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Cat-on-roomba iPhone game from Japan may have just won the internet

Rick Martin Rick Martin
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One of the first computer games that I remember playing as a kid is Breakout. Since then there have been many re-imaginings of the iconic game, but I recently stumbled upon a unique one over on App Bank. It’s called Cat with Rumba (‘Neko no Rumba’ in Japanese), and by combining computer game nostalgia and the power of cute cats, this game may very well have just won the internet. If you’ve played Breakout before, the simple mechanics will be familiar to you. You simply move the paddle in the bottom of the screen to bounce your Roomba-riding cat around a very messy room. The cat-and-Roomba combo are actually a pretty hard target to miss, but the difficult part is cleaning up all the garbage before the 60-second timer runs out. In the process you can snatch up valuable treasure items too, adding to your collection as you go. When you completely clean the room, the cat does a really awesome dance as well! It is still just available to play in Japanese, but it’s simple enough to play even if you can’t read the text. If you’d like to give it a try, you can download it for free…

cat-with-rumba-icon

One of the first computer games that I remember playing as a kid is Breakout. Since then there have been many re-imaginings of the iconic game, but I recently stumbled upon a unique one over on App Bank. It’s called Cat with Rumba (‘Neko no Rumba’ in Japanese), and by combining computer game nostalgia and the power of cute cats, this game may very well have just won the internet.

If you’ve played Breakout before, the simple mechanics will be familiar to you. You simply move the paddle in the bottom of the screen to bounce your Roomba-riding cat around a very messy room.

The cat-and-Roomba combo are actually a pretty hard target to miss, but the difficult part is cleaning up all the garbage before the 60-second timer runs out. In the process you can snatch up valuable treasure items too, adding to your collection as you go. When you completely clean the room, the cat does a really awesome dance as well!

It is still just available to play in Japanese, but it’s simple enough to play even if you can’t read the text. If you’d like to give it a try, you can download it for free over on the App Store [1]. Even though it has yet to really catch on, even in Japan, it’s a super fun game and I really recommend you check it out!

cat-with-rumba-2 cat-with-rumba-2

  1. I should note that this app did crash a few times for me when I installed it. So you may or may not experience the same thing. Good luck!  ↩

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GungHo’s ‘other’ mobile game, Princess Punt Sweets, passes 6M downloads

Rick Martin Rick Martin
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While Japanese gaming publisher GungHo Entertainment has made huge headlines based merely on the performance of its smash hit Puzzle & Dragons, we shouldn’t forget that the company has another popular title for mobile in Japan called Princess Punt Sweets. Originally released back in late 2012, the game has surpassed the six million downloads milestone as of June 9, a significant achievement for the company. It took less than six months to reach this target, putting the game on roughly the same million-downloads-per-month pace that Puzzle & Dragons has kept up for so long. Of course the title is nowhere near the money maker that Puzzle & Dragons is, but in fairness, that’s an incredibly tough act to follow. Princess Punt Sweets has fared respectably well on the top grossing charts for both iOS and Android, with at 36th and 18th for those stores respectively. Of course the big question is, how well can GungHo’s games perform in markets outside Japan? Personally, I like both games [1] and I think they both have global appeal, P&D because its just a brilliantly executed game on every level, and Princess just because it’s cute, and the aiming (kicking) mechanism is similar to…

princess-punt-sweets

While Japanese gaming publisher GungHo Entertainment has made huge headlines based merely on the performance of its smash hit Puzzle & Dragons, we shouldn’t forget that the company has another popular title for mobile in Japan called Princess Punt Sweets.

Originally released back in late 2012, the game has surpassed the six million downloads milestone as of June 9, a significant achievement for the company. It took less than six months to reach this target, putting the game on roughly the same million-downloads-per-month pace that Puzzle & Dragons has kept up for so long.

Of course the title is nowhere near the money maker that Puzzle & Dragons is, but in fairness, that’s an incredibly tough act to follow. Princess Punt Sweets has fared respectably well on the top grossing charts for both iOS and Android, with at 36th and 18th for those stores respectively.

Of course the big question is, how well can GungHo’s games perform in markets outside Japan? Personally, I like both games [1] and I think they both have global appeal, P&D because its just a brilliantly executed game on every level, and Princess just because it’s cute, and the aiming (kicking) mechanism is similar to that of Angry Birds [2].

Princess is a fun game though, and if you’d like to check it out, you can get it over on the App Store or on Google Play. GungHo’s promotional video is below. (Via Gamebiz.jp)

  1. I confess I’m especially hooked on Puzzle & Dragons, as I have explained before.  ↩

  2. I should note that a previous version of Princess was released for markets outside Japan, with what could be described as only very limited success in a few markets around Asia.  ↩

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Tamagotchi’s still got it: Gobbles up 2.5M downloads in 90 days

Rick Martin Rick Martin
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Readers may remember a few months back when we told you about Bandai’s new Tamagotchi smartphone app, which just been released at the time. Here in Japan, the Tamagotchi smartphone app is a paid offering, but Bandai offered a localized free-to-play version for the US. It’s called Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. And the company has just announced that it has surpassed 2.5 million downloads since its initial release, a decent initial result for that market. The L.i.f.e. app (what were they thinking when they named this?) first became available on iOS on March 28, and the Android version followed on February 14. 1.5 million of the total downloads to date have been on the iOS platform. The paid Japanese versions of Tamagotchi for smartphone have performed much better (even though they are paid) with the iOS version ranking no lower than fourth in the ‘family’ category on the Japanese App Store since its release. Similarly over on Google Play, the paid app has been a top 5 mainstay in the casual category for months [1]. While all these numbers still relatively modest, it’s a promising start. For Bandai to leverage its older IP like this, it should serve as an example to…

tamagotchi

Readers may remember a few months back when we told you about Bandai’s new Tamagotchi smartphone app, which just been released at the time. Here in Japan, the Tamagotchi smartphone app is a paid offering, but Bandai offered a localized free-to-play version for the US. It’s called Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. And the company has just announced that it has surpassed 2.5 million downloads since its initial release, a decent initial result for that market.

The L.i.f.e. app (what were they thinking when they named this?) first became available on iOS on March 28, and the Android version followed on February 14. 1.5 million of the total downloads to date have been on the iOS platform.

The paid Japanese versions of Tamagotchi for smartphone have performed much better (even though they are paid) with the iOS version ranking no lower than fourth in the ‘family’ category on the Japanese App Store since its release. Similarly over on Google Play, the paid app has been a top 5 mainstay in the casual category for months [1].

While all these numbers still relatively modest, it’s a promising start. For Bandai to leverage its older IP like this, it should serve as an example to companies like Nintendo who have yet to bring characters like Mario to the smartphone [2].

Bandai says that it plans to release an updated Tamagotchi Generation 2 this summer, with new features and characters. The company will also bring smartphone versions of Tamagotchi Angel in 2014. That’s not quite the blistering development schedule we’ve become accustomed to from modern day mobile developers – but it’s certainly faster than Nintendo.

Tamagotchi-mobileapp

  1. This is according to app metrics company App Annie (iOS, Android).  ↩

  2. It should be a lesson for Nintendo, but as we all know, Nintendo has not been the best at learning such lessons of late.  ↩

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Japanese tower defense game ‘Samurai Defender’ now available globally [Video]

SCORE 1,370 Rick Martin Rick Martin
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I recently stumbled across a fun Japanese tower defense game mobile called Samurai Defender, which was developed by Tokyo-based Link Kit. I’m not familiar with any previous work from this company, but this title seems like a lot of fun so far. The game lets you play the role of an archer, tasked with picking off charging invaders one by one from your perch atop the castle wall. You can earn gold coins to upgrade your firing power and speed, fortify your castle, or invest in ‘schemes’ for your back-up army, which can be called upon at times in the game. So far I’ve been having a lot of fun with this game, as aiming and firing arrows can be lots of fun, requiring you to make the most of your shots before the enemies arrive at your castle walls. If you’d like to try Samurai Defender, you can get it for free over on the App Store or on Google Play. It is free to play, and is monetized with in-game purchases. If you’re in the market for other made-in-Japan tower defense titles, do check out my personal favorite Battle Cats, or even Gotcha Warriors. The title has been…

samurai-defender

I recently stumbled across a fun Japanese tower defense game mobile called Samurai Defender, which was developed by Tokyo-based Link Kit. I’m not familiar with any previous work from this company, but this title seems like a lot of fun so far.

The game lets you play the role of an archer, tasked with picking off charging invaders one by one from your perch atop the castle wall. You can earn gold coins to upgrade your firing power and speed, fortify your castle, or invest in ‘schemes’ for your back-up army, which can be called upon at times in the game.

So far I’ve been having a lot of fun with this game, as aiming and firing arrows can be lots of fun, requiring you to make the most of your shots before the enemies arrive at your castle walls.

If you’d like to try Samurai Defender, you can get it for free over on the App Store or on Google Play. It is free to play, and is monetized with in-game purchases.

If you’re in the market for other made-in-Japan tower defense titles, do check out my personal favorite Battle Cats, or even Gotcha Warriors.

The title has been available in Japan since March, and just recently became available globally this week. For a better idea of how the game is played, see our video demo below.

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