- DOCOMO Gets Animated About Mobile Manga -

The enduring popularity of manga (comic books and graphic novels) and anime (animation) in Japan is truly a never-ending craze. Capitalizing on this enduring trend and its resultantly huge market, mobile leader NTT DOCOMO already has enjoyed great success with a mobile manga distribution service in Japan. And now, with the popularity of Japanese pop culture also having taken firm hold abroad, DOCOMO has branched out to launch a similar groundbreaking mobile manga service in Europe.

Popular Revolution

Given the Japanese' love of manga—a phenomenon that bridges gender and generation—it was inevitable that manga on mobile phone screens would become a huge hit as soon as the technology was ready. Over the last few years, the introduction of a 3G network, HSDPA high-speed downloading and flat-rate packet-communication plans has given DOCOMO everything it needs to offer customers fast downloading of high-quality images at great prices.

The result has been a true boon to mobile manga, producing bottom-line numbers big enough to raise the eyebrows of even the coolest manga dude: an annual market exceeding 30 billion yen and over 100 content providers offering tens of thousands of titles. Mobile manga are now one of the most popular new applications for mobile phones.

Virtual Experiences

Mobile manga services on DOCOMO's i-mode™ mobile Internet platform are easy to subscribe to and the charges are conveniently included with the user's monthly phone bill. Digitized manga tailored for mobile phones are viewed using dedicated software that makes it simple to navigate from panel to panel, as well as scroll long panels and magnify text for easier reading. There even is an interactive feature that uses the phone's vibration function to enable the user to virtually experience physical motion in a story when, for example, a character falls over or is struck.

Mobile Manga to Europe

DOCOMO has now taken this entertaining mobile experience overseas.

DOCOMO Netherlands B.V., DOCOMO's Dutch subsidiary, launched MANGA MODE™, a mobile manga distribution service for subscribers of the mobile operator Bouygues Telecom S.A. in France in June. "On a cultural level, Europeans have strong interest and affinity with Japanese pop culture, particularly in France," says Hisahiro Hamahata, President and Managing Director of DOCOMO Netherlands. "Many Europeans use mobile phones that are nearly as sophisticated as those in Japan. About 80% of the targeted users in France have phones capable of downloading and viewing mobile manga."

When DOCOMO Netherlands launched MANGA MODE, it enticed customers with suitably attractive content, namely, international hits such as NARUTO and DEATH NOTE, as well as perennial favorites such as DRAGON BALL from the popular publisher SHUEISHA Inc.

"We saw how much people enjoy viewing MANGA MODE when we demonstrated it at Japan Expo 2009 in Paris this July," Hamahata says.

Japan's Newest Export

Hamahata explains that MANGA MODE is taking an important first step on an exciting journey across Europe: "In Japan, revenue from data services is nearly half of our average revenue per user (ARPU), while in Western Europe it is not even 10% of ARPU at the moment. But many Europeans already use mobile phones that are capable of downloading and viewing digital manga, so I see great potential."

On top of adding more titles and other publishing companies, Hamahata also hopes to lever synergy with Japan's world-beating games developers. "Japan is a treasure trove of great videogames, so mobile games could be a segue into new vistas," he says. "While we realize that some mobile services only work in Japan for cultural reasons, I strongly believe that mobile services offering Japanese pop culture can be exported with success."

i-mode is a trademark or registered trademark of NTT DOCOMO, INC. in Japan and/or other countries.
MANGA MODE and MANGA MODE logo are trademarks of DOCOMO Netherlands B.V.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this publication is accurate. However, NTT DOCOMO, INC. does not accept responsibility for errors or omissions. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission of NTT DOCOMO, INC.

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