开始疯狂地为游戏消费，从而推动着《Zombie Jombie》在2012年5月18日攀上了畅销游戏排行第6位（最好成绩）。

可以看出《Zombie Jombie》在5月份和6月份都取得了不错的成绩。但是在7月份，其下载量再次急剧下滑，并导致其排名也逐渐滑落。

Zombie Jombie（from App Annie）

（《Zombie Jombie》在美国畅销免费游戏排行榜单上的表现。可以注意到5月份下载量急速攀升。）

从2012年8月份开始，《Zombie Jombie》在畅销游戏排行榜单上的排名开始出现下滑——并且这种下滑至今还未得到恢复。

之后游戏的艰难发展

尽管《Zombie Jombie》未能取得巨大的成功，但这却是该公司面向全球市场所迈出的第一步。

所以GREE仍需要为此投入更大的努力。虽然该公司在推出《Zombie Jombie》几周后又发行了另一款游戏《Alien Family》，但是它的最好成绩却只能到达iPhone美国最畅销游戏排行榜单的第74位。

5月份，GREE再次面向西方市场发行了《海盗时代- 卡片对战游戏》。尽管在越南的畅销游戏排行榜上排名12，但是在美国却只到达735位。

之后几周该公司又推出了《Cerberus Age》，并且其到目前为止的最好成绩只到达美国畅销游戏排行榜的361位。

在GREE的第一方游戏中的成功案例真的很少，但是其中也有1，2款大热门的本土游戏。如GREE于2012年10月所发行的《Monster Quest》便在发行后几天内攀上了美国畅销游戏排行榜单的第27位。

Monster Quest（from App Annie）

（《Monster Quest》在iPhone美国畅销游戏排行榜单的表现。）

自那以后这款游戏的排名虽然出现了稍许的下滑，但是直到今天它仍保持在前100名榜单内（游戏邦注：现在的排名为96）。

有趣的是《Monster Quest》的应用描述中添加了Funzio.com论坛的链接，从中我们可以发现GREE最近的成功很大程度取决于其2.1亿美元的收购行动。

Funzion前来营救

GREE于2012年5月投入了巨大资本收购了Funzio，这美国工作室的游戏组合无疑是GREE开拓西方市场的主要武器。

《罪恶都市》是Funzio于2011年8月所推出的一款游戏。自发行以来该游戏，及其iPad版本《罪恶都市HD》（发行于2011年11月）从未离开美国畅销游戏排行榜前100名的位置。

《Modern War》的表现更加出色。发行于2011年11月的该游戏截止至今日从未掉出iPhone畅销游戏排行榜前50名的位置。

Modern War（from App Annie）

《Modern War》在iPhone畅销游戏排行榜单的表现。

《Kingdom Age》紧随其后于2012年4月问世（即在GREE收购Funzio的前一周）。尽管攀上了畅销游戏排行榜单第10位，但是这款游戏却不及Funzio其它游戏所取得的持续成功。

Kingdom Age（from pocketgamer）

从中我们可以看出，Funzio的出色成绩标志着GREE面向西方市场的游戏组合将迎来明朗的发展前景。

同时从排行榜单的变化来看，我们也发现GREE极高的用户获取成本并非总是能够帮助他们获得高盈利的用户基础。

尽管我们很容易将GREE当成是一家徒有资本的大公司，但是至少其关键性的收购行为（即投入2.1亿美元收购了Funzio）能够有效地推动着该公司进一步开拓西方游戏市场。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

The Charticle: Is GREE’s first-party thrust failing to win over western gamers?

by James Nouch

Even before its $104 million acquisition of OpenFeint back in April 2011, GREE had been pursuing a path of aggressive global expansion.

But these days, it seems as though hardly a month goes by without GREE announcing that it’s spent a few hundred million dollars furthering its assault on the western market.

So, we know that GREE has deep pockets, but how successful has the Japanese corporation actually been in its pursuit of western gamers? To find out, we’ve been scouring the App Store charts.

The American dream (with zombies)

Launched in March 2012, free-to-play undead deck-builder Zombie Jombie was a significant release for GREE.

Zombie Jombie was the first title produced by GREE’s San Francisco studio, and at the time, GREE referred to the game as its first title “made in the US, for a US audience.”

Zombie Jombie’s performance in the US App Store’s top grossing games chart for iPhone. All analytics data courtesy of App Annie.

This targeted approach worked – to an extent.

The game broke into the iPhone’s top 25 grossing games chart at launch, but enthusiasm soon began to wane. Downloads dropped off fast, and by the end of April, the game was no longer listed in the top 1000 free games chart.

But, at the start of May, the game unexpectedly rocketed back into the charts – perhaps as a result of some hefty user acquisition spending.

Whatever the cause, these players quickly began spending in-game, and Zombie Jombie climbed to its peak of #6 in the top grossing games chart on 18 May 2012.

May was a good month for Zombie Jombie, and it fared well in June, too. By July, though, downloads were once again beginning to drop off dramatically, and that slowly translated into a drop in the grossing charts too.

Zombie Jombie’s performance in the US top free apps chart. Notice the enormous download surge in May.

By August 2012, Zombie Jombie had begun its downward slide through the top grossing charts – a slump that it hasn’t yet re-emerged from.

The difficult second western game

So, Zombie Jombie may not have set the world on fire, but it was a fairly solid first effort for a company with its eye on global success.

Unfortunately, though, GREE’s subsequent efforts have struggled even more. Alien Family launched just a few weeks after Zombie Jombie, but it only ever managed to reach #74 in the US top grossing games chart for iPhone.

In May, GREE launched Pirates Age – Card Battle Game, which also struggled in the west. Despite reaching #12 in Vietnam’s top grossing games chart, Pirate Age peaked at just #735 in the US.

Cerberus Age launched just a few weeks later, and its highest position to date on the US top grossing games chart has been #361.

Success stories in GREE’s first-party portfolio are few and far between, but there are one or two home-grown hits in the lineup.

For example, GREE launched Monster Quest in October 2012, and it climbed to #27 in the US top grossing games chart within just a few days of launch.

Monster Quest’s performance in the US grossing games chart for iPhone.

Since then, its performance has dropped off a little, but the game remains in the top 100 grossing games chart, for now – currently placed at #96.

What’s interesting, though, is that Monster Quest’s app description contains a link to the forums at Funzio.com, which suggests that GREE’s latest success might actually be down to its $210 million ace in the hole.

Funzio to the rescue

GREE spent big to acquire Funzio in May 2012, but the US studio’s suite of titles are easily GREE’s top first-party performers in the west.

Crime City was launched by Funzio back in August 2011. Since then, the game has never left the top 100 grossing games chart in the US, and neither has its iPad equivalent, Crime City HD (launched in November 2011).

Modern War has fared even better. Launched in November 2011, the game has enjoyed an almost uninterrupted spell in the top 50 grossing games chart for iPhone since release.

Modern War’s performance in the top grossing games chart for iPhone.

Kingdom Age followed in April 2012 (just weeks before Funzio was acquired by GREE). Despite climbing to #10 in the top grossing games chart, the title never quite matched the consistent grossing success attained by its stablemates.

It’s clear, then, that Funzio’s output represents a notable bright-spot in GREE’s western portfolio.

It’s also clear that GREE’s notoriously high user-acquisition spending hasn’t always resulted in a well-monetised userbase – as far as the grossing charts tell us, at least.

But while it’s easy to portray GREE as an irresponsible big spender, it seems that at least one of its big-money acquisitions – the $210 million purchase of Funzio – may yet prove to be a shrewd move in its ongoing western expansion.(source:pocketgamer)