「 噛めば噛むほど味が出る」— The more you chew, the more flavor comes out.
There is a Japanese Idiom that says this.
Games are similar.
At first, the goal was the points. But as players level up, grow their characters, and clear stages one by one, there comes a moment when the points are forgotten. The game itself becomes the reason to keep playing.
Rocket A’s CPE campaigns are designed to create that moment.
Contents
In the World’s Second-Largest Market, Installation Is Not the Beginning
As of 2025, Japan’s mobile game IAP revenue is approximately $11 billion, ranking second in Asia after the Chinese iOS market (Sensor Tower, 2025). With such scale comes high expectations from users. Simply installing an app proves nothing in this market.
However, Japanese users show a unique behavioral pattern. The average mobile game session time is about 27 minutes. For RPG players, a single session averages 40 minutes, while simulation games average 33 minutes and strategy games 31 minutes (MAF.ad, 2026).
Additionally:
- 60% of smartphone users play mobile games daily
- 92% play at least once per week
The CPI Trap — The Gap Between Installation and Play
A Korean game studio preparing for a global launch selected the Philippines as a test market and ran a Google Ads CPI campaign.
The results initially looked promising.
The number of installs approached the target, and the CPI remained within expectations.
But the issue appeared afterward.
Only 60% of users who installed the app actually launched the game and entered the first stage.
At first, the team suspected bugs in the game or network issues in the test market. However, the cause turned out to be simpler.
Users installed the app out of curiosity after seeing the ad, but the install-to-play funnel itself only converted at about 60%.
In other words:
Even though 100 installs occurred under a CPI model, the number of users who actually started playing the game was significantly lower.
When converted into CPPU (Cost Per Playing User), the real acquisition cost became much higher.
This problem is not unique to that game.
In a marketplace where hundreds of apps launch every day, guiding users from installation to actual gameplay is becoming increasingly difficult.
CPI only measures the beginning of the funnel—it does not guarantee what happens afterward.
ポイ活 (Poikatsu) — The Gateway Into Games
ポイ活 (Poikatsu) — “Point activity”
In Japan, there is a culture called Poikatsu
where users earn points through reward platforms by completing certain conditions in games. These points can later be exchanged for cash equivalents.
Each month, dozens of game campaigns appear on major point platforms. Users carefully compare the conditions and rewards before deciding which game to play.
Poikatsu lowers the barrier to trying new games.
If the game isn’t interesting, users can simply collect the points and leave.
But if the game is enjoyable?
Just like the Idiom: 「 噛めば噛むほど味が出る」 — The more you chew, the more flavor appears.
The points become secondary, and the game itself remains.
Long CPE campaigns operate on top of this Poikatsu culture.Milestones are designed so users experience the game long enough for immersion to naturally occur. If CPI purchases installs, Long CPE designs gameplay.
Milestones Are Not Ad Conditions — They Are the Architecture of Immersion
The core of Long CPE lies in its milestone structure.
Advertisers only pay when players reach specific in-game goals, such as:
- Reaching Level 30
- Clearing a particular stage
What matters is that these milestones are not merely payment conditions.
For RPG users who spend around 40 minutes per session, reaching Level 30 means experiencing the core gameplay loop, developing attachment to characters, and becoming immersed in the story.
The process of reaching the milestone is itself the process of becoming engaged with the game.
When we recall the Philippines CPI case—where the install-to-play funnel stopped at 60%—the structural difference becomes clear.
Long CPE never pays for users who never actually play.
In effect, CPPU becomes the true acquisition cost model.
What the Data Shows
Across genres, Long CPE performance differs significantly from traditional UA channels. Based on Point Income campaign data
(aix, 2024):
RPG
- ROAS: 1.8× higher than Google App Campaigns (GAC)
- Retention: 11% improvement
- Cost efficiency: 23× better
Strategy / Simulation
- ROAS: 2.8× higher
- Cost efficiency: 4.7× improvement
These numbers represent more than advertising efficiency. They show that users who pass milestones are fundamentally different players from those who do not. In the Japanese mobile game market (Sensor Tower, 2025):
- RPG accounts for more than one-third of total revenue
- Strategy games account for about 22%
Why Long CPE Is Gaining Attention Now
Long CPE is no longer a strategy only for large titles.
Even games with limited budgets and newly launched titles increasingly select Long CPE as their first UA channel, because the model requires no upfront spending—advertisers pay only for performance.
Industry trends also favor Long CPE.
As privacy regulations strengthen, reward platform users voluntarily consent to data sharing in order to earn points.
For advertisers, this creates a more transparent and reliable data environment for campaign execution.
Closing
「 噛めば噛むほど味が出る」 — The more you chew, the more flavor appears.
At first, players start for the points. But as they continue playing, the true enjoyment of the game reveals itself.
Long CPE does not leave this process to chance. It structures immersion through milestones.
As the Philippines case showed, installation numbers are merely statistics. A real player is someone who launches the game, clears stages, and eventually finds themselves playing while forgetting about the points entirely.
Long CPE is designed to create those players. And that experience becomes retention, and ultimately LTV.
In the end, the best advertisement is one that leads players to immerse themselves in the game—without even realizing it was advertising in the first place.
