Can "Trail of Time" Win the Hearts and Minds of Japanese Players? ShiningSoul's First Overseas Expansion

ShiningSoul, an emerging Chinese cultural creative (cultural creative) brand, recently announced the launch of its overseas brand "GloriousSoul" and its entry into the Japanese market. As its flagship product for overseas expansion, the company has acquired the official license for the popular smartphone game "IdentityV: The Fifth Personality" and will be developing the first premium edition of the "Tracks of Time" series of the "IdentityV: The Fifth Personality" card collection. IdentityV Fifth Personality" is highly popular in the Japanese market, and related products, including card products, have become a standard consumer activity for the local youth demographic. The IP collaboration between ShiningSoul and IdentityV Fifth Personality is an important step in the company's global strategy, and the GloriousSoul brand is positioned as a symbol of the company's global expansion.

ShiningSoul

■High-quality IP drives trends among young people

Even if you have never heard of the Chinese cultural and creative brand ShiningSoul, its trading card products are widely distributed in shopping malls, convenience stores, and hobby stores in major cities. Today, trading cards have evolved into a form of entertainment that has exploded in popularity among young people. The product's combination of collectible value, social functionality, and entertainment value has adapted to the consumption habits of today's youth, and in addition to collaborations with various animation and game IPs, the market continues to expand year by year. In recent years, a number of related cultural and creative brands have gradually emerged, offering products that combine originality and quality. ShiningSoul was a top player among them.

In early 2024, ShiningSoul announced a collaboration with "IdentityV: The Fifth Personality" and released the "Trail of Time" series collection cards. Enthusiastic fans of the game IP drove the popularity of related goods, and social networking sites saw a boom in card purchases and openings. The second series that followed also received a positive response in the market.

In addition to "IdentityV: Fifth Personality," ShiningSoul also collaborated with the two-dimensional open world adventure game "Harakami" to release a trading card game (TCG) product, the "Seven Sacred Summons" battle cards. The "Peppa Pig" collection cards and "Party Animals" collection cards, which are very popular among children, have also received high praise from players and users since their release. Through working with these IPs, ShiningSoul has not only gained a reputation in the industry, but has also accumulated a lot of brand resources, including Tencent, NetEase (NetEase Games), miHoYo (miHoYo), Riot Games ( Riot Games) and other well-known companies.

Peppa Pig" collection card

ShiningSoul's next product of note was "Project K," a new trading card game (TCG) based on the world of "League of Legends. The MOBA game, which has gained worldwide popularity over the past decade, has garnered a large and loyal user base through its entertaining gameplay and abundant eSports competitions. The merchandise that utilizes the League of Legends IP has also been extremely popular, and with "Project K" being the first "League of Legends" substantive card product, not to mention the anticipation from players, this is another great opportunity for ShiningSoul to show what it can do. This is also a great opportunity for ShiningSoul to showcase its capabilities.

As can be seen, as an emerging cultural and creative brand, ShiningSoul has a strong track record in creating IP tie-ins and related products. These IP success stories prove just that.

■From a medium for entrusting emotions to a symbol of trends

Cards have evolved beyond mere games and animation to become a medium for cross-cultural communication, and they have become a vehicle for fans to entrust their emotions to. They are also becoming even more closely tied to two-dimensional culture. This phenomenon is particularly evident in Japan, where games and anime are more prevalent. Pokemon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh," for example, are childhood introductions to anime and manga for many children, and hold immeasurable emotional significance in their hearts. And the card products that have been passed down through the generations have become the emotional conduits between them and the anime and manga.

According to the "2023 Japan Toy Market Research Report" published by the Japan Toy Association, sales of the Japanese card market in 2023 reached 277,429 million yen (approximately RMB 13,150 million), an 18.1% increase over the previous year. Against the backdrop of Japan's deep card culture base, both collectible cards and trading card game (TCG) cards for competitive play show strong market demand and a sustained development trend.

Now, with the rapid development of the Internet, Japanese players have more options, and Chinese games and anime productions are increasingly gaining attention and acceptance. IdentityV: The Fifth Personality" is one such example. This asymmetrical multiplayer game has been released in Japan for many years and has remained very popular. The recognition and acceptance that players have for the IP naturally extends to its related merchandise. Therefore, the "IdentityV Fifth Personality" card collection "Toki no Kiseki" series, which is ShiningSoul's flagship product for overseas distribution, is well positioned in this regard.

IdentityV Fifth Personality" "Trail of Time

Of course, the quality of the product is of utmost importance in order to get players to purchase the product. Using ShiningSoul's holographic 3D and laser engraving processes, precision cold foiling and reverse UV printing, the first premium edition of the "Trail of Time" series of collection cards is truly a "pursuit of perfection" in its production. cards in SR costume (SR) are temperature-sensitive processing, and Hunter and Survivor are designed with different temperature-sensitive areas, just like little extras, waiting for players to discover them.UR Costume - Stained Glass (SP) cards are concept-designed with a church stained glass theme, and the card UI and image quality have been significantly upgraded. And the Dream of Illusion (SE) cards have been remade by ShiningSoul in collaboration with several popular illustrators, with characters based on a fairy tale theme. Players will not only enjoy the unique art style, but will also get exclusive foil-stamped signatures.

IdentityV Fifth Personality" "Trail of Time" series collection card

From an IP perspective, the "Trail of Time" with the "IdentityV Fifth Personality" IP can obviously attract the attention of many players. And in terms of quality, this collection card deserves the title of premium edition.

With Japan as the first step in its overseas expansion, ShiningSoul's international debut was a targeted and clever choice, as the company continues to cultivate its Japanese user base with "Trails of Time. With the strong IP influence of "IdentityV: The Fifth Personality" in the Japanese market and the strong demand for collectible cards among young local consumers, the "Trails of Time" series is expected to quickly attract the attention and sympathy of Japanese users.

This choice not only lays a solid foundation for ShiningSoul to solidify its foothold in the Japanese market, but will also benefit the future overseas development of other IP products such as "Project K" and the "Seven Sacred Summons" of "Genshin," and help ShiningSoul to realize the gradual globalization of the brand. ShiningSoul will be able to globalize its brand in a phased manner.

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