By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry

What Kind Of Virtual Items Are Japanese Users Paying For? [Social Games]

W

There’s no doubt that there’s a lot of money in Japan’s social gaming market to be made: GREE and Mobage operator DeNA alone are projected to hit up to US$2 billion each in sales this fiscal year (see here and here).

Both companies make around 90% of their money with virtual item sales (the rest via ads, lead gen, etc.). But for what kind of virtual items – in social games – are Japanese users actually paying for?

Enterbrain, a Tokyo-based magazine publisher (whose most important asset is Japan’s biggest video game magazine Famitsu), has tried to answer this question in a new industry report (sample / Japanese only).

The most popular items overall are those that shorten waiting times (for example, when waiting for a wounded character to heal or a house to be built). Men apparently favor items that boost their “status”, while women tend to like paying for avatar-related items.

For an explanation of what “gacha” is, please click here.

Here is what Enterbrain found out (translations added by me):

Note:
The chart is based on a user survey among 1,600 Japanese people aged between 15 and 59 (selected out of 69,750 people). These users stated they play social games at least 2-3 times per week.

They were surveyed between February 25 and 28 this year, answering the question what kind item they purchased when they first made a payment in a social game. Multiple answers were possible.

About the author

Dr. Serkan Toto

I am the CEO & Founder of Kantan Games Inc., an independent consultancy focused on Japan’s game industry.

Please feel free to connect via Email (Serkan at kantangames.com), LinkedIn or Twitter.

Please subscribe to updates on this site via Email.

By Dr. Serkan Toto – On Japan's Game Industry