From April this year some free apps have started to appear in the top 10 on the App Store. Some of them are social battle games played in browsers.
The top positionwas taken by a Free app.

Zynga had Mafia Wars and other apps in the App Store but they didn’t sell. Pincus also bagged the App Store. But recently each of the apps has In-App purchasing being put into them and re-appearing on the App Store.

Vampires, MafiaWars, StreetRacing are being invested into.

iPhone and iPod Touch apps that use In-App purchasing are a rare occurance in Japan. Will people really play them? .. is, I get the feeling, the (fair) question still being asked. But the big players have done them, so they must be big.

But whay have they taken this path? Facebook may have reached it’s limits – that may be the answer. My thoughts are that the purchasing of In-App currency will soon be announced s ok by Apple, and Zynga are preparing. (My source is someone overseas, mum’s the word).

By the way Zynga’s apps use item purchasing (iTunes link),

The Godfather by iMob uses virtual currency that you have to purchase.

iKnights 46 Magic（iTunes）

The Storm 8 app also uses monetization.
Kingdoms Live-34 Legend Points（iTunes）
Pets Live Flicker（iTunes）

The browser games are in the RolePlaying and Strategy categories, others have also been released. In the Japanese app leadeboards, 8 of the top 100 are battle games and 3 are social-type games. A farmville type game is #1.
You could say that recently 10% of downloaded iPhone apps are social games I think the same will happen with Android.
The first wave of social games for iPhone have arrived.

So, should Japanese social app companies just go ahead and make a Galapogos-type social mobile game?

north 5 mins from Umeda. It's the brown bld in front.

Our main dev. studios are Osaka and Tokyo, each focussing on the skillset the staff have acquired. Tokyo: Japanese mobile game dev. Osaka: Global social games, smartphone RnD.
I’m based in Osaka bu travel at least once a week to Tokyo. We plan to relocate the Tokyo office again soon.

エントランスのロゴ。

I have relocated offices many times, more than 10, I hold a certain philosophy about it.
- A stylish office is one that makes people want to visit. It also attracts staff.
Previously Dragon Quest 8 (level 5) CEO stated this.(but not in this link).
- Functional. We reworked many times the layout and network placement.
- A stock room, server room, client meeting room and relaxation area are all required.
- Air conditioning! This time alongside the central system we also added individual air conditioners.
- Meeting space. A private meeting area as well as an open public one. 1 per 20 people I think.

I made a shortlist of 20 or so locations, provided the above draft to the staff in meetings and decided on the final location.

This is what we decided on.

On the day of the move, putting in the network is fun.

Looking in from the entrance. We have keyless fingerprint security by Secom.

Development. The desks are all from Ikea, 5000 yen ea.

The opposite end is empty. We are recruiting^^

Do we have a library, relaxation space or beds?

Meeting space. Just right for a 6 person social app dev team.

Entrance from inside.

Our interior was done by our longtime associates, Vis Co Ltdです。
When we introduced them to other games companies, several have used them for interior design.
This is not a wall decoration, it’s holding up the wall. Stylish hey.
This time we used cloth on the wall surfaces, giving it a real warmth.

Rather than just increase effeciency, we want our team to like their environment – I think this is what counts.
There’s plenty more tod do, but we’ll get those issues sorted ^^;