
TOKYO -- Smartphone games from China and South Korea are growing in popularity in Japan, where developers are suffering from slowing earnings amid a dearth of hit titles.
Of 17 Japanese game producers focused on mobile content, 12 booked either a profit decline or a loss in the July-September quarter. Nevertheless, the Japanese market for smartphone games is expected to grow 15% this year to around $14 billion, according to App Annie, an American app market data company.