About Toroneko | Consulting on Game Business
Japanese / English
Hello—I’m Toroneko.
If you’ve opened this page, I’m guessing you’re at least a little curious about what I do.
If you’re thinking:
“I’d like to bounce some ideas around.”
then I’d be happy if you keep reading.
What does Toroneko do?
In short, I help teams in console and mobile game businesses organize the assumptions and structure needed to make a game work as a business—while working across areas that often get separated, such as development, live operations, and marketing.
That’s why my title is not “marketer,” but Game Business Strategy Producer.
I don’t “run things” for you.
I’m not here to execute or operate work on your behalf.
Instead, I work with you to think through questions like:
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“Are we moving in the right direction?”
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“What should we not do right now?”
A bit of background
Over the years, I’ve been involved in games from planning to launch, live operations, and end-of-service, both from the development side and the marketing / promotion side.
Because of that, I can often anticipate where misalignment happens on the ground—for example:
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“This might become a sticking point for the dev team.”
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“This will likely be difficult for marketing to turn into numbers.”
I don’t assume I “know everything” and make confident declarations.
I prefer to assume I don’t know, confirm things one by one, and turn them into better decision inputs. That distance matters to me.
When people usually reach out
I often get messages at moments like these:
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“We’re not sure whether to move forward with a new concept.”
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“We’re developing a game, but something feels off.”
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“We’re tracking KPIs, but we can’t organize what to do next.”
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“We’re worried whether the new title will work.”
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“We’re struggling with how to reboot an existing game.”
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“Meetings are increasing, but decisions aren’t moving forward.”
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“Internal opinions are split.”
In other words, most people aren’t asking me to “give the answer.”
They’re asking for help organizing the inputs needed to decide.
How I work (important)
First, the basics:
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I do not handle execution or ongoing operations.
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I do not work on-site or join day-to-day work.
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I work primarily remotely and asynchronously.
Instead, after reviewing your materials and the current state of the game, I will return comments on:
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points that look concerning
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risks that are easy to overlook
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priorities
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what to not do (and why)
A quick note
Some teams worry that involving an external person might make the team’s work harder.
I understand that concern well—I’ve been on both sides many times, so I’m very conscious of it.
I won’t step into execution.
I also won’t否定 your team’s way of working or decision-making.
My role is to help organize assumptions and priorities—so the team can keep being the main actor, while the work becomes easier to move forward.
What changes?
What I often hear afterward is:
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“We have fewer things to do.”
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“Decisions became faster.”
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“It’s easier to explain internally.”
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“We reduced unnecessary rework.”
Nothing flashy happens—but the business becomes far less shaky.
What I can and cannot do
I can help with:
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structural reviews of planning / development / live operations
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organizing marketing strategy and KPI design
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identifying business risks and failure factors
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decision-making “sparring” (structured brainstorming for decisions)
I cannot help with:
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execution, operations, or project management
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ad buying / ad operations / analytics work on your behalf
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attending meetings continuously
If what you’re looking for doesn’t match this, you don’t need to force a conversation.
Fees
People ask about this often, so I’ll share it upfront.
As a guideline:
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JPY 500,000 to 1,200,000 per month
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minimum commitment: 3 months
If the scope is limited, I can also propose a lighter plan with a narrower range of involvement.
Also, any work I support will not be published as case studies or used in sales materials.
I accept engagements on a strictly confidential basis.
About Toroneko (briefly)
A quick summary:
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25+ years in the game industry
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experience across console and mobile games as marketing / producer
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involved in 60+ titles
(total across console + live online games; counted from my time at major game companies) -
experienced the full cycle from planning to launch to end-of-service
For detailed background, reading a few of my articles will probably give you the picture.
Since founding Toroneko Marketing Inc. in 2020, I’ve supported many game companies.
Reaching out
It doesn’t need to be a perfectly structured consultation.
Just sharing:
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what you’re currently struggling with
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what you’re unsure about
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a rough situation
is enough to start.
After a brief exchange, if I feel I won’t be able to help in this case, I may say so.
If you’d like to reach out, please email me (address below).
If needed, we can also talk online.
Finally
This page is not meant as a sales pitch.
All I hope is that it helps you decide:
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whether our ways of thinking might fit
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whether you’d like to talk once
One last honest note from me:
After 25 years in this industry, I’ve seen many times how development and marketing—or the field and management—don’t fully align.
That’s exactly why I chose a role that stands in between and helps organize things, rather than taking a side.
If we’re going to work on games in the same industry, I want it to be something we can keep doing with a positive, enjoyable mindset.
If I can be useful as that organizer, I’d be genuinely happy.
Contact
contact_us@gamemarketinglab.com
Feel free to share your situation—briefly is perfectly fine.
