Forum - View topicThis Week in Anime - Gacha Money Now
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Blatch
 Thread Killer Posts: 348 Location: Northeast U.S. |
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The only gacha games I play right now are the two Idolm@sters: Cinderella Girls Starlight Stage and Million Live Theater Days. I enjoy then very much even if then are never going to b localized at this point. Amusingly, I was playing the English version of Touhou LostWord up until recently, but I deleted my account. Why? It had nothing to do with not rolling the right units, but because Good Smile, who publishes the game, was revealed to have been funding 4chan for years! What are the odds? And I'm glad I got the opportunity to actually end things right then and there; if the option was to let my account rot, with it's biggest signifiers of wealth being my Fantasy Rebirthed Koishi w/ wedding dress and my Kogasa wearing her cheerleader costume I bought with paid jewels or whatever, I don't think I would've had the strength to do it.
And speaking of Touhou, while that one wasn't localized, I feel like this article wouldn't be complete without a mention of Danmaku Kagura, it's acclaimed rhythm game, which to my knowledge managed to become the first gacha game ever to be reincarnated as a title for consoles. You figure that if any franchise can do it, it's Touhou, which will probably outlive us all at this point. I have to say that I like this change in direction the TWiAs have taken over the last few months. Moving away from simple recaps of shows with tons of screenshots has lead to much more interesting discussion. Even if I do want some articles in the old style to go with the new anime seasons, because those have always been fun. Maybe you can do one on the Cinderella Girls U149 anime? |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18175 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I would point out that the DanMachi: Memoria Freese game is running just fine in app version in both English and Japanese, even if it's not on CR anymore. (I wasn't aware that it ever was?) More than 5 years old, and it's still producing new events on a regular schedule (including some conceptualized and/or scripted by the original author) and game adaptations of novels that haven't been animated yet.
That's the only anime-related gacha I'm currently still playing, though I am tempted to look into the new Eminence in Shadow game. |
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Covnam
 Posts: 3644 |
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I remember trying Symphogear and not really enjoying it. It wasn't surprising to see it shut down though. They flooded the game with banners non-stop. There was no way any player could keep up.
Considering the life span of CR games, it's definitely good that Danmachi moved away from that company lol It's unfortunate that most gatch games are just money sinks without much to get out of them. Too bad more can't be like Danmachi. |
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Vaisaga
 Posts: 13224 |
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The problem with Symphogear's release is that it was localized AFTER the final season finished. It would have had better legs if it rode the hype of prior seasons. Princess Connect was in a similar situation. It was localized after the success of season 1, and continued on through season 2, but without a currently airing anime to keep it relevant the plug was pulled. Even if CR had done a big marketing push for Princess Connect, it was never going to reach the levels of FGO or Genshin Impact so the idea that if CR had just tried harder they'd be rolling in the dough is pure fantasy.
Mobile game players already (or they should) know that a game could die at any point. It's up to them to be responsible with their money and spend only after they consider such things. I've spent lots of money on gatcha games over the years. Hundreds of thousands probably, and I have no regrets. Many a game has closed down on me but that's just how it goes. An expensive trip will eventually end, a fancy car will eventually break down, and a gatcha game will eventually shut down. But we'll always have the memories. |
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J-l33
Posts: 16 |
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Thus far the only gacha game that I’ve played and stuck with is Fire Emblem Heroes, and part of that is you don’t have to grind as hard for decent five star pulls.
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Joe Mello
 Posts: 2254 Location: Online Terminal |
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While it would be nice, I don't think regulation is coming anytime soon, especially in a timeline where Kadokawa might be the only thing preventing this site from being sponsored by Draft Kings.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2833 |
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I've found a video on Youtube listing the managers with the best track record of managing these types of games. The top 5 (Japan and rest of world listed separately) have less than 10 games reach End of Service cumulatively since 2020. So players who like gacha games and would prefer not to see them collapse within a year might want to stick with management companies who are very unlikely to pull the plug. Yes, the article already says nothing lasts forever, but there ARE mobile games with this business model that have survived for over 10 years so long enough to supersede even PC games which have reached end of development support.
For those interested, the top company for rest of world is HoYoVerse (the people running Genshin and Honkai). No surprise, considering how much money they generate from their marquee products alone. Unfortunately from what I've heard Genshin in particular is one of the worst examples of gambling in the mobile gaming industry, so know the risks. Link to the video (it's in Japanese with Japanese subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV-iF8D9zy0 Video's inclusion criteria: Number of EoS titles since 2020 (if there's a tie, the company with the longer gap between last EoS game and present gets the higher position) Only companies with at least 2 titles in the stable which are in the top 200 for mobile game sales rankings are considered. If management for games changed in its lifetime, this is also taken into account. Titles only developed but not managed (i.e. promotion, event planning etc.) by certain companies excluded for consideration Same channel also did another video listing the top 5 management companies who routinely churn out mobile games which reach End of Service within a year. |
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Cho_Desu
 Posts: 193 |
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Gacha mobile gaming is just one of those things I don't get how so many people tolerate, let alone love. Different strokes I guess, but I just immediately think it'd be loads more fun, for example, to simply buy and enjoy a full-fledged horse-girl racing game that was along the lines of Mario Kart or something.
Perhaps it's simply I just have never cared for gambling of any variety. Even actual capsule toy machines always felt lame to me, because you never actually get the item you want. |
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MagicPolly
 Posts: 1574 |
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Honeyworks Premium Live shut down recently too (not surprised it wasn't mentioned, it's obscure and shut down the same day as Love Live). It felt like it had more heart than other tie-ins since it genuinely did move the series plot forward but unfortunately it still fell into a lot of money making aspects. I'll definitely miss it, but I'll miss the early days when it felt more genuine more. I didn't even play it for around a year either, since I got so tired of it
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Vaisaga
Posts: 13224 |
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There is actually some regulation. For example, it's illegal to have a character on one banner, but have it be non-functional unless you get an item from a different banner. Say you get character A, and you can only equip them with weapon X, which you have to get separately. Can't do that. That's why they include weaker weapons you can equip your characters with. Sure, they won't be at their full potential, but they'll still be usable.
Nah, Genshin's actually one of the more forgiving games. You're guaranteed a 5 star every 90 pulls. On limited banners you have a 50/50 chance to get either the limited 5 star or a common 5 star. If you get the common one, the next 5 star is guaranteed to be the limited 5 star. This pity counter carries forward to each new banner too. Not to mention you can get some of the strongest characters for free. FGO didn't even get a pity system until year 7. |
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ninjamitsuki
 Posts: 590 Location: Anywhere (Thanks, technology) |
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Only gachas I really play are iM@S Shiny Colors and Uma Musume, plus a few fashion games like Moe Can Change and Cocoppa Play. Didn't spend any money on them, though. I also played Saisuta and even spent money but well...
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Joe Mello
Posts: 2254 Location: Online Terminal |
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The point was that with the legalization of various types of gambling across much of the United States (including sports betting), I find it hard to believe that there will be regulatory checks put on video games any time soon. Another thing is that tech and related industries are moving away from selling ownable products and instead selling temporary leases to ephemeral data and gacha games are fully ensconced in that business model. |
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StarDango
Posts: 89 |
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Have to admit that I’ve fallen into the gacha wagon one too many times. Mostly the My Hero ones, Fire Emblem, Genshin and Ensemble Stars for a time. Right now I’m super invested in Arknights and have been for a year now. It’s the longest one I’ve played and the most I’ve invested in.
Mostly because compared to other gacha games, Arknights makes me feel like I can progress without making me spend a shit ton of money. Unless I’m just really desperate for an operators, I can play and save up enough Originium to make at least 10-pulls a week. Some of my best operators came from free pulls or are awarded through events. Hell, you don’t even need top tier operators to beat certain stages. If you strategize right, you can beat high level stages with a 3-star team. It just doesn’t feel like “pay to win” because I can still win while spending nothing or a reasonable amount. It’s just fun and it doesn’t feel like it’s scamming me (even though I know it’s still a greedy little gacha game.) I can’t say the same for other games. Especially something like Ensemble Stars, where the rewards I got didn’t feel worth the work it took to get them. And the only way to make the game easier or to get exclusive outfits was to spend a ton of real money. The music and art are REALLY good, but I didn’t feel the need to invest in it for that long. Same thing with Genshin. Every gacha player has their specific needs and niches, and Arknights just satisfies mine all around. |
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Suxinn
 Posts: 243 |
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Ah, I still remember Rage of Bahamut declaring EoS basically right after their very successful (and actually quite good!) anime adaptation aired. Cygames probably didn't lose much from that closure, though, considering 1.) Rage of Bahamut wasn't a good game by any stretch of the imagination, and 2.) they re-used most of the assets for their now very successful CCG Shadowverse (which also got an anime adaption, though one less successful than Bahamut).
Anyway, as a seasoned gacha gamer myself, I think the gachas that last the longest are actually the ones which don't attach itself to an already established property -- because those are usually clear cashgrabs made with very little thought or care. I play more than half a dozen gacha games at once, and all of the ones I've kept up with are original properties, some of them having lasted for quite long! (The longest is probably Crash Fever, which is miraculously still alive despite its dwindling userbase, having lasted for more than 7.5 years just in global alone.) Meanwhile, Girls' Frontline is actually notorious for being the "gacha that never dies", and most folks use its (low) monthly earnings as a hard cutoff to tell when other gacha games are possibly in danger of EoS. (GFL also puts a lot of effort into its collabs. Probably the only other mobile game I've ever seen put in as much effort is Another Eden. So it's completely understandable why someone would become enamored with GFL over a collab -- GFL does them really well, and it helps that the base game is quite good too.) As for the transient nature of gacha games, most long-time gacha players are aware of it and accept it as just a fact of life. I'm an F2P, but I've heard other folks say that they consider dropping a few bucks in a gacha much like they'd drop a few bucks to see a movie -- it's for the experience, and they don't expect any permanent return for it other than intangible enjoyment in the moment. Of course, those are only the words of "healthy" spenders, and there's quite a few cautionary tales among gacha aficionados about falling prey to predatory practices...
Oh, yes, apparently WFS (the developers, also made Another Eden and Heaven Burns Red) wrestled back control of it from CR after they were dissatisfied with the way CR was handling it. This is another thing that was brought up often during the Priconne closure -- that Priconne would've been successful if CR hadn't wildly mishandled it.
The appeal, for me at least, is that gacha games are specifically designed for very short sessions, so I can easily pull out my phone during my commute to work (1.5 hours by subway) and do my dailies and all that to keep myself occupied. If I was a working adult a decade or so earlier, I probably would've done this with my DS or 3DS, but the Switch is a bit too clunky (for me at least) to bring out on public transportation during rush hour. I still buy and play regular games, but I have much less time for that nowadays, so I appreciate hobbies that I can pick up and play in short bursts. |
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Meongantuk
 Posts: 353 |
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That was Global Rage of Bahamut which was only lasted for 4 years due to how badly managed it was. The Japanese version technically lasted for 10 years (it ended in 2021 on its 10th anniversary), I said technically since the server is actually still up despite no longer getting any updates. If anything the mismanagement of RoB global made Cygames reluctant releasing their games into global sphere through 3rd party publishers as seen from Shadowverse and Granblue Fantasy (GBF is technically not even officially released outside of Japan, they just have inhouse English translation). Priconne and World Flipper are them trying out licensing their games again, but with CR EoSing Priconne despite its JP version being one of the mobage juggernauts, who knows if they'll ever try again... Best case scenario is them giving Priconne and Uma Musume Granblue treatment, at least it won't EoS within 5 years. |
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