‘Kantai Collection’: Social game of warships sets course for big money(you too can have a fleetsized
126 replies, posted
[url]http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/02/20/digital/kantai-collection-social-game-of-warships-sets-course-for-big-money/#.Uw4Im-PxpvI[/url]
[IMG]http://jto.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/p12-akimoto-kantai-collection-a-201402211.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE]Casual online games based on military themes and with a kawaii (cute) twist are currently a surprise hit in Japan. Is this related to the recent rightward tilt in national politics, or just part of Japan’s creative desire to “cutify” everything.
It’s no secret that Japan loves cartoon characters, attaching them to any and every brand. And more often than not, those characters take the form of young girls. In the case of “Kantai Collection,” game designers at Kadokawa Games have mined warship designs from World War II, with over 100 battleships, cruisers, submarines and aircraft carriers anthropomorphized as teenage girls decked out in naval uniforms and accessories.
In this browser game, published by DMM and also known as “KanColle,” you play as an admiral and form fleets of these girls, called Kanmusu (kan musume, or “ship girls”), each of whom has her own personality, anecdotes (based on historical incidents) and speech dubbed by anime voice actresses.
The player must build, repair, troop and sortie these fleets to repel enemies. Since its release last April, “KanColle” has gained over 1.5 million users.
If the game is based on WWII, who is the enemy? It is not Battleship USS Iowa nor the HMS Prince of Wales, but an alien fleet.
This game has several characteristics that run counter to the current mainstream in social games. It is less reliant on social interactions; it runs on Flash, which means it won’t work on a portable device; and its payment model is less demanding.
Most smash-hit social games, such as “Kaito Royale,” “Puzzle & Dragons” and “Mahotsukai to Kuroneko no Wiz” (“The Magician and Wiz the Black Cat”), rely heavily on social features, which encourage users to invite their friends in exchange for rewards, and let users collaborate and compete. However, compared with these, “KanColle” is more solitary. There are high-score rankings, but players mostly play alone.
...
Of course, the number of players of social games who have not yet migrated to an iOS or Android device is dwindling, meaning a shrinking potential market for “KanColle.” But despite that trend, the game’s user base is actually growing, and 1.5 million users is a figure not to be sneezed at.
...
Rekihiko Kadokawa of the Kadokawa group, has said that the game’s success took the company by surprise, but now it is exploiting the franchise with spin-off magazines, manga and novels featuring “KanColle” characters. There are already more than 10 comic series and several novelizations, while an anime and a game for PlayStation Vita are in the works.
Kadokawa’s so-called media-mix strategy in the 1970 and ’80s turned the company into the media conglomerate we know today by connecting books and music with its movie properties. This was one of the first such cross-media promotions in Japan.
In the case of “KanColle,” this approach actually benefits players. Freemium is often accused of influencing game design, so that gameplay mechanics or progression are withheld from users who do not choose to pay for virtual items. By monetizing “KanColle” through related products instead, the publisher and developer can make a game that is fun to play and does not feel like a cynical grab for your money. This approach breeds loyalty among fans.
So what about that military theme? Some critics say that the game glorifies war, and South Korean newspaper Hankook Ilbo featured an editorial that reasoned to this effect. But I do not believe that “KanColle” was deliberately designed to support Japan’s recent reactionary tilt. The story of the popular ’70s anime “Space Battleship Yamato” featured a similar theme of battleships vs. aliens and attracted similar criticisms, but its effect on real-world politics was negligible. “KanColle” simply looks like an incidental hit.
One amusing side-effect of the game’s popularity is that when you search online in Japanese for the name of a WWII battleship, the top results are images of Kanmusu girls. Real rightwingers who want to rewind history may not be so pleased about this.[/QUOTE]
[IMG]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131126235026/kancolle/images/9/9b/136_1.png[/IMG][IMG]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131126085416/kancolle/images/b/b5/143_3.png[/IMG]
[sp]thats yamato and musashi[/sp] :v:
news
Ohhh so this is where that little blonde girl with that high stretched thong is from.
[QUOTE]Is this related to the recent rightward tilt in national politics, or just part of Japan’s creative desire to “cutify” everything.[/QUOTE]
Probably both.
Finally.
Moe battleships? So uh...when is this getting an English version?
Thats just about the dumbest looking anime shit ive ever seen
[QUOTE=Sprockethead;44054783]Thats just about the dumbest looking anime shit ive ever seen[/QUOTE]
You've obviously not seen much.
[thumb]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131126235026/kancolle/images/9/9b/136_1.png[/thumb]
those uh.. metal latches holding up the majority of the parts under her boobs; now that's a design choice. For my brain. Not for military use.
they have rudder boots.
they have boots, that have a ships rudder.
what the christ japan.
i'm so glad that my 2 fav things (anime and battleships) has finally combined to make the greatest thing!!!
Ok Japan, time to go cold turkey with whatever drug cocktail you're on.
[QUOTE=O Cheerios O;44055012]Ok Japan, time to go cold turkey with whatever drug cocktail you're on.[/QUOTE]
It's a fad that caught huge popularity, now people want to capitalize upon it
[editline]26th February 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=elitehakor;44055008]i'm so glad that my 2 fav things (anime and battleships) has finally combined to make the greatest thing!!![/QUOTE]
I imagined you saying that and re-enacting your avatar and walking away
All I need now is American citizenship and a fedora for this to be greatest thing ever.
Jesus christ I thought Girls und Panzer was dumb enough for ~desu kawaii military hardware~ but this takes the cake.
also, it seems they intent on adding german, russian, british and american ships eventually. :v:
CV-6 enterprise kawaii desu
[T]http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BS0tn6VCUAEQIX-.png:large[/T]
this literally looks fun.
[QUOTE=Keelwar;44055454]this literally looks fun.[/QUOTE]
well at game doesn't get 1.5 Million users if isn't at least somewhat fun, thats for sure.
I like the art, hate me.
[QUOTE=WaffleCopter;44054768]Ohhh so this is where that little blonde girl with that high stretched thong is from.[/QUOTE]
if you're refering to this one, yes.
[T]http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131114084912/kancolle/images/8/8d/10_3.png[/T]
no.
Oh look, Kantai Collection aka waifu simulator #24626734652
[url=http://imgur.com/a/59kCh]50 images why you should play this except it's a P2W piece of shit.[/url]
[QUOTE='[Green];44055560']Oh look, Kantai Collection aka waifu simulator #24626734652
[url=http://imgur.com/a/59kCh]50 images why you should play this except it's a P2W piece of shit.[/url][/QUOTE]
it ain't p2w, the very article mentions it(which is one of the reason why its so popular).
[QUOTE=Satansick;44055481]I like the art, hate me.[/QUOTE]
It's very interesting. Ridiculous, but interesting.
[QUOTE='[Green];44055560']Oh look, Kantai Collection aka waifu simulator #24626734652
[url=http://imgur.com/a/59kCh]50 images why you should play this except it's a P2W piece of shit.[/url][/QUOTE]
May as well just look at porn of the characters at that point.
[QUOTE=Wizards Court;44055496]if you're refering to this one, yes.
[T]http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131114084912/kancolle/images/8/8d/10_3.png[/T][/QUOTE]
Oh yes, my memory is pretty blurred out and thought she was blonde, well that's cleared up!
[QUOTE=Wizards Court;44055496]if you're refering to this one, yes.
[T]http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131114084912/kancolle/images/8/8d/10_3.png[/T][/QUOTE]
I want this to be the future of videogames.
[QUOTE=Riutet;44055861]I want this to be the future of videogames.[/QUOTE]
In the grim darkness of the future, there is only waifu.
Yes.
Yessssss.
That looks retarded.
I've been playing this for a while now, and I can say that its fun.
There's also cloth destruction when the ships become heavy and moderately damaged.
[t]http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/b6/7e/8f/b67e8f56423768712b41da92979b3176.jpg[/t]
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