60 Million Downloads! Celebrating Mushroom Day with Funghi Gardening Kit

Thirteen years since its huge hit! It still has many fans both domestically and internationally.

October 15 is “Mushroom Day.” When it comes to mushrooms, many people remember the app game series “Funghi Gardening Kit,” which debuted in 2011 and became a massive hit. Many have fallen in love with the relaxing, laid-back charm of the funghi characters. Even after 13 years, it still boasts a large fanbase both domestically and internationally, supported by a warm yet solid fan community. Here’s a look at the current status of “Funghi.”

The app is experiencing a revival hit! There were long lines at the pop-up event in South Korea.

“This year, the ‘Funghi Gardening Kit Series’ celebrates its 13th anniversary, having released a total of 15 apps.

Some of these incorporate elements like escape and puzzle-solving as well as RPG mechanics, and the latest title, ‘Everyone’s Funghi Gardening Kit,’ is the first in the series to feature multiplayer. Through these upgrades, the series has surpassed a total of 60 million downloads, with about 30% of that coming from overseas.”

This was shared by Yuto Ban from BeeWorks, who has been watching over Funghi since its inception and has been involved in almost everything outside of game development.

Originally, Funghi started as an assistant character in the Nintendo DS game “Touch Detective Ozawa Rina.” When releasing the iPhone version of that game, a promotional app starring Funghi was launched first and became an explosive hit.

“That was the first title in the Funghi Gardening Kit series, ‘Touch Detective: Funghi Gardening Kit.’ Right after its release, we received a response beyond our expectations, exceeding promotional limits.

That year, it consistently ranked on the App Store charts and we received several inquiries about product commercialization,” said Yuto Ban.

From the following year, new apps were steadily announced. Additionally, they expanded into other areas, including the release of a Nintendo 3DS version, manga and anime adaptations, media mix campaigns, and the opening of the character goods store ‘Funghi Market Tokyo Main Store’ (which closed in 2019), gradually increasing their fanbase.

Recently held in South Korea, a pop-up store reportedly had long lines, which is rare in a country where people typically dislike waiting.

“In Japan, we released the Korean version of ‘Original Funghi Gardening Kit’ as part of the 10th anniversary in 2021, and it achieved 500,000 downloads within about three months after launching last fall.

The pop-up store, held in response to the renewed popularity of Funghi, had long lines waiting to enter on the first day. Even the local agents were surprised, as it was quite unusual.”

An annual festival where fans gather, known as “Crowdfunding.”

The main fan base of the app consists largely of women in their 30s and 40s, followed by men and women in their teens and 20s. While the initial boom has settled, there are still many dedicated fans today.

“Among users, some genuinely enjoy the game itself, but many continue playing because of their attachment to the characters,” explains Mr. Ban.

The crowdfunding initiative, which has been held annually since 2019, has become an annual festival for fans, showcasing significant enthusiasm and indicating that “Nameko” is truly loved.

“We are grateful that all the crowdfunding projects we’ve undertaken so far have been well received.

In addition to obtaining special Nameko merchandise, supporters can see the large number of contributors and the total amount raised on the crowdfunding platform, which helps them realize that there are many passionate fans like themselves.”

Two turning points triggered the formation of a fan community

“The first crowdfunding project we undertook was in 2019 for the paperback version of the four-panel comic ‘Nameyon.’ This book had previously been published by a publisher, but it had already gone out of print at that time. Many fans wanted a sequel, but it was challenging to publish it as a book again, so we decided to make it happen through crowdfunding.”

The project for reissuing the four-panel comic reached its goal of 3 million yen within just three hours of launch, ultimately gathering support from around 2,300 backers and raising a total of about 12 million yen. Following this success, the company decided to take on a second crowdfunding challenge.

“The first crowdfunding campaign had the clear goal of reissuing ‘Nameyon,’ but for the second one, we decided to proceed without a specific target.

However, when this discussion arose, the closure of our physical store, ‘Nameko Market Tokyo Main Store,’ where we sold character merchandise, had already been decided, so selling merchandise became an immediate decision. Still, I had concerns about turning the crowdfunding effort into just a merchandise sales venue, so we re-evaluated our objectives.”

 

The ‘Nameko Market Tokyo Main Store’ was not just a place for selling merchandise; it also served as a community hub for fans to meet in person, making it an important touchpoint for the organization. The closure of the store posed a risk, as it reduced opportunities to promote the appeal of Nameko and limited the activities of the “Real Nameko” costume, which acted as an intermediary connecting Nameko and its fans.

Therefore, for the second crowdfunding initiative, we set the goal of creating a space where the Real Nameko can thrive, conceptualizing merchandise around the idea of being with the Real Nameko. With the entire team in agreement and confident, we achieved our target of 3 million yen within just one hour of the campaign’s start.

 

“We’d love to have another big hit title.”

The second crowdfunding project, which began with some uncertainty, not only succeeded but also allowed for the creation of a new initiative: “A place for Real Nameko to shine.” This, says Ban, was a significant achievement. Looking forward, he intends to keep the focus on game development while fostering both online and offline connections with fans.

“Our main goal is to develop the next big hit to follow Funghi Gardening Kit and Nameko no Su. We also want to expand aggressively in overseas app markets to grow our user base.”

Online, they’ve been streaming on YouTube Live since 2020, providing Nameko updates and hosting live phone-in sessions to interact directly with fans every other week. The online shop Nameko-ya, launched in 2021, offers made-to-order original goods.

“For offline events, the main focus has been on closed events as part of crowdfunding rewards. Personally, though, I’d like to explore ways to broaden our reach.

At the 10th-anniversary, we held pop-up stores in five locations nationwide, and meeting customers from all over again reminded us of how loved Nameko still is. It also strengthened our resolve to take the Nameko project seriously. Bit by bit, we hope to create more opportunities for fans to meet Nameko in person.”

Click here for the official “Funghi Cultivation Kit” website