[November 23 is Game Day] Announcing the results of the “Smartphone Games Survey.” Among respondents who play smartphone games with others, “real-life friends” was the top choice at 62.3%. The data clearly reveals that older players show a higher tendency toward solo play.
Gen Z working adults (aged 20 and under) of both genders who play games at least once a week show less resistance to in-app purchases, revealing a trend toward higher actual spending amounts.
Skyfall Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Tomokazu Hasegawa; hereinafter “Skyfall”), as part of its ongoing marketing research business operations, conducted a survey on “smartphone games” covering 2,387 individuals nationwide aged 13 to 49 who play smartphone games at least once a week (Survey Period: Friday, September 6 to Thursday, September 12, 2024).
This survey announces findings centered on smartphone game user trends, including how users choose games, actual in-app spending amounts, and psychological resistance to spending.
・Download the survey data here: https://skyfall.co.jp/research/topics/report005/#report005/document-request/
*Data was collected across the following segments: Males (junior high and high school students: 260; university students: 125; working adults [20s and under]: 194; working adults [30s]: 199; working adults [40s]: 230); Females (junior high and high school students: 441; university students: 238; working adults [20s and under]: 234; working adults [30s]: 233; working adults [40s]: 233).
*While collection numbers vary across segments, calculations have been aggregated directly without weight adjustments.
Survey Summary
1.Among individuals who play smartphone games at least once a week, 48.5% overall play with someone else. At 62.3%, “real-life friends” was the most common gaming partner. Older age brackets show a stronger tendency toward solo play. 2.More males than females have spent money on smartphone games within the past year. Furthermore, among respondents with spending experience over the past year, males showed less overall resistance to making in-app purchases. Gen Z working adults (aged 20 and under) of both genders feel less resistance, resulting in higher spending amounts. 3.Regarding triggers that prompt users to play a smartphone game, “recommendations from friends/acquaintances” and “liking the world setup/characters” ranked as the top two factors overall. For the third most common trigger, males chose “watching gameplay videos by streamers,” while females chose “seeing social media advertisements.” |
Among individuals who play smartphone games at least once a week, 48.5% overall play with someone else. At 62.3%, “real-life friends” was the most common gaming partner. Older age brackets show a stronger tendency toward solo play.
When surveying 2,387 nationwide respondents aged 13 to 49 who play smartphone app games at least once a week regarding “who they play smartphone games with,” junior and senior high school boys had the highest rate of playing with others at 76.5%, followed by male university students at 68.8%. This shows a trend where males are more likely to play with someone else across all generations.
Conversely, female working adults in their 40s had the highest rate of answering “solo play only” at 82.0%, followed by male working adults in their 40s at 75.2%, revealing that older users show a stronger tendency toward solo play.
When asking about “gaming partners,” “real-life friends” ranked highly for both genders, appearing in the top three for all segments except male working adults in their 40s. Additionally, “online friends” made the top three for all segments except female working adults in their 40s.
Those who tend to play with others also have experience gaming with “family members” for students, and with “partners or children” for working adults, indicating that users across various age groups enjoy games as a medium to connect with others.
More males than females have spent money on smartphone games within the past year. Furthermore, among respondents with spending experience over the past year, males showed less overall resistance to making in-app purchases. Gen Z working adults (aged 20 and under) of both genders feel less resistance, resulting in higher spending amounts.
Next, a survey on “spending in smartphone games” conducted among the 2,387 weekly players revealed that 52.5% of males and 31.8% of females have spent money on a game within the past year.
Furthermore, out of the 968 respondents who had spending experience within the past year, those who answered that they feel “no resistance” (combining “not much resistance” and “no resistance at all”) consisted of 38.2% of males and 36.7% of females, showing a higher ratio among males.
Looking at average monthly spending amounts among users with purchase experience, working adults in their 20s and under spent the most for both genders. Broken down by generation and gender, Gen Z males spent an average of approximately 9,525 yen, Gen Z females spent 7,008 yen, Gen X-Y males spent 7,490 yen, and Gen X-Y females spent 4,875 yen, showing that Gen Z males spend the most on average.
Regarding triggers that prompt users to play a smartphone game, “recommendations from friends/acquaintances” and “liking the worldview/characters” ranked as the top two factors overall. For the third most common trigger, males chose “watching gameplay videos by streamers,” while females chose “seeing social media advertisements.”
Finally, a survey of the 2,387 weekly players regarding their “triggers to start playing a smartphone game” showed that “recommendations from friends/acquaintances” was the top choice for both genders, followed by “liking the game’s worldview/characters.” For the third spot, males most frequently chose “watching gameplay videos by streamers,” while females selected “seeing social media advertisements.” With females also placing “seeing web banner/display advertisements” in fifth place, the data indicates that ads serve as a stronger prompt to start playing for females than for males.
Additionally, when investigating user preferences regarding their “oshi” (favorite characters or personalities), males most frequently selected “YouTubers/VTubers,” while females most frequently chose “2D characters from anime or manga.”
Regarding Citation and Reproduction of Survey Data
When citing or reproducing this survey data, please ensure that “Source: Skyfall Inc.” is clearly credited.
If the data is reproduced on a web page (media, blog, etc.), please include a link back to the corresponding URL of the original blog post.
Survey Overview
・Survey Targets: Nationwide males and females aged 13 to 49 who play smartphone app games at least once a week
・Survey Method: Smartphone-based survey utilizing SKYFLAG Research
・Execution Period: Friday, September 6 to Thursday, September 12, 2024
・Valid Responses: 2,387 samples
*Because sums and differences within this report are rounded to the second decimal place for display purposes, calculations performed using these figures may result in errors of ±0.1pt.
・Document URL: https://skyfall.co.jp/research/topics/report005/#report005/document-request/
*The full research report also discloses data on reasons for spending money, elements users look for in smartphone games, and triggers that cause users to quit playing a game.
Please download it from the link above.
About “SKYFLAG Research”
“SKYFLAG Research” is a marketing research service that pursues representativeness. By expanding opportunities for internet research survey responses through various media via “SKYFLAG,” rather than being limited to conventional point sites, we support business decision-making with essential research results.
・Service Site: https://research-skyflag.info/
About “Skyfall”
Skyfall operates under the banner of “Creating a world where good things spread,” running “SKYFLAG,” an advertising monetization platform that aligns with the user experience, and “SKYFLAG Research,” a marketing research service that pursues representativeness.
Furthermore, the company operates “Poker Chase,” an authentic Texas Hold’em poker game, and “Pocket Play,” an app where users can earn rewards simply by playing their favorite games.
| Company Name | :Skyfall Inc. |
| CEO | :Tomokazu Hasegawa |
| Address | :(Tokyo Head Office) 19F Midtown Tower, 9-7-1 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo :(Niigata Office) Nippon Life Insurance Niigata Building 7F, 2-4-10 Higashiodori, Chuo-ku, Niigata-shi, Niigata |
| Business Description | :Marketing Platform Business and App Media Business |
| Number of employees | :190 (As of the end of November 2024) |
| Established | :October 2017 |
| Capital | :79,393,750 yen |
| Website | :https://skyfall.co.jp/ |
