Garena Free Fire just like Fortnite and PUBG have become popular worldwide as one of the 3 pillars of Battle Royale. In this article, we will see how the famous mobile game Free Fire became popular around the world, and also in Japan, the focus of our site.
Free Fire is a third-person game where 50 players drop onto an island to obtain weapons and resources and eliminate other players. How did Free Fire become the most popular mobile game of all time in such a short time?
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How did Free Fire come about?
The game Free Fire is developed by 111dots Studio and published by Garena. The game launched its first beta version in November 2017 and was officially released for Android and iOS on December 4, 2017.
Free Fire is a game clearly inspired by PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) with the aim of becoming more accessible and optimized for mobile devices. A lighter game, taking up less space and requiring less from the device.
Garena Free Fire became a success hitting the mark of 7.5 million players by October 2018. Being the most downloaded game on Android and iOS devices, surpassing even the phenomena Clash Royale.
The game obtained approximately 182 million downloads in 2018. It raised about 19 million dollars in monthly revenue until December 2018 with the numbers rising more and more. It also won in the “Best Game” category.
Free Fire x Fortnite x PUBG
Free Fire reached an audience that is completely unaware of the existence of Fortnite. Although Fortnite is one of the most popular computer and console games, most of the population only has access to a mobile phone.
Free Fire, being a much lighter game, running on most devices, reaches a much larger player base than Fortnite. Not to mention that Free Fire has the advantage of not having a building mode that bothers some players.
Although PUBG has a mobile version, it is still far from reaching Free Fire, precisely because it is heavier than the latter. Fortnite also has a mobile version, but it is only available for some Android devices and for iOS.
Although Free Fire is blatantly a copy of the game PUBG, which started the Battle Royale games. Free Fire is light years ahead for receiving special dedication and treating players in the best way, with updates and novelties.
Fortnite is another game that has surpassed PUBG and even Free Fire in many aspects by dedicating itself to constant updates and new features. Undoubtedly, in my opinion, Fortnite is the best game with support and dedication to players.
The Popularity of Free Fire in Brazil
At the beginning of 2018, the popularity of the game was already quite visible. Wherever I went, I found children playing this game. If I had my phone in hand, people would ask if I was playing Free Fire.
Free Fire is more popular than Candy Crush which has a more adult and casual audience. The game also consolidated several YouTube channels and along with Fortnite was a well-discussed topic, coming close to Minecraft.
My cousin stayed at my house for a few months and he simply spent the whole day playing Free Fire. The game is really very addictive and can harm people if not controlled. A super popular game among children.
I know a Brazilian community of FreeFire where you can find tips, codes, tutorials, guides, and all kinds of information related to the game Free Fire so popular on Android and iOS devices.
In fact, there are thousands of communities on such topics. The other day a friend showed me how profitable Free Fire can be just with videos on Facebook and YouTube; I was simply amazed by the number of views of gameplay.
The Popularity of Free Fire in Japan
Japanese people have a strange taste when it comes to games, so much so that Western games do not do so well in Japan. Still, Free Fire and Fortnite are phenomena that managed to reach a good Japanese audience.
In Japanese, the game is called Furii Faiyaa [フリー・ファイヤー]. Unfortunately, while researching, I couldn’t find much information about the game, not even a Wikipedia page in Japanese.
Perhaps its popularity is not as strong as some think. Most young people in Japan end up dedicating themselves more to their Japanese RPGs. Although I see quite a few Japanese playing Fortnite, I even talked to some of them.
The Battle Royale genre is still popular among the Japanese audience, with several anime and games that address this theme. There is even a manga called Battle Royale, which probably helped in popularizing the term. Animes like Btoom, Mirai Nikki, and Danganronpa are some of the genre that stands out in the country.
Weapons of Free Fire in Japanese
Maybe you decide to play Free Fire in Japanese. Although I couldn’t find much information, perhaps the vocabulary list below can help you decipher some words from the game:
Responsive Table: Scroll the table sideways with your finger >>
| Portuguese | Japanese | Romaji |
| Assault Rifle | アサルトライフル | Asarutoraifuru |
| Burst Assault Rifle | バーストアサルトライフル | Bāsutoasarutoraifuru |
| Shotgun | ポンプショットガン | Ponpushottogan |
| Tactical Shotgun | タクティカルショットガン | Takutikarushottogan |
| SMG – Submachine Gun | サブマシンガン | Sabumashingan |
| Pistol | ピストル | Pisutora |
| Rocket Launcher | ロケットランチャー | Rokettoranchā |
| Grenade | グレネード | Gurenēdo |
| Scoped Revolver | スコープ付きリボルバー | Sukōpu-tsuki riborubā |
| Minigun | ミニガン | minigan |
My Personal Opinion about Free Fire
To be honest, I have never played Free Fire and I am not even interested. I am writing this article just to meet the demand. I don’t really like this style of game, especially because I am not used to playing on mobile.
Since I played Fortnite on the Nintendo Switch, I can say that the style of the game is really addictive and charismatic. Free Fire is super accessible and does not require you to build gigantic and bizarre structures in the middle of the battle, which earns my positive point.
Although it is a grand game, I am somewhat concerned about the children who play it. No matter how much some deny that games can influence people, I strongly affirm that games influenced and shaped the person I am today.
I played quite a bit of Fortnite and Overwatch and did not let such games influence me. Everything will depend on how the person approaches the game, but in any case, be careful not to let the game dominate you!
This is a very delicate subject, but addiction and the content we consume can clearly harm certain people. Therefore, it is good for parents to always observe their children’s behavior. I am disappointed with this generation of young people.
In fact, the attitude and reaction of children regarding these comments of mine will only affirm what I am saying. I hope you enjoyed this article; if you did, share it and leave your comments.
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