Mobile gaming has been dominant in the gaming industry for a while. However, console gaming still reigns supreme in Japan, one of the major regions for gaming.
Even Japanese Parents Favored Consoles in Their Households
Console gaming is the preferred choice of Japanese gamers, according to a Niko Partners report. A survey conducted by Japan Youth Gamers revealed that over 300 parents (aged 18 to 90) and 90 gamers (aged 16 to 18) preferred consoles due to better visibility and control over the gaming content.
Japanese Adults Are Gamers Too
It is not just the Japanese teens that enjoy video games. The adults in the region seem to see gaming more favourably and play occasionally. At the same time, they believe that self-monitoring gaming hours is a better practice than relying on the government, which starkly contrasts China’s approach.
Console is More Popular, but Mobile Gaming Retains Players for longer
Around 72.3% of Japanese gamers prefer console gaming, while 63.5% of this demographic plays mobile games. PC gaming lags behind at just 14.7%. However, Japanese youth play mobile games for an average of 7.9 hours a week, while the figure for PC and console gaming is just 6.5 hours.

A Big Chunk of Gamers are Females
The report found that women accounted for nearly a quarter of the total gaming revenue in the Asian market. Females also made up a sizeable 37% of the gamers in the region. Our previous report also talked about female gaming populations rising in the Western regions as well. Meaning that women in gaming are a growing population.
The Potential of non-Japanese Gaming Firms in the Region
Nearly half of the Japanese teens in the survey seemed interested in foreign games, esports, live streaming, and content creators. Although, the adults were more reserved in this regard. But this clearly hints at the opportunities for foreign gaming companies since the youth offer a potential market to capitalize on.