Considering the huge economic force that’s been behind it for the past year, it should be no surprise that mobile game spending in Japan is on the rise. What’s startling, however, is that their consumers are putting more money into mobile purchases than ours.
A report from the App Annie Japan Spotlight indicates that Japan has risen significantly over the past year in spending, thanks to certain leading games. Games on iOS earn three times as much in Japan as they do in the US, on average, and six times as much as Android games.
For instance, Line Corp. has made quite a bit with its PokoPang release, and GungHo Online Entertainment has followed suit with approximately $4.1 million earnings per day from its games, including Puzzle & Dragons.
Japanese developers are working to keep gamers engaged with new content and downloadable goods, keeping said updates from slumping. As a result, consumers have gone from spending 30 percent less than U.S. buyers last year to rising over 30 percent this year.
“The download is just the start,” said Jun Otsuka, Line’s global business manager about the application process. “The real grunt work is in running the game.”
Even launching a free-to-play game in the market can be profitable, provided it’s got the right type of addiction behind it. GungHo producer Daisuke Yamamoto stated, “people will eventually pay, if they keep playing.”
It’ll be interesting to see if these numbers continue to rise next year.
Source: Wall Street Journal
