Niko Partners: East Asia games market generated $30.1bn in 2023
Research also found that 97 million players in Japan and Korea play on more than one platform
The East Asia games market generated $30.1 billion in 2023, and is expected to decline by 2.9% in 2024 to $29.2 billion according to a new report by Niko Partners.
The East Asia Games Market Model report covers Japan and Korea, markets that also saw a slight increase in their number of gamers in 2023, to 96.3 million players.
Mobile was the largest segment, accounting for 68.4% of revenue in the region.
The market research firm also published its East Asia Gamers Behaviour and Market Insights report for July 2024, which found that 97 million gamers in Japan and Korea are playing on more than one platform.
More than 70% of Japan mobile gamers and 90% of South Korean PC gamers are playing across multiple platforms. Overall, 39% of all Japanese players and 58% of all Korean players play games on at least two platforms.
Research also found that over 31% of Japanese gamers and 40% of Korean gamers watch game livestreams, with YouTube being the most popular platform followed by local platforms such as SOOP (AfreecaTV) in Korea and NicoNico in Japan.
"We noticed a large increase in gamers reporting to play on more than one platform in the past year," said Niko Partners CEO Lisa Hanson. "Some of this is due to availability on consoles in Japan after scarcity during the pandemic, and some of it is due to more games being developed for multi-platform use that drive engagement on consoles, mobile, and PC.
"What is most notable is that gamers in East Asia demonstrate that cross-platform games lead to higher engagement."