Despite its smaller population when compared with markets like mainland China and the U.S., Japan is among the biggest revenue generators in the global games market due to its high per-player spending.1
![Japan’s spend-per-player neared $300 in 2021, making it one of the highest-spending markets in the world](https://storage.googleapis.com/twg-content/original_images/nugget1Final2_1.png)
Market maturity
Japan’s gamers skew older compared with other Asian countries, a testament to the country’s role as an innovator in the early days of arcade games. Despite the maturity of the market, however, the levels of engagement and spending on mobile games have not yet plateaued.
![Highly engaged gamers in Japan spend an average of 16.9 hours per week playing games](https://storage.googleapis.com/twg-content/original_images/Nugget2final.png)
Strong engagement
Japan’s gamers will continue to be engaged, and engagement levels are set to grow into and beyond 2021, especially in cloud gaming.
Cloud gaming will continue to grow among Japan’s players
![Cloud gaming will continue to grow among Japan’s players: +50% since the start of 2020 and +22% into 2021 and beyond](https://storage.googleapis.com/twg-content/original_images/nugget3final_1_1.png)
There’s an opportunity for developers to tap into this lucrative market, but having the right mix of IP and gameplay elements is crucial because Japanese mobile players have different preferences from their international counterparts.