wraggster
June 30th, 2009, 17:23
New Japanese publishing powerhouse Tecmo Koei has been open about its aspirations in the Western market, but now the firm is pointing to the ever-growing casual sector for its next strategic expansion.
“We are very interested in casual games,” Tecmo Koei president and COO Kenji Matsubara told CasualGaming.biz. “But at the same time it is a very tough market.
“Koei and Tecmo are very good at targeting core gamers. But to expand our user base, it might be worth looking at casual gamer. But we understand it’s very tough and other publishers are already established in that market.
“So at this moment our strategy is, based on our core fans, to expand into the casual games space.”
The merger between Koei and Tecmo was finalised earlier this year, and was somewhat of a surprise considering Tecmo’s prior rejection of the advances of RPG powerhouse Square Enix.
Koei is best known for its Eastern-themed tactical brawlers such as Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. Tecmo, in contrast, boasts a rich back catalogue of IP such as Bomb Jack, Rygar and GunGriffon. In recent times its best known for hardcore hits such as Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive and Fatal Frame.
With its fan base very much cemented in the core gamer bracket, the deal earlier this year to snap up the distribution rights to Disgaea and Atelier Iris developer Nippon Ichi seemed very much in line with the pair’s natural heartland.
A move into the casual sector will certainly be a departure from the norm, but considering the size of the casual bubble perhaps not a surprising one.
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/28827/Tecmo-Koei-targets-casual-sector
“We are very interested in casual games,” Tecmo Koei president and COO Kenji Matsubara told CasualGaming.biz. “But at the same time it is a very tough market.
“Koei and Tecmo are very good at targeting core gamers. But to expand our user base, it might be worth looking at casual gamer. But we understand it’s very tough and other publishers are already established in that market.
“So at this moment our strategy is, based on our core fans, to expand into the casual games space.”
The merger between Koei and Tecmo was finalised earlier this year, and was somewhat of a surprise considering Tecmo’s prior rejection of the advances of RPG powerhouse Square Enix.
Koei is best known for its Eastern-themed tactical brawlers such as Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. Tecmo, in contrast, boasts a rich back catalogue of IP such as Bomb Jack, Rygar and GunGriffon. In recent times its best known for hardcore hits such as Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive and Fatal Frame.
With its fan base very much cemented in the core gamer bracket, the deal earlier this year to snap up the distribution rights to Disgaea and Atelier Iris developer Nippon Ichi seemed very much in line with the pair’s natural heartland.
A move into the casual sector will certainly be a departure from the norm, but considering the size of the casual bubble perhaps not a surprising one.
http://www.casualgaming.biz/news/28827/Tecmo-Koei-targets-casual-sector