Famitsu has unveiled a glimpse into the 2025 edition of the Famitsu Game Hakusho, a comprehensive annual report by Kadokawa ASCII Research Laboratories that delves into the intricacies of the Japanese and global gaming landscape. The latest findings reveal a notable shift in Japan’s gaming demographics, particularly highlighting a decline in the PC gaming sector over the past decade, despite a modest recovery in the most recent year.
Market Insights and Trends
The Famitsu Game Hakusho 2025 indicates that the Japanese gaming market experienced a growth of 3.4% from 2023 to 2024, reaching an impressive 2,396 billion yen (over billion USD). However, the domestic gamer population, encompassing console, PC, and mobile gamers aged between 5 and 59, has seen a slight dip, now estimated at 54.7 million, down from 55.5 million the previous year.
A closer examination of the platform distribution reveals that mobile gaming reigns supreme, with 42.77 million users, followed by console gamers at 29.51 million, and PC gamers trailing behind at 14.52 million. It is important to note that these numbers are not mutually exclusive, as many gamers engage with multiple platforms.
While there was a slight uptick in active PC gamers in 2024, rising from 14.45 million to 14.52 million, this figure remains significantly lower than the 2015 peak. Historical data from the Famitsu Game Hakusho 2015 illustrates a contrasting trend: console and mobile gaming populations have surged over the past decade, with console users increasing from 26.12 million to 29.51 million and mobile users from 14.11 million to 42.77 million. In stark contrast, the number of PC gamers has decreased by 3 million, from 17.49 million to 14.52 million.
Despite fluctuations over the years, the PC gaming population has not surpassed 17.49 million since 2015, with even higher figures recorded in 2014 at 20.37 million. The reasons behind this enduring decline are multifaceted. While the visibility of PC gaming in Japan has undoubtedly increased, particularly with the rise of platforms like Steam, the allure of mobile gaming continues to sway player preferences.
Additionally, hardware pricing may be a contributing factor, albeit not perfectly aligned with the decade-long trend. A report from The Nikkei in June 2025 highlighted a 40% increase in the prices of pre-built desktop PCs over the past six years, with some individual components experiencing price hikes of more than threefold during the same timeframe.
Moreover, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) reported a decline in domestic PC shipments, with 6.667 million units sold in 2023—a 2.9% decrease from the previous year. This marked the third consecutive year of declining PC sales, reaching the lowest levels since JEITA began tracking data in 2007. Although 2024 saw a brief surge in PC sales, attributed to businesses and government agencies upgrading their systems ahead of the impending end of support for Windows 10, JEITA anticipates that the increasing sophistication of components will keep prices elevated, rendering PCs less accessible to Japanese gamers compared to modern gaming consoles.
In a broader context, the global PC gaming landscape is increasingly dominated by gacha and free-to-play games that are also available on mobile platforms, leading many players to opt for the convenience of their ubiquitous mobile devices over investing in a PC.
