Korean Gunbird social game reaches 1 million+ downloads

[Pretas]

http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mod ... 0002519853

http://www.gamengai.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3154

So the Korean mobage developer Gamemarble licensed Gunbird from Windysoft (who currently owns Psikyo's properties), and cut-and-pasted Gunbird 2's artwork into a social smartphone "game" that may or may not be a shooter. It has been quite successful, likely without even 1% of its audience being aware of the source material.

Apparently there is another similar mobage with the Twinbee license for the Japanese market.

[sikraiken]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eRCN2ZmRFc

http://mobile.netmarble.net/smart/gameI ... de=gunbird
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... nm.gunbird
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ebeuli- ... d695438340

[Pretas]

Well, it's Gunbird 2 alright. The stages, the bosses, the gemheads, everything's more or less accurate aside from the music sounding off.

This would be a good mobile port comparable to Cave's efforts, if not for the social game/microtransaction baggage.

[Despatche]

zzz gb2 needs more gb etc etc

[spadgy]

So it's played through KakaoTalk's KakaoGame platform? That thing dominates Korean mobile gaming, and is coming for the rest of the world I reckon (if the Line or WeChat apps don't beat Kakao to it).

Interesting they went with Gunbird 2, as Kakao really limit the stuff on there (300 games approx for now). I guess the sensational success of mobile shmup Dragon Flight in Korea inspired them.

EDIT: And it's hit 1 million downloads. There 300 million KakaoTalk users. I almost feel that's not bad for a shmup with such a heritage. Interesting to watch.

[KAI]

Shitty OST midi conversion.

[Eno]

Did I just got unused to GB2 or, going by the video Sikraiken posted, did they seriously tone down bullet speed and enemy aggressiveness?

[HydrogLox]

Did I just got unused to GB2 or, going by the video Sikraiken posted, did they seriously tone down bullet speed and enemy aggressiveness?

Arcade https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X2XoZED3IU#t=2m48s vs Kakao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eRCN2ZmRFc#t=1m40s

Looks that way - difficulty level might have something to do with it - but mobile versions do tend to be made "more accessible".

[RegalSin]

So they got a license and made some money, hurray for them. Doe it help us? No. It just goes to show they had a gameplan and decided to use it.

[spadgy]

So they got a license and made some money, hurray for them. Doe it help us? No. It just goes to show they had a gameplan and decided to use it.

I'm not sure it was ever meant to help core shmup fans. That said, the way I look at things like this is that if there's a new spin on the shmup template for a new audience, more people get exposure to shmups, and when they are successful the genre broadly is set to gain. If more people are player a wider variety of shmups, there's more motivation for developers to create them, more money in the genre ecosystem and more attention from the wider industry. That might primarily create more mainstream shmups that don't tick the right boxes for us fussy clique, but at least some of should trickle down and mean more neo-classical shmups, indie shmups etc. I don't feel the shmup genre is doomed – it's perennial – but it could always do with a little help, and in a convoluted way, casual shmups on Kakao might do a little of that.

Aside from all that, I still think it's always interesting to see how try shmups are re-appropriated for the masses and for commercialism, and this seems like a curious case of just that.

[professor ganson]

No doubt. Nice post, spadgy.

[thelion1856]

I searched gunbird in the apple App Store and downloaded it on my ipad can't read Korean but I checked off what was there and got to the game, no need to be logged in. Plays alright but hey at least it's gunbird 2 on the ipad now and it's free.

[spadgy]

No doubt. Nice post, spadgy.

Or idealist waffle!

Being serious though, I do feel positive about such a spread of 'casualised' shmups. That Dragon Flight was such a huge money spinner in 2013 can only be good for the genre, even if it takes a good while for any positive impact to trickle down to the part of the shmup spectrum most of us loiter in.

[dan76]

Just downloaded this - pretty good. Hope I'm not paying for stuff every time I play it. So, you only get one life and no character choice?

[AeroCityMayor]

Is there any way to play without installing all the additional apps? I haven't played it yet due to my debilitating paranoia

My Korean isn't great so really I'm asking if there's any harm in the Kakao stuff??

Cheers,

Ralph.

[spadgy]

My Korean isn't great so really I'm asking if there's any harm in the Kakao stuff??

I'd say you're safe. I've written a couple of articles on Kakao recently; interviewed one of the senior team. They're a fast growing, hugely high profile tech company that are really the 'Facebook of South Korea', so as above board as any big tech outfit. South Korea has 50.2 million resident; KakaoTalk has 300 million+ users, so they're clearly being accepted across the globe. It seems a very well used platform, the dominant mobile gaming platform in its domestic market with a very content user base.

And it should be quite simple. You download Kakoa ready apps from the App Store, and then download the KakaoTalk messaging app. You play the games through the KakaoGame element of that messaging app.

Also, I believe there's an English language KakaoTalk; not sure if that would work with this game or not though.

[zackforbing]

Is there any way to play without installing all the additional apps? I haven't played it yet due to my debilitating paranoia

My Korean isn't great so really I'm asking if there's any harm in the Kakao stuff??

Cheers,

Ralph.

you can play with one life if you click the white button at startup. if you download kakao it gives you all sorts of other options that I can't read. would love someone to make a walkthrough like for donpaccin!