Japan‘s Social Gaming Market 2013: Status Quo & Key Trends

By Serkan Toto, PhD www.serkantoto.com

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About Me •  CEO and founder of Kantan Games, KK •  Social and mobile gaming industry consultant •  Advisor for startups in Japan and the US •  Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com •  Based in Japan since 2004 •  Hardcore gamer •  Personal site: http://www.serkantoto.com

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Current Favorite (Mobile) Game

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Current Favorite (Mobile) Game

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Visit My Website For Free Information On Japan’s Mobile Game Industry (http://www.serkantoto.com)

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Contact Information

Twitter: @serkantoto LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/serkantoto Email: serkan AT serkantoto.com

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Agenda I: Status Quo Of Japan’s Social Gaming Market II: 13 Key Trends In Japan

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I: Status Quo Of Japan’s Social Gaming Market

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Japan‘s Unique Social Landscape

   •  4 homegrown social networks with 25-50

million registered users each: – Mixi (80%+ mobile social networking) – GREE (mobile social gaming) – Mobage (mobile social gaming) – LINE (mobile chat application)

•  Twitter: 30+ million users •  Facebook: 19+ million MAU

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Fragmented Game Market

   •  ~300-400 social game providers in Japan. •  20+ game platform providers (all mobile). •  2 dominant companies as platform and

game provider hybrids: GREE and DeNA (“Facebook+Zynga in 1“).

•  LINE (since July 2012), Kakaotalk (February 2013), and dgame (December 2012) emerge as domestic competitors.

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Japan‘s Social Gaming Ecosystem

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Size Of Japan‘s Social Gaming Market -> Projection from Yano Research, January 2013

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Size Of Japan‘s Social Gaming Market -> Projection from Nomura Research, January 2012

   

Image credit: The Nikkei 13  

Social Is Bigger Than Video Gaming -> Data from Yano Research, February 2013.

   

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Extremely High Paying User Ratio -> Morgan Stanley offers more insight.

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Spending Patterns -> Not much difference compared to other regions

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4 Big Reasons Why Japanese Play Social Games

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The Top 5 User Demographics For Social Games

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Some User Data From GREE

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II: 13 Key Trends In Mobile Gaming In Japan (And Asia)

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Trend 1: Smartphone And Tablet Revolution

   Source:  Impress  R&D   21  

Trend 1: Smartphone And Tablet Revolution

   Source:  MM  Research  Ins>tute   22  

Trend 2: Shift To The App Economy

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Trend 3: Rise Of The Chat Apps

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Trend 3: Rise Of The Chat Apps

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Trend 4: Competition In Platforms

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Trend 5: User Acquisition Costs Rise

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Trend 6: Puzzle & Dragons Hype

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Trend 6: Puzzle & Dragons Hype

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Trend 6: Puzzle & Dragons Hype

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Trend 6: Puzzle & Dragons Hype

Image credit: Social Game Info 31  

Trend 6: Puzzle & Dragons Hype

Source: App Annie 32  

Trend 7: Next-Gen Social Games

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•  There are now payment caps for younger players on DeNA and GREE.

•  Real-money, off-platform trading of virtual items is still a problem.

•  Certain bingo/lottery-like gaming mechanics are banned.

•  Odds of winning are now disclosed in gacha. •  JASGA has been established.

Trend 8: Regulation (?)

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Trend 8: Regulation (?)

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Trend 8: Regulation (?)

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Trend 9: Card Battle Fatigue (?)

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Trend 9: Card Battle Fatigue (?)

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Trend 9: Card Battle Fatigue (?)

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Trend 9: Card Battle Fatigue (?)

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Trend 9: Card Battle Fatigue (?)

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Trend 10: Diversification

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Trend 11: Internationalization

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Trend 12: Salaries Are Rising

44   Image credit: Yusuke Ando (Slideshare presentation, 2009)

Trend 12: Salaries Are Rising

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Trend 12: Salaries Are Rising

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Trend 13: The Gaijin Are Coming

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Thank you for listening! Questions?

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Contact Information

Twitter: @serkantoto LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/serkantoto Email: serkan AT serkantoto.com

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