초기에는 카카오톡 안드로이드 앱 사용자들을 대상으로 3개의 게임이 제공될 것이다. 그러나 카카오는 추가 타이틀을 제공하고 앞으로 iOS 사용자들을 위한 지원을 확대할 계획이다. 아쉽게도 플랫폼 제한으로 인해 블랙베리 앱 사용자들은 게임 서비스를 이용할 수 없게 되었다.

카카오의 부모 회사는 한국에서의 성공을 바탕으로 게임 서비스의 잠재력에 대해 낙관적이다. 한국에 한정된 출시 기간 동안 카카오 게임은 2300만 명의 유니크 사용자들로부터 8200만 번의 다운로드를 기록했다. 이 서비스는 총 5160만 달러의 수익을 창출했으며, 그 중 10월에만 3530만 달러의 수익을 올렸다는 엄청난 성과를 이루었다.

카카오는 앱 스토어가 리소스 제한이 있는 독립 및 소규모 스튜디오들을 위해 더욱 효과적이고 효율적인 생태계로 작용할 수 있다고 믿고 있다. 회사는 개발자들이 카카오 게임 API를 활용하여 서비스와 호환되도록 자신들의 콘텐츠를 제작하는 것을 제안하고 있으며, 이를 통해 앱 내에서 이루어지는 2인용 게임 플레이가 가능하다.

카카오는 일촉즉발(Next Floor)과 같은 성공 사례들을 강조하고 있다. 일촉즉발은 30명의 팀으로 구성된 스튜디오로, 그들이 만든 Anipeng은 한국에서 2000만 번 이상의 다운로드를 기록하며 Google Play의 무료 앱 및 매출 순위에서 1위에 올랐다. 또한 일촉즉발의 Dragon Flight은 한국에서 1개월 동안 1160만 번의 다운로드를 달성했다.

카카오 게임은 일본의 모바일 채

Kakao Talk, a highly popular mobile chat app in Asia, has recently introduced its games service, Kakao Games, to its international user base. This expansion comes three months after its initial launch in its home country of Korea.

Initially, three games will be made available to users of the Kakao Talk Android app. However, Kakao has plans to offer additional titles and expand support to iOS users in the future. Unfortunately, the games service will not be available to users of the BlackBerry app, as it is limited by the platform constraints of RIM.

Kakao's parent company is optimistic about the potential of the games service based on its success in Korea. During the launch period limited to Korea, Kakao Games achieved impressive results, with 82 million downloads from 23 million unique users. The service generated revenues of $51.6 million, with a remarkable $35.3 million in revenue in October alone.

Kakao believes that the app store can serve as an effective and efficient ecosystem for developers, particularly indie and small studios, who may have resource limitations or seek an alternative to Google Play or Apple's App Store. The company proposes that developers utilize its Kakao Games API to make their content compatible with the service, which facilitates two-player gaming within the app.

Kakao highlights successful examples such as SundayToz, a 30-person studio, and Next Floor, a studio with 5 employees. SundayToz's game, Anipeng, achieved over 20 million downloads in Korea and topped both the free app and top-grossing charts on Google Play. Next Floor's Dragon Flight reached 11.6 million downloads within a month in the country.

Kakao Games operates in a similar manner to Line, its Japanese mobile chat rival. Users of Kakao Talk can download games and play with each other within the messaging app. They can also share scores and other features with their Kakao Talk friends. Players have the option to purchase virtual items and make in-app purchases using Kakao Talk's virtual currency, called 'Chocos.'

Line's 'Channel' service, which offers in-app games, has achieved notable success worldwide. LINE Birzzle, its most successful title, surpassed 10 million downloads within 97 days, including 2 million downloads in just 24 hours.

While Line and Kakao Talk have gained substantial user bases in Asia, their presence in Europe and the US is still limited. Kakao Talk, in particular, has not replicated its domestic success on an international scale. Despite growing its market share in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Kakao has not presented compelling statistics to demonstrate its dominance in overseas markets.

Nevertheless, Kakao Talk continues to experience growth, and the revenue generated by the games service in Korea marks a significant step towards monetizing its international user base. Furthermore, Kakao's recent collaboration with Yahoo Japan could potentially facilitate Kakao Games' entry into the lucrative Japanese content market, where it will compete with Line once again.

As Asian chat apps, including Kakao Talk, Line, and WeChat, continue to gain millions of users, they also explore various revenue models beyond traditional advertising. Opt-in marketing campaigns and brand sponsorships are popular strategies, while WeChat, owned by Tencent, is considering mobile payments as an alternative approach.

These developments in the chat app ecosystem, where users engage in communication, gaming, and other activities previously associated with Facebook, are causing concern for Chinese microblogging giant Sina Weibo. It has acknowledged that its 400 million users are spending less time on the platform due to the popularity of chat apps.

Given these trends, it would be wise for Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms to closely monitor the evolving landscape and adapt accordingly.