At Casual Connect USA 2014, Masaru “Nogi” Ohnogi reminded participants that, although their mobile title Brave Frontier has become famous in the US, many people still don’t know much about gumi. So he took this opportunity to let everyone know who they are, what they have done and are currently doing, and what their plans for the future are. “Since 2012, we’ve built eight studios from scratch,” he said. “Just two years!”
Masaru Ohnogi is CEO of gumi Korea and senior vice president of global development at gumi inc., a leading mobile developer based in Tokyo, Japan. He is a 15-year veteran of international business and has been instrumental in the acceleration of gumi’s overseas business outside of Japan.
A Global Eye-Opener
Before joining gumi, Nogi worked for an online payment company. This was before the online contents market was established, so he was familiar with it from the beginning and had many contacts in that space. He established and ran two businesses in the US before becoming involved in managing foreign markets and clients. All of these experiences opened his eyes to global opportunities, as well as fueling his ambition.
When gumi released its first hit game, Nogi’s view of the company changed as the company’s reputation grew, with other companies suddenly interested in making business offers and the media clamoring for interviews. But his response to these changes is simple: just keep making hit games. And he is looking forward to gumi’s continued success, saying the proudest moment of his career hasn’t happened yet.
Diverse Entertainment
Nogi’s expectations for the future of the games industry include more sophisticated technology and more diverse kinds of entertainment as more devices and genres of expression continue to emerge. As an entertainment provider, gumi will have to become more professional in incorporating new technologies quickly in order to remain a leader in the industry.
These days, Nogi’s personal gaming is made up of many different games on his smart phone. He enjoys free-to-play games because they are so easy to start playing. However, he objects when he sometimes has to pay to proceed with the gameplay.
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