Vortex Gaming

The Korea Creative Content Agency has released the '2024 Survey on Game User Status'. According to the survey, the domestic game usage rate in 2024 recorded the lowest level since 2019. The game usage rate has been gradually increasing as games have been spotlighted as indoor leisure activities due to COVID-19, but it has once again recorded a decline following 2023.

📒2024 Survey on Game User Status Summary
- The overall game usage rate of 59.9% is due to changes in the sample. Based on the same age group, it is 62.8%
- PC game usage rate decreased by 7%, mobile/console usage rate is the highest since 2020
- Average number of platforms used per person (PC, mobile, console, etc.) is 1.9
- Decreased PC game users, but usage time has increased
- More than half of PC game users play games that are 3 years old or older
- Nine out of ten enjoy mobile games
- Hyper-casual genre, popularity surged compared to 2023
- Domestic console game usage rate increased slightly, the most popular genre is 'Simulation'
- Teenagers and 20s gamers frequently use 'Discord' for socializing
- Half of respondents don't go to PC cafes, but the usage time of those who go every week has increased

Overall usage rate decreased, but mobile/console usage rate increased
Mobile game usage rate 91.7%, console 26.7%... recorded the highest since 2020

The Korea Creative Content Agency reported that the overall game usage rate in 2024 fell further from 62.9% in 2023 to 59.9%. This survey was conducted on approximately 10,000 people aged between 10 and 69 (8,076 people participated in the actual survey), and the sample was proportionally distributed by region/gender/age.

Considering that the survey was conducted on people aged 10 to 64 until last year, the decrease in game usage rate is not that significant. The overall game usage rate for 2024 based on the same age group is 62.8%, a decrease of 0.1% compared to the previous year. However, it still remains the lowest usage rate since 2019.

However, there were clear changes observed in the usage rate by game genre among users. Although the overall usage rate decreased, the usage rates of mobile games and console games were the highest since 2020. On the other hand, the PC game usage rate fell from 61% in 2023 to 53.8%. The mobile game usage rate increased from 84.6% in 2023 to 91.7%, and the console game usage rate increased from 24.1% to 26.7%. The arcade game usage rate, which had been maintained in the 10% range since 2020, also increased to 15.1%.

In addition, 68.6% of the 8,000 users who participated in the survey stated that they use mobile games the most. The next highest percentage of users who stated that they play PC games the most was 26.5%, while console games accounted for only 4%. By gender and age group, mobile games were more frequently used by women and those in their 40s or older, while male and game users under 30 had a higher rate of using PC games.

The average number of game genres (platforms) used by game users who participated in the survey in the past year was 1.9. The percentage of respondents who said they only play games on one platform (PC, mobile, console, etc.) was 41%, while 34.1% of users enjoyed games on two platforms. Users in their 20s used an average of 2.4 platforms, and the age group that used only one platform the most was those in their 60s.

Decreased PC game usage rate, but usage time has increased
PC game users enjoy games for an average of about 2 hours a day

Although the overall PC game usage rate decreased by about 7% from 61% to 53.8%, the PC game usage time of respondents was the highest since 2020. Those who stated that they use PC games among the respondents said that they enjoy games for an average of 117 minutes on weekdays and 191 minutes on weekends, and 100 minutes on weekdays and 160 minutes on weekends based on one play session.

Based on the daily PC usage time, the highest percentage was 32% for those who play for 1 hour or more and less than 2 hours on weekdays, and the highest percentage was 33.3% for those who play for 4 hours or more on weekends. Based on the PC game usage time per session, the highest percentage was 38% for 1 hour or more and less than 2 hours on weekdays, and the highest percentage was 26.1% for 2 hours or more and less than 3 hours on weekends.

The average number of PC games mainly used by PC game users was 2.7. The highest percentage was 36.8% for those who mainly enjoyed 2 games, followed by 1 game (25.0%), 3 games (21.4%), and 5 or more games (11.4%). The lower the age, the more the number of games used tended to increase, with teenagers enjoying an average of 3.2 games and those in their 20s enjoying 2.8 games.

Interestingly, in a survey of users who mainly play PC games, the percentage of those who answered that they have played a specific game for '3 years or more' was over half at 55.2%. 2 years or more and less than 3 years followed with 12.3%. About 67.5% of respondents are using PC games that have been in service for 2 years or more.

Nine out of ten people play mobile games
Hyper-casual genre popularity increased significantly compared to 2023

Mobile games, which 91.7% of all game users enjoy, showed a fairly even distribution in terms of gender and age. The gender ratio was 54.6% male and 45.4% female, and the age distribution ranged from 10% to 20% for teenagers to those in their 60s. Those in their 20s (20.2%) were found to enjoy mobile games the most, and the age group that enjoyed them the least was those in their 60s (9.4%).

The response rate for playing mobile games at least once a week was 87.2%, and the usage rate for 5 or more times a week was 60.2%. Among them, the highest percentage of respondents was 33.5% who answered that they 'access the game multiple times a day'.

The mobile game usage time was also relatively high. Mobile game users were measured to use the game for an average of 95 minutes on weekdays and 125 minutes on weekends, and the usage time per session was 67 minutes on weekdays and 90 minutes on weekends. Only the weekend usage time per session was 1 minute less than last year, and the usage time on weekends was the highest since 2020 based on the daily usage time.

Mobile game users who participated in the survey cited an average of 2.5 games as their main games. Teenagers enjoyed the most games, with an average of 2.9 games.

The most played mobile game genre among respondents was puzzle/quiz at 38%. This was followed by RPG at 23.9%, tabletop/casino (20.0%), and simulation (18.0%). The least used genre was sports/racing (13.6%). The hyper-casual genre recorded 10.4%, but it showed a significant increase compared to 2.5% recorded in 2023.

Is it still an 'inssa' game console(?), Nintendo Switch
The most played console is the Nintendo series (72.3%), the most popular genre is 'Simulation'..?

The percentage of respondents who participated in the survey who used console games was 26.7%. This is the highest usage rate since 2020, and the age group with the highest proportion was those in their 20s to 40s.

The console they used the most was the 'Nintendo series', accounting for 72.3% of the total. This was followed by PlayStation (42.9%) and Xbox series (10.9%). As it has been enjoying high popularity since 2017, it is reasonable to see the main player of the 'Nintendo series' as the Nintendo Switch.

The most preferred genre among all console game users was simulation (26.3%), followed by sports/racing (22.3%), action (14.6%), and RPG (16.3%). Even looking at the results of The Game Awards, it can be seen as a result that is not easy for the core gamer base to accept.

Looking at the details, the usage rate of the simulation (32.6%) genre was the highest among Nintendo series users. This was followed by sports/racing (19.4%) and action (13.2%). In the PlayStation and Xbox user groups, the sports/racing genre accounted for 24.1%, the same proportion as the RPG genre.

Game examples by genre could be found in the questionnaire attached in the appendix. The simulation genre included genres such as 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons', Roblox, Stardew Valley, and Minecraft, and sports/racing included many games that can be enjoyed with friends, such as the FC series, eFootball series, and Mario Kart.

Considering that Nintendo Switch users account for the highest proportion and that 85.5% of female respondents among console users used the Nintendo series, it can be seen that the 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' effect is significant in making 'simulation' the main genre of console games.

Although the console game usage rate last year was the highest since 2020, the average number of games mainly used by users decreased from 2.8 in the previous year to 2.2. By age group, the number of console games used by those in their 20s was the highest at 2.3. About 9.7% of all respondents (console game users) enjoyed 4 or more console games.

Teenagers and 20s gamers frequently use 'Discord' for socializing
The percentage of using communities for the purpose of searching and sharing game information is the highest at 73%

In the survey on the usage rate of game communities, 60.9% of respondents stated that they had experience using game communities. In the question asking about the game communities they have been active in over the past year, cafes on portal sites such as Naver/Daum were the most common at 37%, followed by internet community bulletin boards (20.6%) and KakaoTalk open chat rooms (18.7%).

The usage rate of Discord was only 14.2%, but the usage rate was high among male and users under 30. SNS such as X and Facebook were more used by users under 30 and women, and portal cafes and open chat rooms were more used by men and those over 60.

Game community users mainly use communities to obtain or share game information (73.5%), but among Discord users, reasons related to socializing were higher. 43% of respondents said they use Discord to promote friendship with people, and 39.2% of respondents said they use it to chat and hang out in real time. This was a significantly higher percentage compared to the overall respondents, which were 28% and 25.3%, respectively.

Half of respondents said "I don't go to PC cafes"
The percentage of going to PC cafes at least once a week is 7.4%, and the average number of visits per month is 7.4

A survey on the actual conditions of PC cafe use was also included. 52.8% of respondents who participated in the survey stated that they had not used PC cafes in the past year, and among those who answered that they use PC cafes, the highest percentage was 15.1% who answered that they used them '1-2 times a year'. The percentage of respondents who answered that they use PC cafes once a week was 7.4% based on all respondents.

The average number of visits per month for those who answered that they use PC cafes at least once a week was 7.4. 4 times was the most common at 41.6%. The average number of visits is the highest since 2020. The respondents included here were relatively more male in their teens and 20s.

The average usage time per session also increased the most since 2020. The average usage time per session for the group that uses PC cafes once a week was 184 minutes, and the most common response was '2 hours or more and less than 3 hours' at 33.2%. The average PC cafe usage time for those in their 20s was the longest at 226 minutes.

Webzine Inven김규만 기자
2025-01-07