Japanese mobile game developer Kairosoft burst onto the U.S. scene in late 2010 with the smash-hit sim Game Dev Story.
The title allows gamers to grow their own game development studio from a
tiny indie making puzzle and trivia games for PCs into a massive
operation capable of releasing its own game console.
The game’s not-so-subtle jabs at the real-world game industry made it an instant cult-classic with core gamers. To succeed players have to choose the right company to make consoles for – “Senga” and “Intendro” are two early-game choices. Players also must smartly match their game’s theme with the proper genre. I personally had a string of smash-hit motion-controlled romance games called “Love Touch” towards the end of my Game Dev Story career.
Game Dev Story was the company’s first U.S. title and remains its biggest success. Kairosoft’s story extends back far further, however.
Kairosoft has released a steady string of sim titles onto the iOS App Store and Google Play Store since Game Dev Story became such a smash hit – 14 titles in just 22 months. But the truth is that many of these titles, while new to English-speaking audiences, aren’t new at all.
In the late 90s and early 2000s Japanese mobile phones were significantly more powerful than the brick-like Nokia handsets that were popular in the United States and Europe. Apple’s iPhone and high-end Android handsets have since closed the gap, but Japanese consumers enjoyed full-color, game-capable phones far earlier than the Western world.
Most Kairosoft’s sims that hit the App Store are ports of these
original mobile games. Anyone that owns Game Dev Story can dive into the
options menu to turn “pad on.” This will activate a round virtual game
pad that hints at how Kairosoft’s games are played on lower-end phones
that don’t feature a touch screen.
New games or old, many English-speaking gamers can’t get enough of Kairosoft’s breezy blend of simple strategy & simulation. The company is often criticized for its titles being too similar to one another. It’s not an unfair complaint – many Kairosoft games feel very homogeneous. Still, after spending enough time away many gamers find themselves developing the well-known “Kairosoft itch” and want to come back for more.
When the mood strikes, which items in the studio's ever-growing library of titles are worth your dough? IGN has your back. We’ve broken down and ranked all of Kairosoft’s English-language iOS releases below. Now you can buy the best and skip the rest.
The game’s not-so-subtle jabs at the real-world game industry made it an instant cult-classic with core gamers. To succeed players have to choose the right company to make consoles for – “Senga” and “Intendro” are two early-game choices. Players also must smartly match their game’s theme with the proper genre. I personally had a string of smash-hit motion-controlled romance games called “Love Touch” towards the end of my Game Dev Story career.
Game Dev Story was the company’s first U.S. title and remains its biggest success. Kairosoft’s story extends back far further, however.
Nearly 20 Years of Sims
The truth is that Kairosoft is a much older company than most people
think it is. The studio was formed in 1996 and its small team of nine
has been making simple simulation games, first for PC and later for
mobile phones, ever since.Kairosoft has released a steady string of sim titles onto the iOS App Store and Google Play Store since Game Dev Story became such a smash hit – 14 titles in just 22 months. But the truth is that many of these titles, while new to English-speaking audiences, aren’t new at all.
In the late 90s and early 2000s Japanese mobile phones were significantly more powerful than the brick-like Nokia handsets that were popular in the United States and Europe. Apple’s iPhone and high-end Android handsets have since closed the gap, but Japanese consumers enjoyed full-color, game-capable phones far earlier than the Western world.
Can your team make the next big hit?
New games or old, many English-speaking gamers can’t get enough of Kairosoft’s breezy blend of simple strategy & simulation. The company is often criticized for its titles being too similar to one another. It’s not an unfair complaint – many Kairosoft games feel very homogeneous. Still, after spending enough time away many gamers find themselves developing the well-known “Kairosoft itch” and want to come back for more.
When the mood strikes, which items in the studio's ever-growing library of titles are worth your dough? IGN has your back. We’ve broken down and ranked all of Kairosoft’s English-language iOS releases below. Now you can buy the best and skip the rest.
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