Amazon Appstore now available in Japan

Amazon.com Inc on Thursday announced the launch of the Amazon Appstore in Japan, giving Japanese customers access to a broad selection of quality Android apps, plus the security and convenience of shopping for these apps from Amazon. Customers can get the Amazon Appstore for their Android phones and tablets by visiting http://www.amazon.co.jp/apps.

Amazon’s Appstore offers a great selection of games and apps, including local favorites like “Mushroom Garden” and “Yahoo! Headline,” and established bestsellers like “Fruit Ninja” and “Cut the Rope,” along with apps from top-tier brands like Square Enix and NTT Docomo. In addition to localized content and a localized mobile store, customers will have access to popular Amazon Appstore features like the Free App of the Day, which offers a paid app for free every day. Apps and games purchased from Amazon can be used across customers’ Android devices as well as Kindle Fire tablets, enabling them to buy an app or game once and enjoy it everywhere. Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD for Japan are available for pre-order now at Amazon.co.jp.

The Amazon Appstore also includes popular Amazon features like personalized recommendations, Customer Reviews and 1-Click payments, making it easy for Amazon customers to shop, discover and buy the right apps to meet their needs. In order to ensure that customers have the best possible experience with the apps they purchase, apps are Amazon-tested and backed by Amazon’s world-class customer support.

“The Amazon Appstore connects app and game developers across the globe with Amazon’s enormous customer base, and we’re excited to expand that audience to our millions of customers in Japan,” said Jim Adkins, Vice President of the Amazon Appstore. “Now our customers in Japan can find all of the apps and games they’re looking for and can take advantage of popular programs like Free App of the Day.”

Amazon continues to roll out services and features that make it the most complete end-to-end solution for developers wanting to build, market and monetize their apps and games. Developers can build their apps and games using Amazon Web Service’s industry-leading infrastructure platform. Developers can use Amazon’s GameCircle services to improve audience engagement with features like Leaderboards, Achievements, Friends and Whispersync which syncs game state between Kindle devices. To gain exposure to tens of millions of customers, developers can list their apps in the Amazon Appstore and take advantage of unique merchandising placement and awareness-building programs like Free App of the Day and personalized recommendations. And, to monetize their apps and games, developers can use Amazon’s industry-leading e-commerce and payment capabilities like In-App Purchasing and Subscriptions.

“When we found out that the world’s largest online retailer was creating an appstore, we made sure to get our top app, ‘Drawing Pad,’ submitted for the launch,” said Darren Murtha of Murtha Design Inc. “Amazon does a wonderful job featuring apps, and during a recent promotion, ‘Drawing Pad’ climbed to #11 in the top app rankings. We are thrilled with our success in reaching new customers and driving recurring usage of our apps. ‘Drawing Pad’ is localized for over twenty languages – including Japanese – and we are really looking forward to Amazon’s expansion into new countries.”

“TuneIn has a vision of bringing all the world’s audio to people everywhere, and our mobile apps are an integral aspect of bringing that vision to life,” said Ryan Polivka, Director of Marketing, TuneIn. “Amazon makes it easy for consumers to discover new content on their Kindle Fire HD or Android device through personalized recommendations, customer reviews and their Free App of the Day program. We are excited to introduce millions of music, sports and news listening options to Amazon’s Japanese customers, and happy to announce that we will be offering our ‘TuneIn Radio Pro’ app for free in Japan next month.”

“Amazon provides a wealth of tools and services that have helped us grow our business,” said Adam Schroeder, CEO, Difference Games LLC. “The Free App of the Day promotion has been a great way for us to expose our unique content to a wide audience of engaged digital media-savvy consumers. We are excited to grow with Amazon as they expand into Japan and other geographies.”

“Amazon’s mobile app distribution has been a great way for SoundHound to expand our broad international reach,” said Amir Arbabi, Vice President Business Development of SoundHound, Inc. “Amazon’s customers are passionate about digital media and Amazon provides a variety of ways to ensure they discover the apps that are right for them. We look forward to bringing the world’s fastest, most accurate and delightful music discovery service to their Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD and Android customers in Japan.”

“SEGA Networks aims to offer an emotional experience to gamers through our smartphone and tablet games. With the introduction of the Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD and Amazon Appstore to Japan, we are looking forward to sharing these emotional experiences through our apps to as many people as possible,” said SEGA Networks Representative CEO Haruki Satomi.

“Adaptations of our popular toy properties into smartphone and tablet apps offers our customers a whole new way to play. That’s why we are thrilled to be teaming up with Amazon. It creates an exciting opportunity to expand our reach to potential new customers,” said Kantaro Tomiyama, President and CEO of TOMY Company, Ltd.

“I am delighted with the strong relationship that we’ve cultivated with Amazon, in both Mobile App Distribution and AWS. Amazon boasts some of the highest customer lifetime values we’ve seen on any platform, and a suite of end-to-end developer solutions that impact bottom line results. The flexible and cost-effective AWS Infrastructure platform allows us to scale up and down as needed while only paying for the resources used. In addition, their recommendation features in the Amazon Appstore really benefit customer experience and discovery,” said Suli Ali, CEO of TinyCo, maker of Tiny Monsters, and Tiny Village. “We think the services offered through the Amazon platform have contributed to much of the success, so we are very excited to expand our offerings to Amazon’s customers in Japan.”

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