More than 70% of Japanese mobile gamers (up 30% over 2023) and 90% of South Korean PC gamers (up 5% over 2023) are now gaming across multiple platforms, as announced in the latest research by Niko Partners, the world’s leading market research and consulting firm covering video games, esports, and live streaming in Asia and MENA. Of the top 10% most played games in Japan and Korea, more than half are available on at least 2 gaming platforms. This data represents a shift toward Japanese mobile players embracing console and increasingly PC, and Korean PC players embracing mobile and increasingly console gaming.
This insight, among others, is detailed in Niko Partners’ July 2024 East Asia Gamers Behavior and Market Insights Report, which complements the East Asia Market Model Report published in May. The Gamers Behavior and Market Insights Report explains the market dynamics in Japan and Korea, including gamer behavior, spending, hours, platforms, esports, livestreaming, M&A, PC Bang, gacha, VTubers, localization, regulations, among others.
“We noticed a large increase in gamers reporting to play on more than one platform in the past year,” said Lisa Hanson, CEO, Niko Partners. “Some of this is due to availability of consoles in Japan after scarcity during the pandemic, and some of it is due to more games being developed for multi-platform use that drive engagement on consoles, mobile and PC. What is notable is that gamers in East Asia demonstrate that cross-platform games lead to higher engagement.”
Some key takeaways and trends from the report include:
- Multi-platform games are gaining increasing popularity in both Japan and Korea, with 39% of all Japanese gamers and 58% of all Korean gamers playing games on at least two platforms, a significant increase compared to previous years.
- We see this particularly in Japan where we recorded more than 30% percentage point increase YoY of mobile gamers who also play on other platforms, driven primarily by the addition of playing on consoles.
- Korean gamers have been multi-platform players for longer than in Japan, so the change is less notable there. However, we note that the shift is going in another direction, with a 5% percentage point increase YoY of PC gamers who try other platforms, driven primarily by the addition of playing on mobile.
- According to Niko’s East Asia Games Market Model Report, Japan’s mobile game market is expected to be stagnant in the next five years. However, as this report shows, gamers playing on more platforms are expected to be the source of growth, we expect significant growth for PC (5-year CAGR of 8.8%) and console (5-year CAGR of 2.5%). It is a different story for Korea, with PC and mobile game market revenues expected to stagnate over the next five years, while console is growing (5-year CAGR of 3.4%). Multi-platform games will be the source of growth and where companies should put their attention to.
- Genre familiarity and good storyline are the top two most important drivers for Japanese and Korean gamers to try new games, with more than 60% of Japanese gamers and 40% of Korean gamers claiming both to be important factors.
- More than 31% of Japanese gamers and 40% of Korean gamers watch game livestreams, making it one of the most important tools for game marketing in both countries.
- While YouTube is the most popular video platform for gaming content, typically measuring 90% of those who engage with gaming content throughout Asia, local platforms such as SOOP (AfreecaTV) in Korea and NicoNico in Japan have each captured more than 20% of gamers in the respective countries, due to their focused attention on gaming content.
The Gamer Behavior and Market Insights report is a part of Niko’s all-new Games Market Report Series. Niko will publish a set of three reports for each of the 13 markets that we track: China, India, East Asia (Japan, Korea), Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam), and MENA (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates). The set consists of an Annual Market Model Report, an Annual Gamer Behavior & Market Insights Reports, and a Six-Month Market Model Update. The Gamers Behavior and Market Insights includes gamer survey results, trends analysis, M&A, internet café trends, regulations, and esports analysis, among others. Additional data on China’s video games industry is available on NikoIQ, Niko Partners’ online dashboard. Niko Partners surveyed more than 500 gamers in Japan and Korea each in April 2024 as one of the numerous inputs to the research.
