Are keyboards losing their popularity among young people? PS5 and Xbox lose to smartphones

The results of a 2023 survey on gaming habits in Japan have received a lot of attention on social media recently.

It turns out that most members of Gen Z don't own or use PS5 and Xbox consoles. The report, published by SHIBUYA109 Entertainment, is based on data collected from online surveys and interviews with nearly 700 people aged 15 to 24 years.

According to this data, 80% of Japanese youth play video gamesOf these, 44.9% spend an average of 100 minutes a day. When it comes to choosing a platform, the five most popular answers are:

• smart phones – 94.7%
• Nintendo Switch – 38,5%
• Computer – 33.2%
• Tablets – 26,5%
• DS (Discontinued Console) – 12.2%

Surprisingly, the Xbox and PS5 are less popular among young Japanese gamers than the discontinued DS console. Even among those who self-identify as “hardcore gamers,” smartphones, Nintendo Switch, and PC remain the most popular platforms.

vote (Available here) indicates that one of the reasons for this situation may be the financial difficulty associated with the purchase of the PS5 console and games at full price by young people. It is estimated that a young Japanese person is able to spend an average of 10,446 yen on video games per year (i.e. less than $70 / PLN 300)..

Among Japanese youth, free-to-play games, FPS games, and cheap indie games are more popular and, thanks to local streaming, gaining more popularity than AAA games.. This is an interesting observation that shows that gamers' preferences evolve with availability, prices of games, and age.