GameSkinny: Captain Tsubasa is much more popular in Japan and Latin America, with very few English translated versions of the source material, so what made you decide to release Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team worldwide?
The game is also very popular in the Middle East. When we released the global version in December of last year, there were six languages –English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and traditional Chinese. Once it was out, we were very surprised to see that we had a ton of players from the Middle East and North Africa. We ended up getting a lot of requests for Arabic language support, so we actually just added Arabic and Brazilian Portuguese to the game in June.
Thanks to that, we’ve reached more of South America and Latin America. Of course, in Asia, it’s been very popular – Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao. I can’t thank all our players enough for how well they have received the game.
GS: For Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team, do you have a specific favorite character just in general from the series? Personally, mine is Genzo Wakabayashi due to the struggle he has to go through with his leg injury.
He met Tsubasa, our main character, in elementary school and they played soccer together, but then he had to move away and say goodbye to all his friends. Over the course of the series, Tsubasa and Misaki stay friends through the power of soccer and their love of the sport. I really respect that about him.
GS: In the past few years there has been a stigma against mobile games, but it seems to be going away a bit. Why do you think that might be?
GS: Most of your games are adapted from different manga and anime series such as Bleach: Brave Souls, Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team, and the upcoming Japanese release of YUâYUâHAKUSHO 100% Maji Battle. Is there a certain selection process for which series you choose to make a game out of and how you get the rights to these properties?
It’s the future of gaming. I have nothing but love for console games and PC games, but mobile games are now a legitimate gaming platform, and I’m very happy to see that that stigma is going away, especially in North America. There is none of that stigma in many other markets around the world, so I think North America is one of the last markets where that’s finally going away.
GS: Which of your mobile titles do you think had the most difficulty during development?
GS: KLab has an upcoming mobile online RPG, Magatsu Wahrheit. Can you tell us a bit more about that?
I think Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team has blown me away because it came out of the gate a winner. The global version came out December of last year and its success has been stunning."
We’ve got an animated project in the works for it as well, so it’ll be touching on multiple genres of media. I think if the game is a hit, it could mean big things for KLabGames."
A big thanks to Mark for taking the time out of his busy expo schedule to allow us to interview him. Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team, Bleach: Brave Souls, Love Live! School Idol Festival, and UtanoâPrincesama Shining Live are all available worldwide for iOS and Android.
Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more news and info on Magatsu Wahrheit as it develops.
