Intro: Japan esports
The esports market in Japan is booming, even though slots and casinos are the number 1 entertainment in Japan related to the gambling market. Even though the Japanese gaming market is in the top 3 in the world, the market is still developing itself. In 2018, since Japan legalized esports as a career, numbers were just increasing. It’s predicted that Japan will have around 15 million regular esports viewers until 2024, and those are pretty good numbers when we look at that gaming-heavy focused market.
As most of the esports games were created to be focused on the Asian market, Japan was not different in that case. However, taking into consideration Japanese culture, rich history and origin, different types of esports games are gaining popularity in Japan. Esport titles like Shadowverse or Street Fighter are very popular in Japan, even more than Counter-Strike and Dota 2 even. With their cartoonish style and theme that is close to Japanese culture represented in manga comics and graphic novels, Japanese viewers and players are true to their roots.
That’s one of the reasons for the big League of Legends popularity in Japan too. Platform and culture issues are causing Japanese esports followers not to be interested in the platform upon which most modern esports are played. This is because of the cultural differences in the game industry in each country.
As the Japanese market is unusual, the most popular esports titles to be on are very different compared to the rest of the world. Let’s focus on the top 3 esports titles that are most popular in Japan. Top 3 titles that users bet on the most:
1. League of Legends
League of Legends, as the number one esports title in the world, is very integrated in Japan too. With their local franchise and league LJL, Japan is one of the few markets in the world that is featuring a franchised official league. The League of Legends scene in Japan is growing each year, and League of Legends betting is firmly holding the number 1 rank in Japan too. With cartoonish game design, animations and voice acting, it has a strong effect on Japanese fans.
2. Street Fighter / Super Smash Bros
Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros are fighting esports games that are widely popular in Japan, on the gaming and esports scene too. With their unique designs and game style, those are the games made for Japanese markets, at least the second one. Super Smash Bros is a game that features characters from all Nintendo games. Nintendo is a Japanese company creating games in acceptance of Japanese culture.
We know how Nintendo draws inspiration from manga and anime. Super Smash Bros is a pure Japanese game, that represents an average esports enthusiast there. According to most of the rankings and data available, Street Fighters and Super Smash Bros are highly ranked in the top 5 of the most popular esports titles to bet on.
3. FIFA (now EA Sports FC)
In recent times, FIFA has mostly been part of the eSoccer (electronic Soccer) sections on the sportsbooks. And this category is definitely rising in popularity. Even though the Japanese are not very crazy about FIFA, as they are for Winning Eleven (Japanese version of Pro Evolution Soccer), the FIFA esports scene is much more supported by the community and tournament organizers all over the globe. And that’s one part of the acceptance of the Japanese community.
Marketing, branding, engagement, and effect on the players. FIFA has it all, and that is one of the reasons that FIFA gambling has grown a lot in recent years. Globally, but in Japan too. Japanese players and viewers are very connected to their local games and titles and are very limited in showing an interest in Western games and titles. But I do think that FIFA managed to change that in a good way.
Japanese are very culture-heavy people, and culture is heavily integrated into their daily lives. That’s why they related to the things that are closer to them, their culture, way of living, style and origin. That’s why Japanese people have very different tastes and interests related to esports titles. Both gaming and gambling-wise.
Betting on games like League of Legends, Street Fighter and FIFA (now EA Sports FC) and many others is possible on platforms like Leetbit, which has a strong focus on esports gambling. Check our offer HERE.
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