Yahoo! Games Leads as Most Visited Site, While Hangame.co.jp Sees Greatest Usage Intensity
TOKYO, JAPAN, September 15, 2009 – 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.
“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). Gamespot Inc. (up 37 percent) and Goo Games (up 77 percent) also witnessed significant growth.
Top Online Gaming Sites in Japan by Unique VisitorsJuly 2009Total Japanese Internet Audience*, Age 15+ - Home & Work LocationsSource: Comscore World Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Jul-2008
Jul-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
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), Gamespot 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 EngagementJuly 2009Total Japanese Internet Audience*, Age 15+ - Home & Work LocationsSource: Comscore World Metrix
Average Minutes per Visitor
Average Visits per Visitor
1,087.4
42.1
76.2
8.1
83.1
3.6
117.9
11.0
2.4
2.2
43.6
8.4
0.7
1.9
3.1
1.6
52.5
10.1
20.4
24.3
4.9
4.2
1.7
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.
Contact:Sarah RadwanickDirector, Regional Product MarketingComscore, Inc. +44 (0) 20 7099 1784worldpress@comscore.com