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Koei Tecmo FY2014/15 Annual Report by ZhugeEX

Absolutely loved their uncharted waters games, new horizons is one of my fav games. Only the first 2 have English versions I believe. Really hoping there'll be a new one, as unlikely as it may seem.. Not too into MMOs so did not try uncharted waters online
 
I already used my "Techmo Kouei" joke in the thread about Musou, so I got nothing here.

It's nice to see the KT is way more than just Tomonobu Itagaki though, they've done a good job of continuing on after the departture of their rockstar developer. Konami on the other hand are completely screwed without Hideo Kojima, so it's an interesting study of contrasts there in terms of building a library of franchises which are resilient enough to continue if the original creator leaves.
 

Bazry

Member
If they're going to work with Nintendo again, i'd love to see them do a Amiibo game in the style of Hyrule Warriors, where the characters come to life by touching the figure on the Gamepad.
 
It is surprising how KT is actually struggling in finding a new big hit in the mobile space. The presentation is heavily focused on traditional devices, which is obvious, since mobile efforts seem a bit weak, revenue-wise.
 
I still remember the day I picked up Dynasty Warriors 2 on a whim. I have no idea why that game clicked with me so much, but it remains one of my favourite gaming experiences of all time. It also sparked a love of Chinese history (I took the game manual into my history class and asked if we'd study ancient China at some point (I live in the UK, so we didn't...))

I haven't played a DW game since number 5, but I'm eager to jump into the next one if it's designed from the ground up for the new consoles and actually takes advantage of them. From what I've seen of previous titles, it's still the same game as DW2, and they haven't really utilized newer hardware much at all to push the series forward in a meaningful way. Maybe I'm wrong - like I said, haven't played properly since 5 - but I'll definitely take a close look at the next iteration.
 

ZhugeEX

Banned
they should pay you, or something xD

Haha, I wish!

At least mods could give tag "Master of Sales Margin"

Lol, why sales margin?

Holy heck Zhuge, j need to stalk you more.
Great thread as usual and thanks for sharing.

Thanks haha, just dont turn up at my house or anything. :p

It is surprising how KT is actually struggling in finding a new big hit in the mobile space. The presentation is heavily focused on traditional devices, which is obvious, since mobile efforts seem a bit weak, revenue-wise.

Yeh good point. Koei have been saying for a while now that they want to create a hit smartphone title but haven't really had many successes. They need to create a new type of game imo, rather than relying on their old IP's on mobile.
 
Yeh good point. Koei have been saying for a while now that they want to create a hit smartphone title but haven't really had many successes. They need to create a new type of game imo, rather than relying on their old IP's on mobile.

Point is, the mobile market is too unpredictable. You have companies that struggled with traditional genres based on popular IPs and then found success with the same genre under the same IP (SQEX); other companies struggled with new IP in traditional genres (Level-5); others have found success with old IP in new genres, and even others with new IP in traditional genres. So, at the end, given the low development cost, KT should just pump out game after game hoping for a new unexpected hit.
 

ZhugeEX

Banned
Because Zhuge Liang was Sima Hui student, the master of water mirror, but Master of Sales Mirror sounds wrong like you were a chartz number maker so I changed it to sales margin.

Oh haha, that makes sense lol. Didnt even think of the Sims Hui reference!

Point is, the mobile market is too unpredictable. You have companies that struggled with traditional genres based on popular IPs and then found success with the same genre under the same IP (SQEX); other companies struggled with new IP in traditional genres (Level-5); others have found success with old IP in new genres, and even others with new IP in traditional genres. So, at the end, given the low development cost, KT should just pump out game after game hoping for a new unexpected hit.

Yup, that's going to be the plan for Koei moving forward.

Here's hoping they develop a hit game. (That appeals globally)
 

ShinMaruku

Member
I already used my "Techmo Kouei" joke in the thread about Musou, so I got nothing here.

It's nice to see the KT is way more than just Tomonobu Itagaki though, they've done a good job of continuing on after the departture of their rockstar developer. Konami on the other hand are completely screwed without Hideo Kojima, so it's an interesting study of contrasts there in terms of building a library of franchises which are resilient enough to continue if the original creator leaves.
Itagaki has been way over blown. He made 2 great games the rest have been hit and miss. However KT has a preponderance of teams that are always working on something you will always notice the Warriors Games but remember they made the deception games, they made Rygar and other games. They have depth in a way most Japanese developers don't have outside of Sony and Nintendo.

It is surprising how KT is actually struggling in finding a new big hit in the mobile space. The presentation is heavily focused on traditional devices, which is obvious, since mobile efforts seem a bit weak, revenue-wise.

That was inevitable that they'd struggle in the moble space, there is only space for a a few big fish, many developers and publishers in Japan will find that out and will probably go back to consoles if the market is stable enough. Meanwhile KT has always been there with sensibly budgeted games. There is only one other publisher who is as good with their money like KT. Sega however Sega have shit pr and make moves in other areas that people don't see, but their budgeting and money management is right up their with KT.
 

Shengar

Member
That was inevitable that they'd struggle in the moble space, there is only space for a a few big fish, many developers and publishers in Japan will find that out and will probably go back to consoles if the market is stable enough. Meanwhile KT has always been there with sensibly budgeted games. There is only one other publisher who is as good with their money like KT. Sega however Sega have shit pr and make moves in other areas that people don't see, but their budgeting and money management is right up their with KT.
I think it just mobile market isn't suitable with usual KT business practice. They are midtier publisher/developer who excelled at producing niche games for segmented audience. Mobile on the other hand must appeal to the widest audience as possible, and almost none of their existing IP could be turned into wide hit mobile games.

Lets take Toukiden and its Mitama card. There are 300 beautifully illustrated mitama that based on historical and mythical figure from Japan. KT can easily reused the art asset for a card game. But, who gonna take interest on historical card game collecting beside the history buff, an audience segment that have been served by them all the time?
 

ShinMaruku

Member
I think it's also over saturation. When you look at the profits it's mainly a few big players as well as where their talents are. Look how Capcom got clapped up in mobile for a few years.
I'm sure as mobile stablizes we'll see some other devs come with a mixed approach like KT.

Still good to see KT manuvering so swiftly. Their merger was a great move. Hayashi's work with the other dudes its really interesting.
 
It honestly blows me away how well KT managed this generation shift. They've been mid-tier as long as I can remember, but now they're experiencing explosive growth that's extremely well managed. Their DLC systems are hugely profitable without spawning legions of angry posts about them. Their crossovers smoothly join the best of both parents. Hell, even their kroger-brand monster hunter was good enough to finally hook me on the genre.

Very excited to hear about Ninja Gaiden 4. I feel like there's a lot of talent at the studio that wants to flex on a pure action game.
 

ShinMaruku

Member
That is the secret. They manage their projects on a level that we normally see Nintendo. They also prove that one can make a great profit from a niche if you serve them well, budget accordingly and put out quality games.

Their DLC model is untouched because they are stand alone and not precised as chunks removed from the game.
 
I think it's also over saturation. When you look at the profits it's mainly a few big players as well as where their talents are. Look how Capcom got clapped up in mobile for a few years.
I'm sure as mobile stablizes we'll see some other devs come with a mixed approach like KT.

Still good to see KT manuvering so swiftly. Their merger was a great move. Hayashi's work with the other dudes its really interesting.

Will the mobile market ever stabilize? This market is fundamentally different from the traditional market, and its volatility is due to the fact that there are no entry barriers for customers, and few barriers for developers.
 
Koei Tecmo are a great company. Hyrule Warriors is great. Can't wait for Dragon Quest Heroes. I had a beautiful time playing Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll last year when they released it on PSN.

Their real jewel for me at the moment is Toukiden Kiwami. I'm hopelessly addicted to it, along with the girlfriend. Ended up buying both Vita and PS4 version so we can play multiplayer and on the move. Works great with the Dualshock 4 on PSTV too.

It's so fun to play. I'll conceed that Monster Hunter is the better game, but I just enjoy playing Toukiden so much more.

We did have a DLC issue where the cross save didn't work because of the wrong PSN account owning the DLC on the PS4, and thus it not working on Vita. Tweets Koei's support, and they sent us a free code to get it up and running. That's the sign of a great company - great customer support.

More Toukiden westwards please!!
I convinced three friends to buy it for the co-op and we're having a blast on the PS4 version. I didn't expect the level of character development in the single player though. That was a hugely pleasant surprise.

Fantastic game
 

ShinMaruku

Member
Will the mobile market ever stabilize? This market is fundamentally different from the traditional market, and its volatility is due to the fact that there are no entry barriers for customers, and few barriers for developers.

It will stablize when enough failures take some out of the market. There may be no barries for entry but the numbers and money are finite.
 
Nice job, as always, Zhuge. Are you gonna do a Ubi thread when they post?

I want to see more Toukiden as well.

An excellent IP from Koei Tecmo!
Yeah, that's a pretty fun game. I'm really looking forward to Nobunaga too. Do we have a Western date on that yet? Any chance of the new RoTK coming over?
 

ZhugeEX

Banned
Nice job, as always, Zhuge. Are you gonna do a Ubi thread when they post?

Sorry buddy, I just care about Koei :p

Yeah, that's a pretty fun game. I'm really looking forward to Nobunaga too. Do we have a Western date on that yet? Any chance of the new RoTK coming over?

No word yet, not even for the supposed Nobunaga game coming out.

I hope they are both localised though :)
 

A.J.

Banned
I'm definitely looking forward to Toukiden 2, but I will definitely be bummed if it doesn't come to consoles again. I love Kiwami on PS4.
 

leehom

Member
Sorry buddy, I just care about Koei :p

Excellent. One of my fav games as a kid was ROTK. I know the sales are poor, but why won't they release this in the U.S.? They have it on PC in Japan, why can't they at least release it on steam? I would buy it asap and play the living crap out of it.
 

synce

Member
Of course they're doing well... all the DW games and clones are the exact same game, usually split into several pieces, coupled with tons of cosmetic DLC. Zero effort, tons of profit. Same story with DOA. The guys know how to make money
 
Hyrule Warriors deserves its sales. That game was just oozing with charm, and all of the updates and DLC made it better and better.
 

Sesha

Member
I love Tecmo Koei's general output. I need more videogame franchise Musou after Hyrule Warriors. If only they could make Ninja Gaiden great again.
 

Game Guru

Member
Point is, the mobile market is too unpredictable. You have companies that struggled with traditional genres based on popular IPs and then found success with the same genre under the same IP (SQEX); other companies struggled with new IP in traditional genres (Level-5); others have found success with old IP in new genres, and even others with new IP in traditional genres. So, at the end, given the low development cost, KT should just pump out game after game hoping for a new unexpected hit.

That is the best way to approach the mobile market... make things on the cheap and throw it at the wall to see if it sticks. The mobile market likely won't stabilize because it is to video games what YouTube is to video. It's the place where anyone could develop a game much as anyone can upload a video to YouTube, but it would have to be made for free and make its money off of ad revenue or microtransactions.
 

paolo11

Member
Thanks.

I really have no idea what this next major collaboration title for the west could be! Would it be possible to be Star Wars? I thought only EA had the rights? Whatever it is I just hope it's good.



Koei Tecmo have talked publicly about what they want to change in titles such as Dynasty Warriors 9 etc... Ninja Gaiden 4 was also talked about before and so it can be said that development and planning is under way for the 4th title in the series. As to when we hear about this though is unknown.

Hopefully the next Ninja Gaiden sequel does not suck like 3. Thanks for the info btw.
 

Jabba

Banned
I'm definitely looking forward to Toukiden 2, but I will definitely be bummed if it doesn't come to consoles again. I love Kiwami on PS4.

Same for myself. I should have specified to ZhugeEX that Toukiden 2 possibly not being on PS4 was my main worry.
He answered this concern without me being specific.
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
Seeing HW so crucial in this report could make us hope for a sequel or for another nintendo partnership? Plus, is DQH2 confirmed?
 

Soul Lab

Member
Seeing HW so crucial in this report could make us hope for a sequel or for another nintendo partnership? Plus, is DQH2 confirmed?

I think the success of HW is really a good thing. Not only because of the possibility of HW2. I can see more partnerships where Nintendo give their IP's for crossover projects. It's a good way to improve the library on their consoles without increasing manpower.

and yea, HW was great.
 

cireza

Banned
Tecmo Koei has become one of my favorite developers. I have spent so many hours on Ninja Gaiden 3, DoA5 and Hyrule Warriors ! Great, fun games. Can't wait to see their next games :)
 
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