Japan’s PC gaming scene has experienced a significant downturn over the last decade, with the number of players dropping by approximately 3 million. This decline, detailed in Famitsu’s latest gaming industry report, contrasts with the overall growth of the Japanese game market, which continues to expand, driven primarily by mobile and console gaming.
The Shrinking PC Gaming Base
Famitsu’s 2025 Game Hakusho reveals a stark decrease in Japan’s PC gaming population. In 2015, the country boasted 17.49 million PC gamers. By 2024, this number had fallen to 14.52 million, marking a reduction of nearly 3 million players. While there was a slight uptick in 2024 compared to the previous year’s 14.45 million, the figures remain substantially lower than the decade-high of 20.37 million recorded in 2014.
Key Takeaways
- Japan’s PC gaming population has decreased by approximately 3 million players between 2015 and 2024.
- Mobile gaming is the dominant platform, followed by console gaming, with PC gaming ranking third.
- Despite the PC decline, Japan’s overall game market continues to grow.
- Rising PC hardware prices and declining PC shipments may be contributing factors.
Shifting Gaming Preferences
The Japanese gaming landscape has seen a significant shift in player preferences over the past ten years. Mobile gaming has surged, growing from 14.11 million users in 2015 to 42.77 million in 2024. Console gaming also saw an increase, rising from 26.12 million to 29.51 million users during the same period. PC gaming, however, moved in the opposite direction, losing a substantial portion of its player base.
Market Growth Amidst Decline
Despite the contraction in PC gaming, Japan’s total game market has shown resilience and growth. Between 2023 and 2024, the market expanded by 3.4%, reaching an estimated 2,396 billion yen (over $16 billion USD). The overall gaming population, encompassing console, PC, and mobile players aged 5 to 59, stood at 54.7 million in 2024, a slight decrease from the previous year’s 55.5 million. Mobile gaming remains the most popular segment, with 42.77 million users, followed by console gaming at 29.51 million users.
Potential Contributing Factors
Several factors may be contributing to the decline in PC gaming in Japan. While platforms like Steam have increased PC gaming’s visibility globally, domestic trends suggest other influences are at play. Rising hardware costs are a significant concern; pre-built desktop PCs have seen a 40% price increase in the last six years, with some components tripling in price. Furthermore, domestic PC shipments have been on a downward trend for three consecutive years, reaching their lowest point since 2007. Although 2024 saw a temporary spike in PC sales due to corporate upgrades for Windows 10 support, the long-term outlook suggests that increasing component sophistication will keep PC prices high and less accessible compared to modern consoles.
