Online Gaming Audience in Japan Jumps 28 Percent in Past Year Reaching Record Numbers
TOKYO, Sept 15, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study of online gaming in Japan finding that the gamer population is growing rapidly, surging 28 percent over the past year to 16.5 million visitors in July 2009, and reaching nearly one fourth of Japan's online population.
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"As a growing number of people turn to the Internet as an entertainment channel, many online gaming sites have seen their traffic levels swell to record numbers," said Maru Sato, managing director of comScore Japan. "Online gaming has not only captured a growing number of visitors, but also shows some of the highest levels of engagement on the Web with users averaging more than an hour on gaming sites in July."
Online Gaming Sites Lure Increasing Number of Visitors in 2009
The number of visitors to the online gaming category in Japan rose 28 percent during the past year to nearly 16.5 million visitors. Yahoo! Games led the category with 4.8 million visitors, up 13 percent from the previous year. Hangame.co.jp captured the #2 spot with 3 million visitors, followed by Wazap.com with 2.5 million visitors (up 42 percent). Gamepot Inc. (up 37 percent) and Goo Games (up 77 percent) also witnessed significant growth.
Top Online Gaming Sites in Japan by Unique Visitors
July 2009
Total Japanese Internet Audience*, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations
Source: comScore World Metrix
-----------------------------
Total Unique Visitors (000)
---------------------------
Jul- Jul- %
2008 2009 Change
---- ---- ------
Total Internet : Total Audience 56,786 66,868 18
---------------------- ------ ------ --
Online Gaming 12,817 16,466 28
------------- ------ ------ --
Yahoo! Games 4,279 4,835 13
------------ ----- ----- --
HANGAME.CO.JP 3,698 2,995 -19
------------- ----- ----- ---
WAZAP.COM 1,738 2,475 42
--------- ----- ----- --
Nexon Corporation 1,922 1,682 -13
----------------- ----- ----- ---
CHIBICON.NET 1,102 978 -11
------------ ----- --- ---
DQIX.JP N/A 922 N/A
------- --- --- ---
Gamepot Inc. 493 675 37
------------ --- --- --
Goo Games 360 638 77
--------- --- --- --
GAMANIA.CO.JP 605 592 -2
------------- --- --- --
MSN Games 594 546 -8
--------- --- --- --
*Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or
access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Online Gaming Sites Witness Strong Engagement Among Users
In July, visitors to gaming sites each spent an average of 76 minutes on the sites and frequented them an average of eight times, making gaming one of the most engaging activities on the Web. Of the most trafficked gaming sites, Hangame.co.jp led as the most engaging with its visitors averaging 2 hours on the site and visiting the site 11 times throughout the month. Yahoo! Games, the most visited online gaming destination, was also home to heavy gamers who spent an average of 1 hour and 15 minutes on the site during the month.
Other sites witnessing heavy usage included Nexon Corporation (44 minutes per visitor and 8 visits per visitor), Gamepot Inc. (53 minutes per visitor and 10 visits per visitor), and Gamania.co.jp (24 minutes per visitor and 5 visits per visitor).
Top Online Gaming Sites in Japan by Unique Visitors and Engagement
July 2009
Total Japanese Internet Audience*, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations
Source: comScore World Metrix
-----------------------------
Total Average Average
Unique Minutes Visits
Visitors per per
(000) Visitor Visitor
----- ------- -------
Total Internet :
Total Audience 66,868 1,087.4 42.1
---------------- ------ ------- ----
Online Gaming 16,466 76.2 8.1
------------- ------ ---- ---
Yahoo! Games 4,835 83.1 3.6
------------ ----- ---- ---
HANGAME.CO.JP 2,995 117.9 11.0
------------- ----- ----- ----
WAZAP.COM 2,475 2.4 2.2
--------- ----- --- ---
Nexon Corporation 1,682 43.6 8.4
----------------- ----- ---- ---
CHIBICON.NET 978 0.7 1.9
------------ --- --- ---
DQIX.JP 922 3.1 1.6
------- --- --- ---
Gamepot Inc. 675 52.5 10.1
------------ --- ---- ----
Goo Games 638 20.4 3.1
--------- --- ---- ---
GAMANIA.CO.JP 592 24.3 4.9
------------- --- ---- ---
MSN Games 546 4.2 1.7
--------- --- --- ---
*Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or
access from mobile phones or PDAs.
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
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