Japanese Game Sales and Demographics A study of the influence of culture on the video game market

Prior to 2005 Games Many of the top selling games are based on popular television series and established video game franchises, despite some being rated poorly 1996 DBZ (ultimate battle 22) sells in the top 100 with a Metacritic rating of 25/ DBZ Final Bout sells in the top 100 Despite Metacritc rating of 30/ Gundam Zeonic Front sells in the top 100 with an IGN rating of 6.5/ Unlimited Saga sells in the top 50 with a Metacritic rating of 45/100

Prior to 2005 Games cont’d Nintendo is Japan’s Top Selling Publisher Since 1989 Nintendo has sold more titles every year then any other publisher in Japan Pokemon hits critical mass 1996 Pocket Monsters is introduced, selling over 2.5 million copies in Japan alone. The series as a whole has sold over 30 million copies in Japan alone since it’s inception Through 1996 SNES games dominate sales Through 1996 SNES leads the way in software sales followed in a distant second by the Gameboy. Shift in Focus? In 1997 Gameboy software sales more then double from 4.3 million units to 10 million units

Prior to 2005 Games Cont’d By 2005 Combined sales of GBA and DS Games tops PS2 game sales 2005 is the first year where portable systems sell more games then home console games in Japan. Led by more traditional “girl games” such as Nintendogs, Tamagotchi, and Brain Age. Coincidentally a massive expansion of the Japanese rail system occurs in March of 2004 with the opening of the Kagoshima to Yatsushiro line which cut the travel time between the cities from 1:30 to just 35 minutes. Top selling categories Prior to 2005 the top selling video game categories included RPG’s, Fighting Games, and Racing Games

Top Chart: Software Sales in 1996 | Bottom Chart: Software Sales in 2005

Present

2005 – Present Games Nintendo Revolutionizes the Market With the release of the Nintendo Wii in 2006 Nintendo looked to capitalize on game play innovations instead of graphical enhancements. Having sold over 24 million titles thus far No Xbox or Xbox 360 titles crack the top 100 in sales Being outsold by PS2 consoles at a 2 to 1 ratio and just barely topping sales of Dreamcast, Microsoft has yet to publish a game that cracks the top 100 sales list in Japan. A feat which would be difficult considering only 760,000 Xbox 360 consoles have been sold in Japan.

2005 – Present Games Cont’d Portable Games Becoming Dominant With the release of the Playstation Portable and Nintendo DS, coupled with the busy lifestyles of Japanese gamers, the portable systems have begun to outsell the major consoles. As of August 2008 the Nintendo DS has sold over 108 million games, while Sony’s PSP has sold over 20 million titles. Compare this to the combined total of all next gen systems tallying up to roughly 35 million units. Top selling categories The top selling game categories include, Role Playing Games, Brain Training games, Fighting games and the new Active Games Genre (including wii play, wii fit, wii music)‏

1,783,496Pokemon PlatinumDs 1,794,496Super Smash Bros BrawlWii 1,827,404Wii FitWii 2,501,135 Monster Hunter Freedom 2 nd Generation PSP SalesTitleSystem

Demographic Information There is very little information about Japanese gamer demographics. The little that is known is based on game sales and supported with cultural influences

What Can Be Determined? Females, both young and old play video games. According to a recent study involving women over the age of 50 showed that 41% of those asked had a game machine in their house. Of that 41%, 68% used it occasionally or more frequently. Games like Brain Age, Big Brain Academy, Animal Crossing, and Wii Fit are very popular among Japanese Women and Girls. It then may surprise you that they are also some of the top selling games in Japan.

What Can Be Determined? Cont’d The typical Japanese gamer enjoys story over action. With Role Playing Games consistently selling at the top of the Japanese charts, and Games like Halo and Gears of War not cracking 1 million sales overall, it’s pretty clear that Japanese gamers prefer a good story. Brand Loyalty is very strong Japanese gamers purchase games based on their favorite television series, regardless of the apparent quality of the title. That’s certainly a strong sense of loyalty. This can also be seen with the lack of Xbox sales, brand loyalty to Sony and Nintendo is very strong.

What Can Be Determined? Cont’d Japanese Gamers Purchase Portable Games It’s been shown time and time again, Japanese consumers have purchased portable games at a ratio of over 3 to 1 since 2005.

United States Game Sales and Demographics

2006 Game Sales Sports and Shooter games high on best- selling charts  Madden NFL 07 sells 3.1 mill units on PS2 and 1.3 mill on Xbox360  Gears of War sells 2.0 mill units on Xbox360 Also a mixture of other genres within top ten  Role-playing, puzzle, musical, simulation, platform

2006 Game Sales – Top Ten *Numbers from VGChartz.com

2007 Game Sales Wii games becomes more popular and frequent on best-selling charts  Wii Sports sells 7.3 mill units  Wii Play sells 4.3 mill units  Super Mario Galaxy sells 2.5 mill units Other noteworthy titles  Halo 3 sold over $170 million on its first day of release  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has sold over 7 million copies worldwide

2007 Game Sales – Top Ten *Numbers from VGChartz.com

2007 ESA Report: Best-Selling Genres Top 4: Action, Family Entertainment, Sport Games, Shooter

2008 Game Sales Wii begins to dominate top-selling charts  Wii Sports sells 6.4 mill units  Super Smash Bros Brawl sells 4.1 mill units  Mario Kart Wii sells 3.4 mill units  Wii Play sells 3.2 mill units  Wii Fit sells 2.7 mill units  Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock sells 1.3 mill units

2008 Game Sales Popular Action and Shooter games ranked high  Grand Theft Auto IV sells 3.9 mill units and takes in over $500 million in its first week  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare sells 1.8 mill units  Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots sells 1.3 mill units

2008 Game Sales – Top Ten *Numbers from VGChartz.com

Demographics - Overall Consumer Level  65% of American households invested in computer or video games  38% of homes own a video game console Player Profiles  Average age of players is 35  Adult gamers have been playing games for an average of 13 years  26% of gamers are age 50 or older

Games Aren’t Only for Kids!

Demographics - Gender 40% of players are female 60% of players are male Percentage of women has increased from 33 to 38 over last 5 years Frequent adult male players average 15 years of gaming, and females average 12 33% of the playing population is female gamers age 18 or over 18% of the playing population is male gamers age 17 or under

Compare And Contrast Why are we different?

Top-selling Games Culture influences game sales more than anything

Culture The U.S. Was founded on freedom and independence Grand Theft Auto, Mercenaries, Saints Row Player is not forced to experience the game through the designers eyes; players can develop their own emergent play

Culture - Freedom Metal Gear Solid 3 Camera system Original had fixed camera Critics complained, Subsistence was released with free camera.

Culture - freedom For most but not all.. Japanese Gamers prefer experiencing the designers creation American gamers prefer creating their own experiences

Culture Character Archetypes Marcus Phoenix vs. Cloud

Similar Top-Selling Games What do we agree on? Everyone Loves Nintendo in some way They Suite Hard-Core and Casual Gamers alike Final Fantasy I – XII Metal Gear Solid

Niche Gamers Fact: Not all Japanese think Microsoft is the devil and exists solely for the purpose of delivering bad games. There are Japanese gamers who love certain American games just as we love Japanese games