Ah, Kairosoft – that one company that became a long-running joke with my colleagues… I personally love them and have a sort of love-hate relationship with the series as a whole. It’s one of those companies in Japan that pump out masses of games – and when I’m talking about masses, I mean there are 47 translated games and ~30 games only available in Japanse. But what’s the magic!?
Kairosoft
Kairosoft was founded as a dōjin games developer in 1996 and is currently located in the Nishi-Shinjuku district of Tokyo with only nine employees. Doujin soft (同人ソフト, dōjin sofuto), also called doujin games (同人ゲーム), are video games created by Japanesehobbyists or hobbyist groups (referred to as “circles”), more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of independent video games or fangames. Most of them are based on pre-existing material (“modding”), but some are entirely original creations. Fun fact – these games were top-rated on the Dreamcast since you could mod the games and console pretty easily (and it still happens!)
Simulation
They started developing simulation games for the Windows platform, the first of which was released in 1996 and simulated a used bookstore. Another example was the original Game Dev Story, released in 1997, with a sequel released in 2001. In 2001, Kairosoft switched to developing mobile simulation games for the Japanese cell phone market, which was much more developed than America’s. The company was incorporated in September 2007 and launched a new website on November 4, 2008.
With the release of Game Dev Story for iOS and Android in 2010, Kairosoft found itself a large hit, which reached the top ten in iPhone app sales in its first week. In addition, Kairosoft continued to port over games that it had previously developed for other platforms. As a result, pocket Gamer ranked Kairosoft 30th on its “top 50 developers of 2012” list, calling Kairosoft games a “genre in their own right” but noting that they still were mostly a niche in the market.
Personal History
I discovered them through mobile gaming as well. I had an iPhone Touch back in the day (yes, I’m that old), and it ran games like Cafeteria Nipponica and another Kairosoft title which I can’t remember that clearly. It was magic since I loved simulation games, but Kairosoft added another layer. They added cameos and pretty deep layering in a mobile game – while keeping the restaurant’s authenticity alive (just like they do in the other games).
Fast forward to the Nintendo Switch, and I found out that Kairosoft ported many of their old games to the console (also available on PS4, apparently). Most of the titles I review were originally released between 2010 and now, but they still hold up – and even though the team jokes about my love for the game, the jokes on them. Each game follows the ‘same’ pattern and spans over several in-game years, slowly accelerating the difficulty that gives souls-like feelings. And, yes, I hear you all laughing again – souls? In Kairooooosoft – yes, in Kairosoft. What Kairosoft does best is challenging the player to make the right choices right away. If you ‘misstep’ at a certain point, you’re basically screwed to finish the game in its intended way.
Spectrum
To make this even more clear – Kairosoft spans a vast spectrum of genres. Yes, it’s mostly simulation (apart from some titles), but they cover everything from Manga, Idols, Homeownership, and Sports. And not on an amateur level (like some of the doujin games out there). They grasp a concept, dig into the particular scene and work out a game that feels like a game from said genre. For example, the Basketball title I played a while back became a real basketball simulator, including tactics, players, and everything you find in NBA games – but with the deep management style of Kairosoft. The same goes for other titles like Manga Story and Park Mega Mall Story – It felt like watching Bakuman working in Retail.
Kairo-Love
Sure, they may seem like pixilated simulator games or easy cash grabs – but nothing like that! Even though the current team is only made of 12 people, they pump out outstanding games. Yes, there are some translation errors here and there, and it’s not like playing a game from the hands of Miyamoto – but I think it’s one of the most underappreciated (indie)companies from Japan. I even discovered a few things from certain sectors (Pocket Clothier) or cultural aspects (Hot Spring Story) while playing the Kairosoft titles I mentioned. While writing this opinion piece, we just received Dream House Days DX, a remake of Dream House Days – and I can’t wait to dive in – I might even shove The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword aside for this title since Kairosoft gives me… mental clarity (even when I have to restart everything!).
Where to start?
Personally – I think you should just look at what ‘genre’ you’re interested in. Kairosoft covers mostly everything, so there is almost always something you could pick up. If you need some pointers – I made a top five!
