Maybe some Final Fantasy magic can make a mobile Japanese role-playing game a hit.
Kobojo Studio announced that its Japanese role-playing game Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey will launch for iOS devices later this year. It’s going to be a premium title at launch (meaning not free-to-play), and Kobojo will support it with additional, paid content. Final Fantasy writer Kazushige Nojima (Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy X) and composer Hitoshi Sakimoto (Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII) are working on Zodiac. It was originally designed as a free-to-play game, but changed it to a premium title following feedback.
Free-to-play is usually the route that mobile titles go these days as they try become big hits. Market research firm Newzoo predicts that mobile will be a $30 billion market in 2015. Most Japanese role-playing games, however, do use a premium pricing model. This includes most entries in blockbust JRPG franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
“The heart and soul of Zodiac has always been to bring players a classic JRPG experience regardless of platform — the kind of experience that JRPG fans enjoy, and sadly, that no longer seem as common as they once were,” said Kobojo chief exectuive officer Mario Rizzo in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “Listening to the great feedback we received after showing the game at GDC and E3, we’ve made the unprecedented decision to shift gears from Kobojo’s usual free-to-play format to make Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey a premium game for Western audiences.”
Zodiac will also launch on PC and Sony platforms “shortly” after its iOS release.