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Suika Game

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"Suika Game" redirects here. For the 2001 video game by Circus, see Suika (2001 video game).
Suika Game
Official artwork for the game, showcasing a variety of fruits available in-game.
Developer(s)Aladdin X[a]
Esquadra[3]
Publisher(s)Aladdin X
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
Release
  • JP: December 9, 2021
  • NA: October 20, 2023
  • EU: October 20, 2023
  • AU: October 20, 2023
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Suika Game[b], also known as Watermelon Game, is a Japanese puzzle video game developed and published by Aladdin X, which combines the elements of falling and merging puzzle games. The game was originally developed for the company's digital projectors, but due to its success the game was released on the Nintendo eShop in December 2021 only in Japan. The concept originates from a Chinese browser game titled "Synthetic Big Watermelon" (Chinese: 合成大西瓜) that released in January 2021.

The game involves the player trying to build a high-score through dropping fruits into a container without having them overflow out of the container. To earn points the player must combine two of the same fruits together, which creates a new fruit in the game's fruit cycle. The game allows plays to view other player's ranks through an online leaderboard.

Two years after the game's release Suika Game exploded in popularity after being streamed by livestreamers, particularly by VTubers. The game was received well by critics who played it, praising the simplicity and charm of the game. The game achieved 1.42 million downloads by October 2023 and became one of the most downloaded games on the Nintendo eShop the previous month. The game also became prone to unofficial versions being created. The game was later released outside of Japan on October 20, 2023.[4]

Gameplay

A view of the container filled with fruit.

Suika Game is puzzle game focusing on stacking objects in a confined space, reminiscent to Tetris.[5] The player is tasked with dropping a wide range of fruits in a box and aim for the highest score without having a single fruit cross the line at the top of the box and overflowing out, or else the game would end.[6] In order to keep the fruits from overflowing out of the box, the player must match two types of fruits in order for them to merge into the next biggest fruit in the cycle, increasing the player's score. The bigger the fruits that merge the larger the point bonus is, with the largest merge the player can achieve is creating the titular suika/watermelon.[7] If two watermelons merge, they disappear from the box.[8] Suika Game has no time limit to rush the player with;[9] but unlike with Tetris, the fruits are affected by physics causing them to hit of each other and roll away from where they were initially dropped.[10] Sometimes the pressure released by two fruits merging can send a fruit out the box and ending the game.[11][12]

There are 11 fruits in the game and they go in a cycle from smallest to largest; cherry, strawberry, grapes, dekopon, persimmon,[c] apple, pear, peach, pineapple, melon, and watermelon.[8] However, the fruits that the player can drop into the box are limited to the five smallest in the cycle. The order the player can drop the fruit is completely random, but they can see the fruit that is coming up one turn ahead.[14] For the Chinese "Synthetic Big Watermelon" browser game version, the order of the fruit is slightly different as the game features kiwis, lemons and mandarin oranges in its cycle.[15]

Suika Game also features an online leader board to compare other players' ranks online, being split between scores from "today", "monthly" and "overall". This leader board can keep track of the player's own score too.[14]

Development

Initially Suika Game was developed as a built-in application for the popIn Aladdin, a 3-in-1 ceiling digital projector developed by a branch of Aladdin X called popIn, in April 2021.[6] It was said to be well received amongst customers of the projector.[2] Aladdin X decided that due to the game's popularity on the projector,[16] as well as wanting to spread awareness of their projectors further, they would rework the framework of Suika Game to bring it to the Nintendo eShop on December 9, 2021.[16] During an interview with Nippon TV Aladdin X mentioned the idea of bringing the game to smartphones, however decided against it at the time due wanting the game to have "a better chance of standing out" amongst other apps on the market.[17]

The initial concept for this game originates from a Chinese web browser game developed by Meadow Science (Chinese: 米兜科技) called "Synthetic Big Watermelon". The game released in January 2021 and became a large success, with Synthetic Big Watermelon receiving more than 1.4 billion related search hits on Sina Weibo.[15][18]

The game received little attention after the game's launch onto the eShop until September 2023;[19] in which the game garnered an increase in popularity, with GamesRadar+ comparing the sudden popularity to Among Us in 2020.[5] Cited as one of the main causes of the game going viral was due to coverage by Japanese streamers starting in May 2023,[18] with 2.84 million hours watched monthly and ranking 82nd most watched game on Twitch in September 2023.[5][6] VTubers were particularly noted for the game's success,[12][20] with members of VTuber companies such as Hololive Production cited as bringing millions of viewers to the game.[5] In the west, livestreamers CDawgVA, Ludwig and QTCinderella were said to have also helped increase the game's popularity outside of Japan.[21] Additionally, Aladdin X believes the success and popularity of the game derives from the game's "cute and friendly art that appeals to a wide audience", as well as the game's simplistic rules.[6][17][22]

Due to the game's popularity many English speaking news publications, such as Polygon, published articles on how to obtain the game using a Japanese Nintendo Account.[23][20][6]

Reception

Critical reviews

Suika Game was often compared by critics to other popular puzzle games, such as Tetris and Puyo Puyo.[10] News publications such as IGN Japan and Automaton Media made the comparison to the indie puzzle game Threes!.[18][25] Julia Lee of Polygon made the comment it was "like a mix of Tetris and 2048 but with adorable fruit". However even with the comparisons, Lee still praised the game claiming that the game has her flipping her emotions more so than other similar puzzle games she has played, although not full sure why. She speculates the game's illustrations, physics and motivations as possible reasons.[11]

One of the main praises of Suika Game was its charm. In his review of the game, Touch Arcade's Shaun Musgrave wrote that the game does a lot to work as well as it does and positing that the game is "hard to resist". One of the main aspects he focuses on is the game's overall charm, citing that the game is "absolutely adorable" and the music in the game is catchy. Continuing on, Musgrave adds that the game's physics lead to unexpecting outcomes, making the game more exciting and dangerous for him.[24]

Another aspect of the game that critics praised was the difficulty. Japanese website ITmedia wrote that the game was perfect for both children and adults to understand, adding that they believed that the game was "super simple yet deep". They explained that whilst the controls were simple the physics could cause unexpected outcomes, allowing the game to have a welcoming premise but also have a steep difficulty curve.[26]

Sales

In the span of a month starting in early September 2023, Aladdin X announced that Suika Game had been downloaded 1 million times on the eShop.[19][27][28] Additionally the game also managed to maintain number 1 on the My Nintendo Store over multiple days between September and October 2023, beating out titles such as Pikmin 4 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.[8][29] This led to Suika Game becoming the most downloaded game on the store for the whole month of September that year.[30] The company had also announced that the game had been downloaded 50,000 times more than before it's popularity increased.[6][17] As of October 12, 2023, the game has been downloaded 1.42 million times.[31]

Unofficial versions

Due to the success of Suika Game, it caused many unofficial versions of the game to pop up online. One of the most notable versions is a free web browser version with the same name; with websites such as Polygon, Rock Paper Shotgun and VG247 considering it a great alternative for people who weren't able to make a Japanese Nintendo account, or don't have a Nintendo Switch, although noting that the physics and presentation aren't the same as the Switch version of the game.[23][21][32] Outside of the browser version, Aladdin X warned customers that there were many smartphone games trying to imitate Suika Game with some even using art from the official versions.[25][33] One particular clone managed to reach number one on the Japanese App Store in the free games' "casual" section, prompting Aladdin X to request Apple to take the clone off the service.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ Was originally known as popIn.[1] popIn is now its own branch of Aladdin X.[2]
  2. ^ Japanese: スイカゲーム
  3. ^ It is currently disputed whether it is a persimmon or an orange.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Serizawa, Takanori (October 4, 2023). ネットで大人気の「スイカゲーム」、iPhoneで“偽物”アプリ出回る　開発元が注意喚起. ITmedia (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Serizawa, Takanori (October 4, 2023). いつのまにか流行ってた「スイカゲーム」って何だ？　開発元に聞く意外な素性とスマホ移植の可能性. ITmedia (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  3. ^ NintendoSwitchダウンロード専用ソフト『スイカゲーム』配信開始のお知らせ (in Japanese). ESQUADRA Inc. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Lee, Jess (October 20, 2023). "Watermelon Game, aka Suika Game, launches on Nintendo Switch worldwide". Digital Spy. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d Bellingham, Hope (October 11, 2023). "First Japan's biggest stars, soon the entire world: Switch puzzler Suika Game sees sales jump "50,000 times" after an Among Us-grade viral boom". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Kawase, Ayuo (October 5, 2023). "Nintendo Switch exclusive Suika Game is so addictive its previous daily sales have multiplied by fifty thousand". Automaton Media. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Mukherjee, Nayanika (October 5, 2023). "Suika Game: Tetris-like fruit puzzle has the Asian internet on fire". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Tsushima, Hiro (October 13, 2023). 大人気パズル『スイカゲーム』がついに任天堂公式トピックスで紹介される。Xでは「ついに任天堂が気づいたか」「とうとう任天堂にバレた」「スイカゲームの人気に任天堂公式が動いた」「乗るしかない、このビッグウェーブに」などの反応. Den Fami Nico Gamer (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  9. ^ 『スイカゲーム』が『ヴァンサバ』をおさえ、突如Switchの人気ランキングトップに。配信者を中心に流行中で今後さらなるブームに発展するかも？. Dengeki (in Japanese). September 18, 2023. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Lada, Jenni (October 9, 2023). "The Suika Watermelon Game Excels in Its Simplicity". Siliconera. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Lee, Julia (October 4, 2023). "I will not rest until I score 3,000 points in Suika Game". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Musgrave, Shaun (October 11, 2023). "Play The Viral Hit 'Suika Game' In Your Mobile Browser". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Ouma (October 10, 2023). 配信者界隈で流行中の『スイカゲーム』レビュー。1度プレイしたら抜け出せない。かわいい顔したフルーツたちにイラつきを感じる鬼畜パズルゲームの沼にハマる. Famitsu (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  14. ^ a b なぜ配信者たちは「スイカゲーム」に夢中なのか？ 熱狂的ブームを呼ぶ落ち物パズルの"深すぎる"ゲーム性. Game Impress Watch (in Japanese). October 6, 2023. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  15. ^ a b 中国でミニゲーム「合成大西瓜」が爆発的大ヒット！思わず夢中になってしまうそのワケは？. People's Daily Online (in Japanese). January 19, 2021. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Nintendo Switch用「スイカゲーム」が配信開始。同じ種類のフルーツを組み合わせて大きく成長させていくパズルゲーム. 4Gamer (in Japanese). December 12, 2021. Archived from the original on September 4, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  17. ^ a b c 中毒性やばい『スイカゲーム』　ダウンロード数はブーム前の「5万倍以上」　人気の理由を開発元に聞いた. Nippon TV (in Japanese). October 3, 2023. Archived from the original on October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  18. ^ a b c Kimura, Tamio (September 17, 2023). Nintendo Switchゲーム『スイカゲーム』が突如人気急上昇。2021年に発売された低価格フルーツ落ち物パズル. Automaton Media JP (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  19. ^ a b Nishiwaki, Kenji (October 10, 2023). 癖になる落ちものパズルゲーム「スイカゲーム」が100万ダウンロードを達成！. Game Impress Watch (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Doolan, Liam (October 8, 2023). "Random: Switch Exclusive "Watermelon Game" Goes Viral, eShop Downloads Skyrocket". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  21. ^ a b Dassanayake, Dion (October 19, 2023). "How to get Suika Game (watermelon) on the Switch". VG247. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  22. ^ 話題沸騰中の『スイカゲーム』100万ダウンロードを突破。特設サイトを公開。フルーツを合わせて大きくしていきスイカを目指すくだものパズルゲーム. Famitsu (in Japanese). October 10, 2023. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Lee, Julia (October 4, 2023). "How to get the Suika Game (Watermelon Game) on Nintendo Switch". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  24. ^ a b Musgrave, Shaun (October 11, 2023). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'Cook, Serve, Delicious!' & 'Suika Game', Plus the Latest Releases and Sales". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on October 16, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  25. ^ a b Shigeta, Yuichi (October 3, 2023). 『スイカゲーム』の公式が類似アプリに関して注意喚起 同社はスマートフォン版を開発していない. IGN Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 12, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  26. ^ Okada, Yuka (October 16, 2023). 大人も子どもも夢中になる「スイカゲーム」の絶妙さ. ITmedia (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  27. ^ Kataoka, Ryuichi (October 10, 2023). 『スイカゲーム』が100万ダウンロードを突破！話題になった9月初旬から約1カ月間で達成. IGN Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  28. ^ 「スイカゲーム」100万DL突破　配信規約も公開. ITmedia (in Japanese). October 10, 2023. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  29. ^ Yasuda, Shunsuke (October 13, 2023). 「スイカゲーム」、ついに任天堂公式に取り上げられる. Game Impress Watch (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
  30. ^ Yashiki, Yuta (October 4, 2023). 「スイカゲーム」ランクイン！ 任天堂、Switch「9月の月間ダウンロードランキング」公開中. Game Impress Watch (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  31. ^ スイカゲームが大ヒット・１４０万ＤＬ突破のワケ. jcc.jp (in Japanese). October 12, 2023. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  32. ^ Toms, Ollie (October 19, 2023). "How to play Suika Game on Nintendo Switch and PC". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  33. ^ Tokunaga, Hiroki (October 2, 2023). 「スイカゲーム」開発元がスマホ向け非正規アプリについて注意喚起. Game Impress Watch (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
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