Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has recently revealed plans to allocate a total of 1.5 billion yen (approximately $92.7 million USD) in subsidies to mobile game developer DeNA, widely recognized for their latest mobile success Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. As reported by The Nikkei, this move is designed to bolster DeNA’s mobile development operations and encourage the creation of expansive content with the potential to achieve global recognition.
This development follows DeNA’s selection for the Japanese government’s IP360 initiative, a program established to fund the development of new domestic intellectual properties and enhance the competitiveness of Japan’s content sector on the international stage. Specifically, DeNA was named among the companies chosen for the initial round of subsidies under the “general support for large-scale production” category, joining major developers such as SEGA, Konami, Square Enix, Koei Tecmo, and Arc System Works.
However, METI’s announcement regarding DeNA’s subsidy quickly drew significant criticism within Japan on social media. Although the IP360 program is intended to assist indie developers as well, with grants reaching up to 10 million yen ($62,000 USD), many Japanese users have expressed dissatisfaction with the allocation of public funds, igniting a debate over the necessity of such an investment for a prominent company like DeNA.
Huh, why? The National Museum is doing crowdfunding, so if you have that kind of money, why don’t you stop trying to make the museum turn a profit and just start supporting it instead.
Why are our taxes flowing out to major companies that aren’t even struggling when it comes to capital? This is what they’re doing while cutting the budgets for public museums and art galleries. If DeNA’s mobile games actually do sell, what do we gain from that? It’s just a private company gaining even more profit.
Hiroyuki Nishimura, the founder of 2channel and current proprietor of 4chan, also shared his thoughts: “In an age where solo-developed indie games are becoming increasingly popular, the Japanese government is pouring 1.5 billion yen into a publicly-listed mobile game developer.”
Numerous Japanese users contended that DeNA is a privately-held company, and that the government is essentially utilizing public funds “to fund mobile games,” while overlooking publicly owned cultural institutions such as museums, galleries, and universities.
Others suggested that if the government has billions to allocate to major corporations, it should instead direct those funds toward supporting the nation’s emerging solo and indie developers. “With this kind of approach, it looks less like they are trying to nurture new talents, and more like this is going to make strong companies even stronger,” one user stated.
Conversely, professionals within the gaming industry offered a contrasting viewpoint. In a recent statement, Indie-us Games representative alwei clarified that in reality, it’s exceptionally challenging for small and indie developers to secure such substantial government funding. Larger companies with stable revenues and notable achievements are far more likely to have their subsidy applications approved.
However, when it comes to indie developers, there is a significant risk that they may not be able to fulfill their obligations if their project fails after receiving such a large subsidy. Subsidies generally come with stricter application requirements compared to grants, and are typically disbursed after project completion, making them unsuitable for individual creators, alwei noted.