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If you're traveling within the city without going far to the suburbs, you'll mainly use public transportation like buses and subways. Would you believe it if we told you that subways could transform into something playable? We introduce Tokyo Metro's 'Metro Time Gate' case, where you board the subway that serves as transportation for many people and embark on adventures to new worlds.
We'd like to note that the materials introduced in this article reference official websites, press releases, and Nikkei Trendy September 2024 issue.
Tokyo Metro's subway content continued since 2014
As many of you may already know, Tokyo Metro's subway content began in 2014. In collaboration with the famous escape room company SCRAP, they operated 'The Underground Mysteries (地下謎への招待状)' until May 2024. This content involved following clues in a kit, taking the subway to designated locations, and solving puzzles. It was so interesting and insightful that Realworld members actually went to Tokyo to experience it firsthand in 2017.
This 'Underground Mysteries' grew to record 500,000 cumulative participants. However, in May this year, signs of change appeared with the end of this event.
Tokyo Metro's ambitious project, 'Metro Time Gate'
Tokyo Metro's new content that appeared in May 2024 is called 'Metro Time Gate (メトロタイムゲート)', and they changed partners as well. This time it's with a company called 'Holiday Hack (休日ハック！)', which is uniquely a subsidiary that started as an internal venture of Lion, a Japanese lifestyle products company. We'll likely have opportunities to cover this 'Holiday Hack' in the future.
So what differences does 'Metro Time Gate' have compared to the existing 'Underground Mysteries'? Of course, the basic structure of taking the subway, solving problems in kits, and exploring the city appears the same, but unlike the previous content that focused on puzzle-solving, this one emphasizes worldview and storytelling.
When you visit the homepage, you can see various characters and enjoy webtoons that explain the game's background. The story goes: 'One day, gates connecting to other worlds were discovered, and there was a parallel world connected to the real world called NEXT. You must help the 'Next Keepers' who protect NEXT and fight for the world's survival.'
'Metro Time Gate' promotes itself as a new experiential entertainment that combines comics, puzzle-solving, and urban exploration. After receiving a kit that includes a 24-hour subway pass, you combine information from the comics with actual street clues to solve puzzles, and your own personalized comic is completed with the comic story and real experience linked together.
'Metro Time Gate' born through open innovation
Looking into the background of 'Metro Time Gate's' creation, we found Tokyo Metro's open innovation program called 'Tokyo Metro ACCELERATOR'. 'Holiday Hack' was selected based on high evaluations for: 1) Making all of Tokyo Metro an attraction, structuring movement as adventure 2) Creating characters that utilize the characteristics of all lines 3) Creating experiences where participants become protagonists and advance the story. Tokyo Metro officials stated they discovered the potential for ideal city tourism and the growth potential of experiential entertainment in 'Holiday Hack'.
Realworld's 'Metro Adventure' in Korea
Realworld, which prides itself as Korea's premier playable content platform, has also launched urban exploration content using subways, riding this trend. In 2021, we conducted 'Metro Adventure 2021: Alice and the Mysterious Bookstore', content that involved taking Seoul's subway and exploring spaces.
While it drew positive reactions from participants, at that time Seoul's subway system didn't have day passes like Tokyo Metro, making it difficult to exit stations. As a result, most content took place within station premises, which felt somewhat disappointing.
Ripple effects of urban exploration games
What are the effects of games that explore the city by subway? Beyond basic kit sales revenue, we can expect economic revitalization ripple effects from food and beverage demand generated as participants move around. In the previous 'Underground Mysteries', they thought people in their 20s would be the main target, but there were actually many participants in their 40s and 50s. This 'Metro Time Gate' is designed for beginners, so the participating generations are becoming even broader. The base is expanding beyond existing escape room and puzzle-solving fans to include families and female participants.
What might be dismissed as 'just a game' is creating economic ripple effects that cannot be underestimated. Various offline experiential content including outdoor escape rooms are emerging in Korea as well, and we hope that existing large corporations like Tokyo Metro will also participate to expand the market further. As a leader in experiential content, Realworld will continue to pursue new challenges. Thank you.