Mobile game installs grew 7% in the first quarter of 2024 in Japan, according to a new report from measurement firm Adjust.
Sessions were up 6% for games compared to Q1 2023, Adjust said, after mobile game app installs and sessions declined in early 2022 and stabilized in 2023. And in Q1, the install numbers were up 18% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. The downside: players aren’t spending as much.
The reported some of the unique characteristics of the Japanese mobile game and apps market, which is among the strongest in the world.
Overall, the gaming app user base is predominantly male, with 63.6% male and 36.4% female players. However, this distribution varies significantly across different game genres.
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Sports games are primarily played by males, accounting for 91.8% of the player base, whereas 58.9% of arcade game players are female. The 25-year-old to 34-year-old age group is the largest segment for gaming apps, accounting for 35.5% of players and showing the highest engagement across most genres.
Arcade games led the growth, with installs and sessions increasing by 38% in Q1 2024. The average gaming session lengths rose from 26.37 minutes in 2022 to 27.37 minutes in Q1 2024.
Sports games are favored by younger audiences (18-24), who makeup 30.3% of the player base. Simulation games attract a more mature audience, with 35.7% of players aged 35-44. Puzzle games appeal to older audiences, with 24.9% of players aged 45-54 and22.3% aged 55 and above.
Paid user acquisition share is increasing across most gaming sub verticals in Japan. Overall, the ratio rose from 1.82 in 2023 to 2.31 in Q1 2024, with hypercasual unsurprisingly) leading and increasing from 5.26 to 5.69. Board games also rose from1.55 to 2.07, and simulation grew from 1.29to 1.93. Strategy games more than doubled their rate, indicating substantial investment in paid campaigns.
Average revenue per monthy active user (ARPMAU) decreased from $1.04 in 2023 to 99 cents in Q1 2024, with RPGs having the highest ARPMAU despite a drop from $6.17 to $5.09.
Consumer spending on gaming apps declined by 13% in Q1 compared to a year earlier in 2023 but it showed a 2% increase in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023.
RPGs accounted for 48.8% of total consumer spending on gaming apps from 2023 to Q1 2024, followed by strategy games at 12.4% and puzzle games at 8.2%.
Overall app market in Japan
Meanwhile, Adjust also took a look at all apps in Japan. As one of the biggest mobile app markets in the world, Japan continues to innovate and captivate its highly engaged audience. In 2023, smartphones were used by over 73% of the Japanese population, mobile internet penetration reached 93%, Adjust said. More than 2.5 billion app downloads were recorded. This enthusiasm also extended to consumer spending, which hit $17.9 billion in 2023, placing Japan third globally, behind only China and the U.S.
The sustained success of the market can be attributed to Japan’s exceptional adaptability. Japan’s digital environment is vast and diverse, with emerging channels such as connected TV (CTV) and PC and console firmly finding their way into marketers’ playbooks, the report said. Plus, the growing prominence of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are creating more opportunities to enhance app experiences, find high quality users, and drive engagement, Adjust said.
To thrive in this dynamic but ultra-competitive market, it’s essential to find the right channel and media mix, remain ahead of changing data privacy frameworks and regulations, and adapt to shifting user behaviors and expectations, Adjust said.
Adjust said Japan’s data-sharing opt-in rate increased slightly from 23% to 24% YoY, with mobile gaming leading at 30% in Q1 2024, consistent with the previous year. Opt-in rates have been down since Apple prioritized user privacy over targeted ads.
App installs in Japan declined by 1% in 2023 YoY but saw a 3% rise in Q1 2024 compared to Q4 2023.
Consumer spending dropped to $1.35 billion by March 2024, reflecting a two-year decline. However, Q1 2024 saw a 3% increase in average spending over Q4 2023, hinting at recover
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