Japanese Consumers Spend More Than Ever on Consoles and Games

Japanese Gaming Spending Reaches All-Time High in 2025, Led by Nintendo Switch 2 Success

According to a recent government survey, annual consumer spending on video games and consoles in Japan hit new highs in 2025. The survey, which tracked gaming expenditures, revealed that households with two or more people spent an average of ¥11 annually—exceeding all figures since 2010 and surpassing even the ¥8.33 spent in 2020 during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns. Console purchases rose to 0.047 per 100 households (up from 0.021 in 2024), but remained below pandemic peaks. Game purchases also reached ¥12.41 in 2025, the highest since 2010. The report noted that despite a 1.2% decrease in food consumption, spending on food increased by 5.5%, suggesting a shift in consumer priorities. The Nintendo Switch 2's strong performance highlights the year. Consumers purchased over 4.3 million units in its first seven months. Its games also performed well, with Mario Kart World selling more than 2.8 million physical copies and Pokémon Legends: ZA selling 2.7 million units in three months. In the fourth quarter, consumers bought approximately 1.9 million Nintendo Switch 2 consoles, significantly outpacing the 250,000 PlayStation 5 and 4,400 Xbox Series X consoles purchased during the same timeframe. These results underscore Nintendo's dominance in the Japanese gaming market throughout 2025.

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