Image: Nintendo
A brand new survey of 180,000 players aged 15-69 years old in Japan has been conducted by GEM Partners, and there are some interesting stats on gender and age splits across multiple Nintendo franchises.
Posted by Nikkei (via Nintendo Patents Watch and MyNintendoNews), the huge survey reveals that, compared to other game IPs, Nintendo’s have more female fans,.
For example, Animal Crossing comes in at 75% female, with an average age of 35 years old, while the Kirby series fanbase is sat at 55% female amongst those surveyed, with players at an average age of 30.
A few more balanced series’ come in the form of, Pokémon and Zelda, both rocking a 60:40 ratio (in favour of male). This is all quite the turnaround when compared with the surveys’ result for “Games In General”, which shows a 75:25 spilt in favour of males aged 30 and over.
GEM Partners surveyed 180k Japanese regarding their entertainment activities. Among the games listed in the study, here are the Nintendo IPs and their fans’ gender ratios and average ages. Compared to other game IPs (see below), Nintendo has more female fans. Kirby series is 55% female, and AC 75%.
— Nintendo Patents Watch (@ninpatentswatch.bsky.social) 2025-07-21T02:21:34.437Z
Mario holds a 70:30 split, with player age average sitting at 32, while a more recent series in Splatoon sits at a 65:35 split, with the average player range being below 30.
The average age for two of the big Japanese RPG titans that started life on Nintendo consoles, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, sits at 42, which is tied with Disney Tsum Tsum as having the oldest average player base among the games surveyed.
Other interesting tidbits include the fact that the survey found the vast majority of gamers were young mobile players, whilst Nintendo’s IPs, in relation to other consoles, attract the most young players (obvious), but also the most over 30s (not as obvious!).
The survey makes for fascinating reading, and while many of the results are predictable, there’s plenty of little factoids that you might not have guess before! Of course, this only covers Japanese players, and it’s only a slice of the market, but it’s a good insight.
Surprised by any of the survey results here? Make sure to let us know!
PJ is a staff writer across Hookshot Media. He’s been playing video games pretty much nonstop since the early 1980s, which is ages ago. Favourite genres include RPGs, puzzle games and lovely big single player adventures of all kinds. The weirder the better.