Puzzle & Dragons studio isn't taking success for granted

- Kazuki Morishita, CEO of GungHo Online, says that his company isn't taking the immense popularity of Puzzle & Dragons for granted. The smartphone game is currently generating more than $2.5 million a day for GungHo, leading the company to be valued at around $11.45 billion. However, Morishita recognises that his company's luck could change rapidly. "Who's to say that the pendulum won't swing back?," he told the Wall Street Journal. "Or swing in a completely different direction altogether. We are always in crisis mode." Morishita wants to secure the future for his Puzzle & Dragons brand by adapting the franchise and its characters to other platforms, such that the series can live on for the next 10-20 years -- "beyond smartphones", he says. "We design the very best game that we can, but from there, so much depends on timing," he admits. Discussing the comparisons between GungHo's market value and Nintendo's, Morishita added, "It made me feel lousy. I felt embarrassed. We haven’t even reached the level of the ground Nintendo is standing on, in terms of the ability to create."