Japanese Game Studios Are Slowly Transitioning Focus on PC Releases 

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In recent years, much like the recent expanding presence in Southeast Asia, we are also seeing more Japanese game studios thrive in pushing for simultaneous releases across all platforms, including PC, in their effort for global market push. What used to be a long-year gap between PC and console version releases, has now become less common as more Japanese games become available on day 1 on Steam.

Japanese games have a very strong start this year, as we see many major releases, and many of them are available on PC. Just on top of my head, there’s TEKKEN 8, which dominated the fighting game scene and outperformed Mortal Kombat 1. The latest TEKKEN also sold over 2 million copies in its first month. While Bandai Namco did not explicitly reveal the sales statistics between platforms, it is safe to say that a good chunk of players came from PCs with about 20,000 active concurrent players during the weekends for the past months, according to Steam database SteamDB.

Aside from that, we also see the release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Granblue Fantasy: Relink, Persona 3 Reload, and Dragon’s Dogma 2, all major hits and all available worldwide on the same day as their console versions. The biggest surprise of them all is no doubt Palworld, an indie survival game that quickly soared to success, selling over 6 million copies in only 4 days after it released on Steam early access. What’s more, it even surpassed FPS titan Counter-Strike 2 on peak concurrent player count for many weeks, becoming Steam’s second most-played game. And all these are only during the first few months of 2024.

PC Gaming Boom in Japan 

Simultaneous platform releases between consoles and PCs were not always a norm and it is still the case for quite a number of titles, mainly due to exclusivity deals, inexperience in the platform, or simply business decisions. All these are largely due to how the Japanese game market was, with consoles being the more popular platform in Japan thus it makes sense for companies to prioritize consoles first domestically.

There has been significant growth in Japan’s PC gaming market in recent years. According to game industry data provider KADOKAWA ASCII Research Laboratories, Japan’s PC gaming market has indeed risen a whopping 43% from 131.3 billion yen (US$0.9 billion) to 189.2 billion yen (US$1.3 billion) in 2022. This is according to a translated English report by game industry consultant and CEO Dr. Serkan Toto of Kantan Games.

There are many factors contributing to the PC gaming boom in Japan, and one reason is the continued lack of availability of certain consoles in Japan. Xbox consoles were not popular in Japan, while the PlayStation 5 has been suffering from the lack of availability during the early days of launch. All these contribute to leading Japanese gamers deciding to turn to PCs for newer high-fidelity AAA games.

The year the PlayStation 5 was released, it was unfortunately also a grim time for many people as the COVID-19 pandemic started. During this period, many people have to lock and quarantine themselves at home. The isolation and increased free time due to working or studying from home led to many Japanese picking up new hobbies, especially multiplayer games.

In a Newzoo Platform report, many competitive multiplayer titles on PC saw a rise in Japan, with Apex Legends being the prominent one, jumping to 37.4% during its Season 5 update, and making it the top 1 game in Japan’s PC market that month. Valorant, another highly competitive team-based shooter also boasts impressive popularity in the country during its release, with 43% of core PC gamers in Japan playing the game in June 2020.

Furthermore, livestreaming has become ever more popular across the world, especially in Japan with the rising popularity of VTubers. For ease of livestreaming, content creators would opt for PCs over consoles, and this boosts increased interest in PC games from the fans.

Handheld gaming PCs have also shot up in popularity in recent years, thanks to the release of the Steam Deck and many similar devices. Portable gaming has always been popular in Japan because of the commuting lifestyle in the country. As such, handheld gaming PCs have become an appealing alternative to portable consoles since they offer a similar experience. As a matter of fact, according to a report on the Boiling Steam website, the Steam Deck OLED has been consistently out of stock in Japan for months since November 2023.

While Valve did not disclose the exact sale numbers of the Steam Deck in Japan yet, marketing representative Erik Peterson confirmed that Japan is a large and fast-growing market for handheld devices in an interview with Automation Media at the Tokyo Game Show 2022, while also noting that “the Japanese PC gaming scene is growing rapidly.”

Major PC Launches and Indie Scene

The domestic market is not the only reason why Japanese publishers have started to show interest in pushing games out on PC the same day as their console releases. PC gaming has been popular in many parts of the world for years and in Asia alone, South Korea and China in particular boast a massive PC player base due to how popular genres that are mostly launched on PC such as MMORPGs are in those countries.

In other words, PC is a huge market, and making games accessible on the platform means more potential customers, especially in combination with the continued lack of accessibility for current-gen consoles. An example of a successful major PC release is Elden Ring, which became Steam’s best seller at one point. There is also the fact that PC games are generally sold digitally and readily available, as opposed to physical versions sold for consoles. This means the production budget is less when released on PC compared to consoles.

Not to mention, consoles require service subscriptions to access multiplayer functionality in order to maintain server costs. This is not the case for PC games, with rare exceptions, and that means players are more willing to play online titles since there are no additional costs involved. Even after 6 years, Monster Hunter World is still a highly popular title on Steam, boasting over 130,000 peak concurrent players back in January 2024. While huge discounts, content creators, and marketing campaigns played a huge part in the game’s successful reincarnation, the multiplayer online play also has a significant role in it.

As mentioned, Palworld dominated the PC gaming scene early this year. There is no doubt that there is a rise in indie developers in Japan, especially when game development resources and game engines become more accessible. Aside from Palworld, there are also ENDER LILIES, Needy Streamer Overload, and The Exit 8, just to name a few.

Since games are developed on the PC, this makes it easier for indie developers to release games on the PC. When it comes to releasing a game to consoles, there are a lot of complications involved, especially when it comes to budgeting and convincing platform brands to allow publications. As such, indie developers would rather release their games exclusively on PC, especially on Steam.

Bright Future for Japanese PC Games

There are many factors about the rise of Japanese studios now paying more attention to releasing games on PC. Mostly, it just makes sense business-wise, as PC is a huge market and there are a lot of opportunities on the platform. In fact, Capcom is one of the leading studios in pushing PC as its main platform, as COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto told Japanese publication Nikkei in 2021 that “PC is driving global sales.”

“The pandemic is changing the way people look at PCs,” he added. “Smartphones are convenient, but their screens are small, and their touch panels are difficult to operate, so they are not suitable for home working or school classes. I think PCs will be the next big thing after smartphones.” Capcom has been seeing major successes on PC, with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard still selling over 1 million per year according to Tsujimoto, while the recent release of Dragon’s Dogma 2 saw a peak concurrent player of over 220,000 on Steam.

SEGA and Bandai Namco Entertainment are also releasing games on PC alongside their console versions. Meanwhile, Square Enix has also started a push for PC launches with a recent interview by Producer Naoki Yoshida revealing that they are putting significant effort into optimizing the PC version of Final Fantasy XVI for release.

All these are great signs of a future where Japanese publishers put as much priority on PC games as much as they do on console titles. Hopefully, more Japanese titles show up on PC on day 1 with the same quality they do on consoles, allowing more players to enjoy high-quality titles without needing years of wait.