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Atsuo Nakayama's "Otaku Globalisation" Vol. 34Obey Me!: NTT Solmare’s "Doing what no one else is doing" DNA, which created the top otome game title with over 7 million downloads in North America¹.

Article Date: 15 Sep 2022 12:04 JST

Original Article: 【連載】中山淳雄の「推しもオタクもグローバル」第34回 Obey Me!:北米で700万DL突破の乙女ゲームトップタイトルを作り上げたNTTソルマーレ「誰もやっていなことをやる」遺伝子

Interviewed by: Atsuo Nakayama (中山淳雄), Entertainment sociologist, President of Re entertainment

Have you heard of the app game called ‘Obey Me!’? This is a so-called ‘otome game’ where you experience dramatic love with 7 handsome demon brothers. In Japan, not many people may know about it. However, the fact that this game has already reached 7 million downloads worldwide, and is a huge hit in the US – where the majority of the users are from – is surprisingly unknown by many. In this interview, we spoke to the producer from NTT Solmare, that creates this little-known hit title called ‘Obey Me!’.

■ NTT Solmare, a prominent and growing member of the NTT West group of companies

--: We are pleased to welcome 'ObeyP', the producer of Obey Me! by request of anonymity. Please begin by introducing yourself.

Sorry that we asked for anonymity at the beginning. In the Obey Me! project, which always focuses on "building as a team", we don't mention names one by one. We always announce developments as the Obey Me! team, so although we had the opportunity to interview you this time, we decided to remain anonymous.

--: It’s fine, I still think it's a very valuable opportunity for you to tell us the facts about Obey Me! As you are the producer, let's call you ObeyP. Can you tell us about your history so far?

I joined NTT Solmare in 2007 as a contract employee. I was first in the Comic Cmoa division, doing some quality control work, but around 2012 I moved to the gaming division and have been a producer since its launch, as the drafter of Obey Me! which was released in December 2019.

--: NTT Solmare itself is a very unusual company, isn't it? It was originally set up by NTT West to take on the challenge of a new business, right? 'Comic Cmoa' is a well-known service.

When the company was first established in 2002, we were in the business of offering content for PDA terminals. Later, while exploring mobile phone content services, we thought that comics might work, so we launched Comic i (now Comic Cmoa). We also started a game business for mobile phones around 2010 with the aim of creating services that would become the second pillar after Comic Cmoa.

--: Some people are transferred from NTT West, and isn't the corporate culture totally different? It's a surprise that a company so committed to providing content is formed within the NTT group in the first place².

It's really open-ended. The people who originally set up the company valued the challenge of being eager to try new things, and from the start there was a corporate culture of not being restricted by existing frameworks. The people who started as contract workers and temporary workers have now been with the company for more than 10 years, and the permanent staff are carrying on the culture.

The company has 300 employees, and of course many of the managers and above are on loan from NTT West, but there is a sense that those on loan are observing the culture of the company. It has been 20 years since the company started, but we are a company that is constantly launching new things, such as releasing otome games for overseas markets and starting a live-streaming voice-over actor service, with the idea of "doing something no one else is doing".

--: Here is a chart of Solmare's financial earnings and statement from the financial report in Figure 1. The company's assets increased from 5 billion yen to 20 billion yen in the latter half of the 2010s, as it gradually grew with Comic Cmoa and the game business as their pillars. The pandemic could be a defining factor, but it is by inference that “Comic Cmoa” and “Obey Me” were the 2 leading powers. I'm focusing more on the fact that they had already expanded their gaming business to North America in 2011...

Right. I think we were very early in our overseas development, mainly in North America with the "Shall we date?" series.

Figure 1: NTT Solmare Company Performance Data

Source: Prepared by the author based on the disclosed financial statements.

--: Do you have any overseas offices? Is it much like the apartment office in Tokyo, and everyone is basically based in Osaka, right?

No, we have no overseas offices. From planning and development to promotion, Osaka is the centre of our business.

--: Do you also engage in game development? How many people are in each division?

The total number of people working at Solmare is about 300. Among them, about 40 people are involved in ‘Obey Me!’. We had in-house development for our previous titles, but we have asked Now Production to develop ‘Obey Me!’.

--: It is really unique that you were even doing in-house development. For there are many other major capital-based companies that specialise only in publishing mobile games.

■ Japanese Otome Games in the 2010s: A History of Expansion into North America

--: Around 2010, the "joseimuke game" genre³ itself was rare. Were they focused on this genre from the beginning?

At first, we made a wide variety of game titles. Of course, we also made games for male users. Then, there was a person who loved otome games, and said, "I want to try my hand at this!" It is known that this became the predecessor of the Shall we date? series.

--: It costs a lot of money just to make one, but is it really that simple to do?

Well, after all, "Doing something no one else is doing" is in the corporate DNA. And it is still true to this day that the company is able to grasp the passion of the people in charge and entrust us with their work.

--: Then, with the success of "Shall we date?" there, you started to specialise more and more toward the female market. Looking at the releases in the 2010s until "Obey Me!" became a big hit, a lot of derivative titles were created in units of 10 to 20, right? Did they sell well in overseas markets as well?

(Laughs) Our strategy was to produce a large quantity of products and gain market share. In overseas, or rather in North America, there were some telling figures. When the first ninja-themed game was released, it was a ‘how did it go this far!?’ moment. The fact that there was almost no competition was a big factor, and surprisingly (in those days) there were a certain number of users in North America who liked Japanese otome games, so rather than just using titles that had already been released in Japan, we decided to create something specifically for overseas users that is the "Shall we date?" series.

--: I remember well "Be My Princess" (2012) by Voltage as an otome game for North America. The characters were all changed for the North American market… which was very strange. *Voltage Inc., a leading otome game company, had been in the North American development business since 2011, but has withdrawn in 2021.

We have made the same kind of trial and error. In the end, "too much customisation is counter-intuitive and cannot be accepted". North American users also think of it as a Japanese otome game, thus we do not voice-over the voice actors in English but leave them in Japanese and use subtitles, and we keep the visuals as they are in the school or Japanese fantasy style.

--: On the other hand, what are the areas that you try to change?

Since we have a diverse workforce, including non-Japanese employees within our company, we study their local cultures and ways of thinking to effectively reflect them in our stories and characters, including the main character.

■ Obey Me!, made exclusively for overseas market, were flooded with 7 million users worldwide

--: Immediately after its release, Obey Me! became a hit the size of all the dozens of titles you have released so far combined. What do you think is the reason for this success?

Of course, the story and characters were well received, but I think a major factor was the change in gameplay from the novel type, where you read the story by paying for tickets. The mainstream Japanese style of acquiring cards through gacha and training them is common in Japan, but there were not many otome games in North American market based on such a system.

--: In a way, that is another manifestation of the "doing something no one else is doing" culture. Gacha raising games are not in the tens of millions of yen (~70,200 USD) unit of development cost of novel games, are they? They cost hundreds of millions of yen. (~702,000 USD)

Yes, we are working with a specialised game development company like Now Production, and the budget which was at a different scale than in the past also posed a challenge.

--: This is also a credit to the Solmare management team who agreed to this. They were willing to take on a challenge with a development cost that was different from anything they had ever done before, and to do it exclusively overseas, without releasing it in Japan. It is also amazing that ObeyP was able to build up credibility within the company.

(Laughs) That’s for sure. Of course, I was not approved solely based on my enthusiasm, but even so, I am very grateful to the company for entrusting me with this project, which was a huge challenge. NTT Solmare's culture of "leaving things to people who want to do them" is also a big part of this.

--: But I don't think any company can just make a product for North America out of the blue. You do not have an overseas base, and in the first place, would you make it mainly with people like ObeyP who are well versed in foreign countries?

Ah, but I can’t speak English? (laughs) Neither have I lived there.

--: What!!?? Is that true? A game with 7 million downloads overseas, is made by someone who can't speak English!?

Since 2012, we have been working on in-house titles for overseas markets, so of course we have been researching what kind of things people like. I have watched all kinds of foreign dramas and movies, and I have also studied foreign animation from the perspective of what local people have grown up watching since childhood. I thought about how people are attracted to scenes like this in romance, and I look at them all the time and think about what kind of style would be acceptable to them.

I often discuss ideas with the translation team, which includes native speakers.

--: That is a very encouraging story. It is not necessarily that you have people who have been in North America for a long time or who are fluent in English.

I feel that we are creating a large-scale app for North America together with businesses and creators who share our vision. By involving external people such as scenario writers and illustrators, the challenge of creating a title that will excite ladies around the world is interesting in and of itself.

--: What countries after North America were your games were being played in overseas?

The USA has the largest number of users and sales, but we also have players in Europe, Southeast Asia, and many other countries.

■ To change from "Obey Me! Overseas" to "Obey Me! Worldwide," including Japan

--: What do you hope to do with Obey Me! from that point onwards?

I would like to expand the enthusiasm of the English-speaking community to other countries, including Japan, and I would like more people to know about the enthusiasm felt by users on social media. I believe that the challenge is how to expand this kind of "fandom" itself.

--: You also worked on a web-animation project for July-December 2021.

Colored Pencil Animation Japan, the creator of the PV, has produced a 12 episode, 5-minute animation, which is available in the app. The first season is streamed by Funimation⁴. The response was quite positive, and we have been streaming the second season since July this year.

--: I think it was also a difficult time for you to proceed as much as you wanted to because of the pandemic. At this magnitude, there is a good chance for an animated TV series, and there is also a chance for commercialisation.

That's right. Since our company has been in the game business for so long, there are still some challenges in animation and merchandising. The second anime season will be available on Crunchyroll⁵ as well as in the app, and we would like to further strengthen overseas development in areas other than games.

However, while it was said to have 7 million downloads, it was during the pandemic, so I never actually saw that "enthusiasm" with my own eyes once. We exhibited on-site in Los Angeles for the first time since the release of the app at AX (Anime Expo) in July 2022, and were able to feel the enthusiasm of our fans that we could not have imagined.

--: That's for sure!! Since events have been completely suspended for the past 2 years, it is difficult to feel the enthusiasm of the 7 million downloads, even though it is a huge achievement.

That is why I would like to actively participate in exhibiting at various events starting this summer, and expand the community both in Japan and overseas along with the amount of enthusiasm. We expect many topics of conversation to spread from this summer.

--: Finally, do you have any message for current and prospective fans of 'Obey Me!'?

Thank you for your continued support of ‘Obey Me!’. The app is now in its third year since its release in 2019, and we hope to continue to provide fresh surprises and lots of emotions so that this title will continue to bring smiles to everyone's faces. Please continue to support Obey Me! and their characters’ lives in the Devildom, Human World, and Celestial Realm.

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¹ TL note: The title given here is inaccurate, IMO. Rather than North America only, the number of downloads should include about 160 countries around the world combined, including other English-speaking countries as well as their home country Japan.

² The NTT Group in Japan mainly focuses on telecommunications. As such companies like NTT Solmare stands out among the rest from other companies under the NTT corporation, in which they are working on different aspects from their core service.

³ ‘Joseimuke game’ (女性向けゲーム), a genre of video games that were specifically targeted for the female users. They can range from having mostly male characters without romantical elements, to those that involve romance - known as ‘otome game’ (乙女ゲーム) - such as those from the ‘Shall We Date?’ series of mobile apps. ‘Boy’s Love (BL)’ games are also included in this genre.

⁴ Region restricted. Not available outside of certain regions.

⁵ Region restricted. Not available outside of certain regions.

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