Newzoo & UKIE: Japanese Gaming Market in 2025

• Japan is the #3 gaming market worldwide by revenue. It accounts for 9.1% of all spending, but only 2.2% of the global gaming audience.

• By platforms, Japan is the #2 console market in the world (8% of global revenue, 6.2% of audience), the #3 mobile market (11.5% of revenue, 2% of audience), and the #4 PC market (4.1% of revenue, 2.9% of audience).

• The average Japanese mobile gamer spends 3 times more on mobile games than UK people do. On console, the pattern is reversed: despite the popularity of consoles in Japan, the average British user spends more on console games. All of this reflects the results at the end of 2024.

• In 2024, the Japanese gaming market reached ¥2.483 trillion, up 4.3% from 2023.

• The mobile segment grew 5.2% YoY to ¥1.742 trillion. The PC market grew 16.2% to ¥240 billion. The console market declined 3.1% YoY to ¥525 billion, linked to weaker premium game sales and the end of the Nintendo Switch lifecycle.

• Macroeconomic factors played a role. Due to the weakening yen, in dollar terms, the Japanese market dropped 3.3% to $16.6 billion. Mobile fell 2.4% to $11.5 billion. Console declined 10.1% to $3.5 billion. PC market grew 7.8% YoY to $1.6 billion.

• Japan’s PC segment has been growing strong since 2019, accelerated by the pandemic years. However, Newzoo expects growth to slow from 2024–2027.

• By the end of 2024, 35 million Nintendo Switch consoles had been sold in Japan (70% market share). PlayStation held 14.4 million units (29%). Xbox: 0.76 million, 1% market share.

• 60% of Japanese gamers played on PC and console in the past 6 months, less than the U.S. (66%) and Europe (71%).

• YouTube (67%), LINE (62%), and X (59%) are the top social platforms among Japanese PC/console gamers.

• 60% of Japanese PC/console gamers are male. Their average age is 34.7, higher than America (30.9) and Europe (33.1).

• Japanese PC/console gamers value story and narrative more than gamers in the U.S. or Europe. Open worlds are less appealing to Japanese players than Western audiences.

• As a result, Japanese PC/console gamers play single-player games more often than U.S. or European gamers.

• RPGs, Battle Royales, and shooters are the most popular console genres in Japan. Despite a preference for single-player, competitive multiplayer games are also popular.

• Compared to UK gamers, the Japanese play fewer sports and sandbox games.

• On PC, shooters, adventure, and RPGs lead among Japanese players. Japanese gamers play some shooters genres on PC (Battle Arena / Battle Royale) several times more than British gamers do.

• On mobile, the top genres are simulation, RPG, and adventure. There’s some ambiguity around what’s included in the simulation segment.

• Across all platforms, fantasy and science fiction are the most loved settings for Japanese gamers.

• Super Mario, Pokemon, and Splatoon are the top three console franchises for Japanese players. Among Western IPs, only Minecraft, Fortnite, and Apex Legends made it to the list.

• On PC, more Western franchises are among the most popular.

• Among paid console releases in the last 3 years, 8 out of the top projects by player numbers in Japan were made by local developers, led by narrative-driven single-player titles. On PC, more of the top are co-op games with only one domestic leader (Elden Ring).

• Apex Legends, Fortnite, and Rainbow Six: Siege are the leading F2P console titles by user count. On PC, the leaders are Counter-Strike 2, DOTA 2, and PUBG.

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