Pole To Win is an established leader in game debugging, but their new concept is “More Than Just Debugging.” We asked them about what’s changed 

Pole to Win is known as a leader in Japan’s debugging industry, but that’s not all they do. The company exhibited at Tokyo Game Show 2024 (TGS 2024) in September under the tagline of “More Than Just Game Debugging.” AUTOMATON spoke with Pole to Win’s Teppei Komiya during the event to find out more about where the company is headed. 

Pole to Win was established in 1994. The company initially specialized in game debugging, but has since expanded its fields of expertise to offer a variety of services under the umbrella of Pole to Win Holdings, Inc. At TGS 2024, Komiya told us all about what the company is doing, as well as its future goals. 

More Than Just Game Debugging 

―Please introduce yourself. 

Teppei Komiya (Komiya hereafter): 
My name is Komiya, and I’m a member of Pole to Win’s Corporate Strategy Division. 

―You’re exhibiting at TGS this year not as Pole to Win (PTW hereafter), but as the Pole to Win Holdings group (PHD group hereafter). Can you tell me what the difference is and why you’ve decided to appear as a group? 

Komiya: 
At last year’s TGS, we had PTW and PTW Japan, two companies within the PHD group, exhibit together. But this year, it was left entirely up to me to decide how to organize our booth. The PHD group includes not only PTW, which does game debugging, but also a company called HIKE, which produces games and anime, and a subsidiary called ADOOR, which has recently started publishing. 

I felt that the extent of the PHD group’s involvement in the game and entertainment industries is still not very well-known, so I decided to have the whole group represented at this year’s TGS in order to properly convey to people what it is that we are doing. 

―You’re appearing under the rather bold tagline of “More Than Just Game Debugging.” Since you are a major player in the industry, doesn’t it work in your favor to have your public image centered around game debugging? How did this concept come about? 

Komiya: 
Thanks to our users’ support, PTW is celebrating its 30th anniversary. It may be an exaggeration to say this, but I think that when it comes to game debugging, everyone knows the name PTW (laughs). 

―I have the same impression. 

Komiya:
It’s something we’re very grateful for. PTW is still strongly associated with debugging. However, in 2022, we went through a transformation. Three companies – PTW, PitCrew Co., Ltd. and QaaS Co., Ltd., merged under the name PTW. After the merger, the “new PTW” started providing the services of PitCrew and QaaS as well. 

However, because only the “PTW” name remained, the other services we now provide don’t stand out. That’s why we came up with the concept of “More Than Just Game Debugging” – to communicate that to people. 

―But if most of your revenue comes from game debugging, I think it’s kind of inevitable that you will carry that image. 

Komiya: 
Actually, if you look at the whole group, the game debugging section isn’t that big. 

―Wait, really? 

Komiya: 
If we look at the game sector alone, the group is involved in development and publishing in addition to debugging. We also provide a variety of other services, such as voice recording and sound production for games, as well as producing graphics. We also make significant profit in domestic and overseas solutions, as well as media content through HIKE. In addition, we localize Japanese products for overseas markets and vice versa. 

―I’m surprised. 

Komiya: 
If you look at our financial results, you can tell right away. But despite this, when people hear the name PTW, they think of game debugging first and foremost, so we would like to convey that we provide services other than debugging while maintaining our reputation in the field. 

―I see. Does that mean that when interacting with other companies, you often encounter people who, like me, have the preconceived notion that PTW only does debugging? 

Komiya: 
I’ve never been told that directly, but that’s the way people look at us. I often hear people say things like, “I didn’t know you did that too, I’m surprised!” or “I had no idea!” 

―So, you want to break through that state of being seen as a company that only does debugging. 

Komiya: 
That’s right. Of course, we’ve been providing game debugging services for a long time, and we don’t mean to neglect that. In fact, it’s an area we would like to pursue even further. 

However, games are only a portion of the many types of content and digital solutions available out there. Therefore, we have a strong desire to expand the scope of our services to include all kinds of software other than games. To this end, I would like to emphasize the fact that we provide not only debugging, but also QA and other services for a variety of software other than games. 

―Indeed, if you don’t spell it out, people won’t realize. 

Komiya: 
That’s right. We have redesigned our official website and taken various other measures, but I still feel that we have a long way to go. 

We’ve been providing an increasing number of services in areas other than games. Take PTW itself as an example, we do customer support and internet support. We provide manned monitoring of e-commerce platforms to make sure that there is no incorrect information or anything that looks unnatural to users. We also offer a wide range of other services, such as 24-hour monitoring of server infrastructure for alerts, and QA for many types of software other than games. 

―So, in the real sense of the words, you do “More Than Just Game Debugging.”  

Komiya: 
Absolutely. It’s just that the name PTW remains strongly associated with debugging, so we would like to retain that reputation whilst getting across the fact that we can provide many other services. 

―Please tell us about some of your recently launched services. 

Komiya: 
We do verification for traffic navigation apps, such as the railway route apps many Japanese people use. We’ve been doing this for a long time, and we’ve also been providing monitoring services for major e-commerce platforms. 

―What direction is the PHD group aiming for in the future? 

Komiya: 
I’ve talked about this with President Tachibana (PTW’s CEO Teppei Tachibana) too, but I think we are still seen as a bit “analog” in certain respects, which brings me back to the topic of us not just doing game debugging… 

―I think I know what you mean, something like a reputation for resolving things using manpower or sheer volume? 

Komiya: 
That’s right. I guess you could call it labor-intensive. But in reality, it is not like that. For example, we incorporate cutting-edge AI technology into our operations. This is not to say that we undermine the work done by people, but we would like to provide services that cannot be delivered by human hands alone, as well as our own brand of quality. 

To this end, we believe that as a group, we should pursue the latest technology, including AI, VR, XR, and more recently, blockchain technology. I feel we need to work harder and update our mindset in order to be seen as a company with the potential to expand into a variety of areas. 

ADOOR steps in to handle what PTW can’t manage 

―As you’ve mentioned, the PHD group is quite large, and you’ve brought up several names here. Can you tell us about each of the companies? 

Komiya: 
Currently, there are four companies directly under the PHD group: PTW, PTW International, HIKE, and the recently established ADOOR. While PTW is engaged in game debugging and software development for domestic companies, PTW International mainly targets overseas companies, and HIKE focuses on media content. 

―HIKE (formerly Crest) is the parent of AQUAPLUS, so I think many users are familiar with it, but what about ADOOR? 

Komiya: 
PTW has the pleasure of working with many game companies, but this also means that we’re often unable to act quickly due to our heavy schedule. 

Therefore, we have ADOOR as a separate unit of PTW. Its purpose is to take swift action by keeping up with new technologies such as the metaverse and blockchain.  

―What phase is ADOOR currently in? 

Komiya: 
We are still in the early stages of developing the business – we’re talking to people on various sides, and “planting seeds” in various places. We recently published a VR game called “Project: JUDGE VISIONS,” which was developed by Bandai Namco Studios. ADOOR is now able to provide not only publishing services, but also various consultations for projects that PTW would have had to decline due to its workload. 

We are also available to consult on events and other matters that are outside the scope of what PTW does, and I think that as a group, we are able to handle a broader range of customers requests than before. I think that by continuing to steer in this direction, the PHD group will become a framework people can approach with the knowledge that “This is what PTW is for.” 

―However, the PHD group is large, and there are many different companies within it, so it seems to me like it would be difficult to keep them all on the same page. How does the group function as a whole? 

Komiya: 
It is difficult, but I don’t think it’s necessary to be aligned at all times. That said, in the past, it would have been difficult for us to do things jointly, but with the birth of ADOOR and our new solutions, we can accomplish a lot more now.  I feel that the range of proposals we can make to clients has expanded even more. PTW and Aquaplus can team up to offer one thing, while PTW and HIKE can offer something else, and so on. 

―So, the different companies cooperate to form a kind of synergy? 

Komiya: 
Yes, that’s right. Of course, we don’t have a long history together, and AQUAPLUS ended up a part of our group through the HIKE connection, so I think each company still has its own way of thinking. Finding ways to work together is a challenge we’re still facing. But on the other hand, there is also a sense of optimism that we can discover unexpected synergies. 
 

Taking on new challenges through BtoC 

―Until now, the PHD Group has been strong in the BtoB (business-to-business) field, but it seems to me that you are putting a lot of effort into your exhibit at TGS2024. Are you thinking of focusing on BtoC (business-to-customer) from now on as well? 

Komiya: 
If I were to talk only in terms of this year’s exhibition, I would say that we are doing both BtoB and BtoC. In the past, we only exhibited for BtoB, and it was difficult to prepare content that would appeal to the general public. This year, however, we wanted to show a different side of us. This led to the PHD Group’s joint exhibition. 

We hope that this will lead interest from BtoB to BtoC, or conversely, that customers who got interested through the BtoC side of things will contact us for BtoB matters too. We also made freebies for the event in the form of fans, with the PHD Group on the front, representing BtoB, and ADOOR’s “Project: JUDGE VISIONS” logo representing BtoC on the back. Basically, we’re telling the general public to play our games, while also telling industry members that we can offer them debugging for their games.

―Today is the second day of TGS2024. Are you getting a good response to your concept of “More Than Just Game Debugging”? 

Komiya: 
The response has been extremely positive. We also have the location of the booth to thank for that. People have come to our booth from various other booths, such as anime and game-related ones, and have expressed surprise at the range of our activities. So, reactions have been good so far, and we’ve received some feedback too. I think we have been able to surprise customers in a good way, receiving responses such as “Wow, PTW does a lot of things!” or “You’re doing content now?” This year’s flashy booth is different from PTW’s usual image, and the collaboration with the anime “Quality Assurance in Another World” also helped us stand out. 

―What direction is the PHD group aiming for in the future? 

Komiya: 
As you can see from our booth at TGS2024, we have changed the contents and presentation since last year, but this does not mean that we will keep doing exactly the same thing in the future. We would like to take on more and more challenges and keep giving users a sense of anticipation, so please look forward to our future endeavors! 

―Thank you for your time! 

The PHD Group exhibited at Tokyo Game Show 2024 with the challenging new concept of “More Than Just Game Debugging.” Even though they are a leader in the field, they are now trying their hand at services beyond game debugging, venturing outside of BtoB and into BtoC endeavors.