With the spread of smartphones, the game market, especially the smartphone game market, is rapidly expanding. Google collaborated with market research company Intage Inc. to investigate smartphone game user trends in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
In this article, we will compare the trends of game app users in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, and focus on the compatibility between paid users who pay for apps and YouTube advertising.
Reference: Google “YouTube reaches approximately 90% of paid game app users – Viewing trends in Japan, Korea and Taiwan: Part 1”
Percentage of paid game app users and purchase amount in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
Some smartphone game apps allow you to purchase special items in the game or play in a different way than usual. Users who pay for these game apps are defined as “paid users”, and the percentage of paid users among all game app users was investigated.
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Percentage of paid users of game apps in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
Source: Google “YouTube reaches approximately 90% of paid game app users – Viewing trends in Japan, Korea and Taiwan: Part 1”
The graph above summarizes the percentage of paid game app users in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The number of paid users in Japan is about 35%, which is less than half, but in South Korea and Taiwan, more than half pay for game apps.
In Japan, many users use game apps that can be played for free, while in South Korea and Taiwan, we found that there are not only free users but also many paid users who pay to enjoy game apps.
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Percentage of in-app purchases in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
Source: Google “YouTube reaches approximately 90% of paid game app users – Viewing trends in Japan, Korea and Taiwan: Part 1”
The graph above summarizes the percentage of paid users by purchase amount and the percentage of users in total purchases in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Looking at this, you can see that the top 10% of paid users in all three countries account for more than 80% of the total purchases.
Although there were differences in the percentage of paid users of game apps in the three countries, it is common that the users with the highest purchase amount accounted for the majority of the total amount. It is no exaggeration to say that game apps are supported by an even smaller number of enthusiastic users among paid users.
Paid users of game apps are more active on YouTube
Next, as a result of investigating the usage trends of YouTube among game app users, we found that paid users are more active on YouTube than free users.
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Percentage of YouTube viewing time by paid users in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
Source: Google “YouTube reaches approximately 90% of paid game app users – Viewing trends in Japan, Korea and Taiwan: Part 2”
The figure above shows the percentage of YouTube viewing time for free and paid game app users. If we take the viewing time of free users as 1, we can see that the viewing time of paid users is longer than that of free users in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Particularly in South Korea, there was a 74% increase in YouTube viewing by paying users.
YouTube videos that are often watched by paid users of game apps are videos about gameplay, commentary, and strategy. According to Google, this content is commonly viewed by paid users more than free users in all three countries, and there is data that shows that the more in-app purchases are made, the more games-related videos are viewed. Since many of the users who pay for the app are avid fans, we can assume that they use YouTube to observe how other users play and plan their game strategies.
YouTube ads can reach about 90% of paying users
A joint study by Google and INTAGE found that paid users of gaming apps spend more time on YouTube and often watch gaming-related videos. Further analysis revealed that YouTube ads can reach many game app users, and have a particularly high reach rate among paying users.
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Reach rate on YouTube in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
Source: Google “YouTube reaches approximately 90% of paid game app users – Viewing trends in Japan, Korea and Taiwan: Part 2”
The graph above shows the reach rate to all game app users and paid users when distributing YouTube ads for one month. Taiwan has a very high reach among users overall, but you can see that Japan and South Korea have extremely high reach rates among paid users.
YouTube advertising has proven to be highly compatible with game app users, especially paying users. In particular, content related to gameplay, commentary, and strategies that are commonly viewed by paid users across the three countries will be effective if you want to reach paying users of game apps with YouTube ads.
summary
◆As a result of investigating usage trends of game apps in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, it was found that paid users who pay for apps often watch YouTube.
◆The YouTube videos that are often watched by paid users of game apps are videos about gameplay, commentary, and strategy, and are watched more by paid users than by free users.
◆YouTube ads can reach many game app users, and have a particularly high reach rate among paying users.
◆If you want to reach paying users of game apps with YouTube ads, it will be effective to use game-related content that is popular among paying users in all three countries.