The contribution of Japan to the world of gaming is almost unprecedented. As a technology-savvy nation, Japan is home to companies such as Sony PlayStation, Nintendo, Sega, Square Enix, Capcom, and Bandai Namco which churn out titles that are played by users around the world. Their ability to leverage advanced technology, as well as the strong retention rates, makes the country a favorable destination for gaming software developers. As a mobile gaming fan, there is a significant chance you are a fan of a game originating from Japan.
The influence of Japan on mobile gaming is so huge; it is apt to say that the country wields a strong influence over the developments in the gaming industry. The Japanese gaming industry is poised for some developmental strides which could largely affect the global gaming industry; some of the innovative strides to expect from Japan would be examined in this article.
Out of the 171,960 game publishers on the Android play store, about 2,516 of this figure are Japanese and 6% of these games are paid. It’s a bit tricky to label a particular game as the most popular but games such as Super Mario Run, Final Fantasy IX, Dragon Quest VII and a host of others could reasonably be classed as great games.
Due to the popularity of Android and iOS platforms, lots of games are being offered on both platforms in order to generate diverse followership for the games. Lots of the mobile games available in Japan are offered on both platforms. As a result of this development, the top mobile games tend to be available on both android and iOS platforms. Not left out of this growth are mobile casino games that are gaining traction in the country. The convenience of accessing these games is one important factor for its growth with a close to 35% increase in players of mobile casino games at Japanbets.com within the first quarter of 2021.
Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence
While the introduction of virtual reality and artificial intelligence into gaming may not be a new phenomenon, the world of gaming is poised to witness more of these two innovations in the years to come and Japanese software developers are going to play a part in this development. The world of gaming is gaining much prominence and as a result, more resources would be deployed into research and development by mobile gaming software companies all in a bid to increase their market share and sustain customer loyalty. With VR and AR gaming already a multibillion-dollar industry on its own, there’s more to look out for from these two subdivisions of gaming. Japan will likely emerge as one of the biggest markets for VR games. The market is already growing and has the potential to grow even further in the next decade.
Artificial intelligence (AI) will potentially face higher acceptance together with machine learning (ML), due to its capacity to complement the efforts of developers by helping to break down data silos, enable autonomous decision-making, eliminate manual processes, and acquire real-time actionable insights. Essentially, the deployment of artificial intelligence will give the game characters more realistic movement patterns which can make the game a lot more relatable. The more dexterity and flexibility a gaming character is then the more enjoyable gameplay is likely to be. Gaming will achieve a significant boost in acceptance globally and gamers will begin to look to games that provide a near realistic outlook. The mechanics and accessories that are involved in virtual reality games may also play a role in its acceptance in the long run.
Increased Earning Potential
According to information from SensorTower’s store intelligence, Japan was noted to have accounted for 22% of the global spending on mobile games in the year 2020. This development was most likely buoyed by the COVID-19 pandemic as more and more people were compelled to social distance or stay at home, interest in mobile games most likely spiked as a result and Japan was a beneficiary of this trend. While significant development has been recorded based on the development of vaccines to counter the spread of the virus, there is no definite time that the pandemic is bound to clear off completely for human society to return back to normalcy.
In 2019, Japanese games were said to have earned a whopping $1 billion dollars in revenue from overseas. Japan can leverage the gains of the past few years by simply encouraging the development of new software. Due to the high revenue that accrues from gaming, the Japanese government could offer incentives that would spur the rise of new developers which can attract more revenue to the country and more tax revenue for the government. Japan is on a path to global dominance in mobile gaming and 2021 could be the year this becomes a reality.
Japan can be considered as an innovative nation when it comes to its contributions to the world of gaming. The competition in the gaming industry will only get tougher and the sustainability of companies will be tied to their capacity to innovate and develop new games to keep their fans engaged. While mobile games are on the rise, mobile casino games will be on the rise as well even as it offers gamers the opportunity to play to earn which can also give the gamer the needed resources to play his favorite mobile game at a gaming shop or even to purchase it outrightly.