Online gaming has reached an unprecedented level of popularity in Japan. Next to the spread of smartphones and tablets during the 2010s, which have made it easier for people to play games regardless of their location, the COVID-19 pandemic played a major role in increasing people’s engagement with online games. This development is exemplified by annual survey data, which shows that the
has increased considerably compared to the mid-2010s. Although the
continues to be the most popular form of gaming in Japan today and constitutes a larger market than console gaming and PC gaming combined. This situation also extends to the online game market.
The Japanese online game market
The
online game market in Japan was valued at 1.06 trillion Japanese yen in 2023. Since the value in this case does not include games that are distributed directly from other countries, the market size declined compared to the mid-2010s despite the growing popularity of online gaming. It is thought that the growing influence of overseas companies without subsidiaries in Japan as well as the rise of distribution platforms such as Steam play a role in this development. As a
segment breakdown shows, smartphones and tablets make up the largest part of the online game market, while PCs and consoles make up a much smaller share. In the case of smartphone and tablet games, native app games play a much bigger role in terms of sales than web games. In the case of PC and console games, online distribution via operated services generates higher sales than packaged games.
Microtransactions as a social issue
Although online gamers can be found across a wide range of age groups, online gaming is
particularly popular among teenagers. This is especially true in the case of teenage boys, who spend much more time on this activity and are also more likely to spend money on in-game purchases than their female counterparts. Next to possible addictions, the increasing consumption of online games among young people has also led to concerns regarding microtransactions, which constitute a lucrative revenue stream for many online game companies. The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan usually counts
several thousand consultations regarding online games each year. Due to an increase in cases that involve payments made by minors without the approval of their parents, the institution issued a statement in March 2024 that advised parents to log out of their profiles, delete any credit card information, and use parental control settings when handing over devices to their children.
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