UlasanAnime.com – Popular movies and video games have long been associated with productivity loss. For instance, the widely recognized science fiction franchise Star Wars has often topped this category, with its blockbuster film releases leading countless students and employees to take time off to attend screenings on release days. Similarly, the recently launched Japanese video game, THE IDOLM@STER: Shiny Colors, reportedly caused millions of dollars in lost productivity following its release last week.
In a stroke of genius, the developers of Shiny Colors restricted the game’s playability to Japanese internet users only. By implementing region-blocking on the HTML5-based game platform, Bandai Namco has reportedly saved an estimated $50 billion USD in productivity loss, according to experts.
The free-to-play video game platform represents the latest installment in the popular THE IDOLM@STER franchise. This Japanese-gamer oriented property first emerged in 2005 and has since spawned numerous video games, TV shows, movies, and various tie-ins, including a mixed-reality VR theatrical show. While domestic audiences were still largely impacted by productivity losses, this prudent business decision effectively limited the damage to Japanese domestic businesses.
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“It is a noble sacrifice,” stated financial analyst Akihiro Nakamura from UBS. “The initial concern was that the development team would all call out sick to play the game during its launch. However, the region-blocking measure has already saved us millions across our Americas and Europe branches. Despite any potential downsides, Bandai-Namco is still poised to boost their prospective stock price for this fiscal year, based solely on preliminary revenue projections.”
