ANN/THE JAPAN NEWS – Taito Corp, a major game arcade operator in Japan, is poised to launch a new arcade within a Hong Kong shopping mall this Friday, marking the company’s first venture outside Japan in 11 years.
Capitalising on the global appeal of Japanese anime and games, Taito seeks to tap into foreign markets through collaborative franchises with international companies.
Visitors from Hong Kong to Japan surpassed 2 million people annually before the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic. People in Hong Kong are highly interested in Japanese games and anime.
Taito aims to make achievements in Hong Kong and then enter the markets of other foreign locations.
The company previously had subsidiaries in China and South Korea with arcades in those countries. However, they withdrew from their venture overseas by 2012 to focus on its business in Japan. Taito currently operates about 160 game arcades in the country.
Taito decided to operate overseas again because claw machines with Japanese character goods as prizes are popular among tourists visiting Japan; thus, demands in other countries can be expected.
According to the Japan Amusement Industry Association, annual sales from claw machines (excluding sales of machines themselves) in fiscal 2021 were JPY281 billion, rising 1.5-fold from fiscal 2016.
Other companies in the industry have also expanded their business overseas. The Bandai Namco group has about a total of 20 game arcades in Britain, Hong Kong, and India.
Round One Corp, which operates entertainment facility complexes with bowling alleys, arcades, and more, has about 50 facilities, mainly in North America. They aim to increase the number to a total of 100 or more.
