The breakdown of Japanese social gamers is a lot like the U.S., actually

As it turns out, older women in Japan like social games just as much as they do in the states. Major Japanese social gaming companies including DeNA, GREE and Mixi have released detailed demographic information regarding their players. And, aside from a few interesting caveats, Japanese social gamers don't differ too much from their Western counterparts.

According to GREE, 53 percent of its players are women, while 34 percent of those are aged between 20 and 29 years old. Just under that is 27 percent, accounting for Japanese gamers 30 to 39 years old. GREE also breaks down its player base according to geographic location. Of course, those based in Tokyo dominated the graph, making up 34 percent of all GREE players. Following that is Kinki with 16 percent of players.
GREE gamer demographics
As for DeNA, the company has only provided aged-related data, but Serkan Toto guesses that its gender demographic split is similar. Since March 2011, a whopping 41 percent of Mobage--its mobile social game network--players are aged 30 years or older.

Japanese media publisher Enterbrain has provided its own unique demographic data of social gamers focusing on occupations. According to the company's findings, nearly 15 percent of all Japanese social gamers are housewives, followed by office workers coming in at around 13 percent. It looks like, no matter where you're from, the current crop of social games just speaks to the ladies.

[Image Credist: GREE, Kotaku]

Are you surprised at all that social demographics in Japan don't differ terribly from those in the states? Do you think these numbers would look similar in other parts of the world?

Capcom CEO: Social games had 'earth-shattering' effect on industry

But the guy means more than, "Holy moley, these things are money machines!" During an interview with Bloomberg Japan, Capcom CEO Kenzo Tsujimoto likened the rise of social gaming to when pinball machines were overrun in arcades by game cabinets, according to Serkan Toto. If there's one company to make that point, it's certainly Capcom.

The company behind horror and action franchises like Resident Evil and Street Fighter has enjoyed more international success in mobile social games than even Japanese giants like DeNA and Gree. Of course, that's thanks to its Beeline Interactive subsidiary, which is responsible for the wildly successful Smurfs Village (and Smurfs Grabber, sort of) on U.S. iPhones. In fact, the game was so ... compelling to consumers that Capcom had to rework how it handled in-game purchases.

Speaking with Bloomberg Japan, Tsujimoto said that social games make up about 6.6 percent of Capcom's profits, but he expects that to explode to about 30 percent "in a few years." But despite the wild profits Capcom expects to make from social games, Tsujimoto said to Bloomberg Japan that he's still excited about Nintendo's upcoming console, the Wii U. Well, here's to hoping the console has some sort of social gaming support, but we're sure the company has wised up by now.

Is it fair to compare social games' effect on the game industry to that of arcade games on pinball machines in the late '70s and early '80s? What company will get into social gaming next?

Gree's OpenFeint hires ex-Glu Mobile exec, more social games coming?

The mobile social game wars are heating up, as OpenFeint just took on former Glu Mobile executive Sarah Thompson (pictured) as its director of developer relations, SocialTimes reports. In other words, OpenFeint, owned by Japanese mobile social gaming powerhouse Gree, hired Thomson to strategically acquire build relationships with independent developers.

Namely, SocialTimes's Azam Khan guesses those developers will be primarily social and mobile social game creators, given Thomson's past exploits in the industry with Glu Mobile and IUGO Entertainment before that. And frankly, we couldn't agree more. Considering OpenFeint is a social network for mobile games at heart, and Gree's existing status, it simply makes sense.

"OpenFeint is going through an exciting phase of growth right now and Sarah is exactly the kind of person we need to keep up the momentum," OpenFeint SVP Marketing and Developer Relations Eros Resmini said in a release. "Sarah's deep history in mobile gaming paired with her connections to the developer community made her a great fit for OpenFeint."

We can't help but recall what just went down between OpenFeint and Gree: The former's co-founder and CEO Jason Citron resigned, and Gree CFO Naoki Aoyagi took his place. (Though, VentureBeat reckons the move was less ... cut-and-dry.) But back to Gree and OpenFeint's future plans, the simple fact is mobile social games are growing at an exponential rate on iOS and Android devices.

"I've always admired OpenFeint for its constant innovation in the mobile gaming space," Thomson said in a release. "As the company continues to change with the market, I'm excited to help OpenFeint continue growing." And we think we have an idea of just where Thomson would like to go. It starts with an "S" and--oh, forget it. You get the point already.

Do you think this puts OpenFeint in a better place to compete with opponents like DeNA and Zynga in mobile games? Don't you wish you could have rockin' tattoos and a big time exec gig? Sound off in the comments. 3 Comments