THE BRIDGE

tag ponos

Now with over 5 million downloads, Battle Cats gears up to move merchandise

SHARE:

So while I’m on the topic of Japanese tower defense games today (see my post from earlier today on GotchaWarriors), I thought I’d take a moment to update you on Battle Cats, a game that has been a favorite of mine over the past year. Since its initial release back in November, the game has gone on to hit three million downloads on February 25th, and then 4 million on March 26th. And keeping up that million-per-month pace, the game hit 5 million downloads just over a week ago. Now I don’t want to make any radical comparisons here, but that’s not far off the pace of Gungho’s hit game Puzzle & Dragons, which has been picking up a million downloads every three weeks or so. Of course Battle Cats – or Nyanko, as it is called in Japan – doesn’t have non-stop TV ads like P&D, so I think this is a pretty impressive feat. Serkan Toto today pointed out a Battle Cats collaboration with Princess Punt Sweets, and I’m sure efforts like this certainly help out a little. When I interviewed Kyoto-based Ponos last month, the publisher behind the uber-cute game, they confirmed that merchandising was in the…

battle-cats-5-million

So while I’m on the topic of Japanese tower defense games today (see my post from earlier today on GotchaWarriors), I thought I’d take a moment to update you on Battle Cats, a game that has been a favorite of mine over the past year. Since its initial release back in November, the game has gone on to hit three million downloads on February 25th, and then 4 million on March 26th. And keeping up that million-per-month pace, the game hit 5 million downloads just over a week ago.

nyanko
bbxx.jp

Now I don’t want to make any radical comparisons here, but that’s not far off the pace of Gungho’s hit game Puzzle & Dragons, which has been picking up a million downloads every three weeks or so. Of course Battle Cats – or Nyanko, as it is called in Japan – doesn’t have non-stop TV ads like P&D, so I think this is a pretty impressive feat. Serkan Toto today pointed out a Battle Cats collaboration with Princess Punt Sweets, and I’m sure efforts like this certainly help out a little.

When I interviewed Kyoto-based Ponos last month, the publisher behind the uber-cute game, they confirmed that merchandising was in the works for Battle Cats. And now fans of the game can pre-order some gear right now, as branded mugs, tote bags, and phone straps will go on sale this July (h/t Appbank).

But it’s really encouraging to see such strong character branding here in Japan, where game companies can capitalize on an entirely separate revenue stream.

If you have yet to play Battle Cats check out our video primer below.

With over 4M downloads, crazy ‘Battle Cats’ game from Japan still has some surprises in store

SHARE:

One of my very favorite mobile games over the past year has been Battle Cats (known in Japan as Nyanko) from Kyoto-based game developer Ponos. It’s a pretty simple tower defense title, but the unique cat heros and strange enemies give the game a very distinct, very weird character. Even though it only launched back in November, the title already has more than 4 million downloads, and that’s without the assistance of any of the major game platforms like GREE or Mobage [1]. I recently had a chance to speak with a Ponos representative about their very unusual game. I was surprised to discover that there was an i-mode version of Battle Cats before these latest smartphone titles for Android and iOS. And while the Japanese and English version have some differences, both were created to have the appearance of a movie parody. While the title can’t really be called a runaway hit, I find I keep coming back to it because I just have a hunch that there’s a lot of potential for more growth here. Our video demo of Battle Cats over on Youtube has a crazy amount of comments from overseas users, which has really surprised me….

battle-cats-4-million

One of my very favorite mobile games over the past year has been Battle Cats (known in Japan as Nyanko) from Kyoto-based game developer Ponos. It’s a pretty simple tower defense title, but the unique cat heros and strange enemies give the game a very distinct, very weird character. Even though it only launched back in November, the title already has more than 4 million downloads, and that’s without the assistance of any of the major game platforms like GREE or Mobage [1].

I recently had a chance to speak with a Ponos representative about their very unusual game. I was surprised to discover that there was an i-mode version of Battle Cats before these latest smartphone titles for Android and iOS. And while the Japanese and English version have some differences, both were created to have the appearance of a movie parody.

While the title can’t really be called a runaway hit, I find I keep coming back to it because I just have a hunch that there’s a lot of potential for more growth here. Our video demo of Battle Cats over on Youtube has a crazy amount of comments from overseas users, which has really surprised me. Most of it is simply players looking to share invite codes, but to me it is a pretty strong indication of an active overseas fan base. I asked the folks at Ponos if they have been surprised that players outside Japan are taking such a liking to Battle Cats:

Well, the truth is that there was hardly any marketing. So you could say it is pure organic growth. I didn’t think of Battle Cats as a hit outside of Japan before. I must say I’m surprised myself. We are currently examining how to appeal to a broader audience, outside of Asia, where people know less about Japan and might have trouble connecting with the various places, treasures and characters.

Profitable cats?

god-cat
God Cat iPhone wallpaper, anyone?

But is the game making any money? It has done well on the top grossing charts in Japan, and on Android it has been a top 50 grossing app in Taiwan and Singapore too. The company declined to disclose any details about its revenue for the game (players can buy cat food to purchase in-game items) but they say that Battle Cats is “doing fine” in terms of income.

What can we expect in the future for Battle Cats? I’m told that they are working on some new content, including new original characters and attacks. These are coming in one of the next updates.

Given the ‘kimo-kawaii’ nature of the game [2], I was also curious to know whether or not the company intended to get into merchandising, like many other popular mobile games these days. They affirm that this is indeed the case, and that they are speaking with a number of companies, looking forward to having a lineup of Battle Cats merch “in the near future.”

Finally I had to ask about the very difficult chapter 3, round 48 that both myself and a number of readers have been having difficulty with. The Ponos rep tells me:

I will answer this not as employee but from experience. As the campaigns get increasingly more difficult you need to efficiently use ranged attacks and shield characters in order to defeat the enemy.

While I haven’t spent too much time trying to beat this round recently, I noticed that there have been some double-chance ‘Treasure Festival’ events in the game recently (see below), where players can then make an effort to improve the power of their cat army. I think if you keep an eye out for such events, and follow the strategy above, then the round should be beatable.

I’m looking forward to seeing the new content when it’s published, and it will be interesting to see if new additions to the game can sustain Battle Cats’ recent success. Stay tuned!

battle-cats-treasure-promo


  1. I’d even consider putting Line in this class these days, given the dominance that we’re seeing from that platform recently.  ↩

  2. I recently learned this word. Thanks Emily and Serkan!  ↩

Japanese tower defense hit ‘Battle Cats’ marches on, now with 4 million downloads

SHARE:

The Japanese tower defense game Battle Cats from Kyoto-based developer Ponos has just surpassed 4 million downloads, this according to Gamebiz.jp. This comes shortly after the title passed the 2 million downloads milestone just last month. The game was initially released for iOS back in November, with the Android version following at the end of December. The title has been a top 50 iOS app in Japan for the majority of 2013, and a top 5 stallworth in the strategy category. The Android version has done even better, starting out a little slow, but staying in the top 25 of all Android apps for Japan since early January, with the exception of a few days. Personally I’m a huge fan of this game, and I’m really glad to see it doing well. I confess, that Puzzle & Dragon’s has displaced Battle Cats somewhat in my gaming time, but if I can ever get past chapter 3, round 48, then I expect my addiction will re-kindle pretty quickly. While I haven’t yet cracked the problem of beating chapter 3, some readers have inquired about beating chapter 2. So here’s a short video (above) which gives an overview of that round. I…

The Japanese tower defense game Battle Cats from Kyoto-based developer Ponos has just surpassed 4 million downloads, this according to Gamebiz.jp. This comes shortly after the title passed the 2 million downloads milestone just last month. The game was initially released for iOS back in November, with the Android version following at the end of December.

The title has been a top 50 iOS app in Japan for the majority of 2013, and a top 5 stallworth in the strategy category. The Android version has done even better, starting out a little slow, but staying in the top 25 of all Android apps for Japan since early January, with the exception of a few days.

battlecats

Personally I’m a huge fan of this game, and I’m really glad to see it doing well. I confess, that Puzzle & Dragon’s has displaced Battle Cats somewhat in my gaming time, but if I can ever get past chapter 3, round 48, then I expect my addiction will re-kindle pretty quickly.

While I haven’t yet cracked the problem of beating chapter 3, some readers have inquired about beating chapter 2. So here’s a short video (above) which gives an overview of that round. I hope it helps!

If you’re a fan of Battle Cats, feel free to share your tips or invite codes in the comment section below.

Tower defense game ‘Battle Cats’ now rules the Japanese app store

SHARE:

Battle Cats, the crazy mobile tower defense game from Japanese developer Ponos, has gradually worked its way up to become the top free iOS app in Japan, after its initial release back in November. The title recently upgraded to version 1.2, adding some special sales in-game which have likely helped its recent popularity. (Update: It looks like the game has been knocked to number two by ‘Like Me,’ a new portrait doodle app.) I’ve been a huge fan of this game from the outset, especially its very unusual sense of humor [1]. The variety of strangely named cats and enemies are so much fun, and if you haven’t played it yet I encourage you to check it out. Battle Cats launched on the Android platform at the end of 2012, and isn’t doing too bad on there either. Currently it’s the top ranked casual game on Google Play, and is ranked 13th overall. The game recently surpassed the 2 million downloads milestone, and now that its getting a little exposure in the number one iOS spot, I imagine that 3 million is only a couple of weeks away given its recent momentum. For a closer look at Battle Cats, check…

battle-cats

Battle Cats, the crazy mobile tower defense game from Japanese developer Ponos, has gradually worked its way up to become the top free iOS app in Japan, after its initial release back in November. The title recently upgraded to version 1.2, adding some special sales in-game which have likely helped its recent popularity. (Update: It looks like the game has been knocked to number two by ‘Like Me,’ a new portrait doodle app.)

I’ve been a huge fan of this game from the outset, especially its very unusual sense of humor [1]. The variety of strangely named cats and enemies are so much fun, and if you haven’t played it yet I encourage you to check it out.

Battle Cats launched on the Android platform at the end of 2012, and isn’t doing too bad on there either. Currently it’s the top ranked casual game on Google Play, and is ranked 13th overall.

The game recently surpassed the 2 million downloads milestone, and now that its getting a little exposure in the number one iOS spot, I imagine that 3 million is only a couple of weeks away given its recent momentum.

For a closer look at Battle Cats, check out our recent video demo below:


  1. I should note that I’m still stuff on chapter 3, round 48. If anyone else is in a similar situation, feel free to share your codes here in the comments (Mine is yg2t0).  ↩

Japanese mobile game ‘Battle Cats’ hits 2 million downloads [Gameplay Video]

SHARE:

I’ve made no secret that I’m a big fan of Ponos’s ‘Battle Cats’. It’s a ridiculously fun tower defense game with an incredible sense of humor. After its initial release back in mid-November 2012, the title managed to hit 2 million downloads in just under three months, which is impressive as the game isn’t riding on any of the major mobile game platforms. While it started off sort of slow, Gamebiz.jp reports that the last million came in a recent 15-day span, making for a good growth spurt. The iOS game has ranked high in Japan (see chart below), and it has performed respectably well in some Asian countries too. For those of you who haven’t tried it yet, I’ve made a quick video overview (see above) of what the game is about. For a free-to-play title, Battle Cats offers up a pretty deep game play experience and I’m still enjoying it months after initially discovering it. Let us know what you think of the game in the comments, or if you have a tip or just want to share a friend code (which helps a lot in this game), feel free to do so.

I’ve made no secret that I’m a big fan of Ponos’s ‘Battle Cats’. It’s a ridiculously fun tower defense game with an incredible sense of humor.

After its initial release back in mid-November 2012, the title managed to hit 2 million downloads in just under three months, which is impressive as the game isn’t riding on any of the major mobile game platforms. While it started off sort of slow, Gamebiz.jp reports that the last million came in a recent 15-day span, making for a good growth spurt. The iOS game has ranked high in Japan (see chart below), and it has performed respectably well in some Asian countries too.

For those of you who haven’t tried it yet, I’ve made a quick video overview (see above) of what the game is about. For a free-to-play title, Battle Cats offers up a pretty deep game play experience and I’m still enjoying it months after initially discovering it.

Let us know what you think of the game in the comments, or if you have a tip or just want to share a friend code (which helps a lot in this game), feel free to do so.

battle-cats-ponos-sm
From AppAnnie.com