75.6% of Game Users Prefer Manual Play, Survey Finds
The data suggests that despite the spread of auto-play features, a majority of players still value manual engagement, and many view heavy automation as diminishing the game experience.
Key Facts
- 75.6% of 300 Japanese game users surveyed by Lighthouse Studio play manually most or all of the time, with 41.3% playing manually more often and 34.3% almost entirely manually.
- 65.7% of respondents have felt emptiness during auto-play, including 18.7% who feel it often.
- 67.7% of respondents would choose a 3-minute manual quest over a 10-minute fully auto quest with the same rewards.
- 42.3% of respondents consider games that are over 90% automated to be more like viewing apps than games.
Reporting from 1 source: GameBusiness.jp.
A Lighthouse Studio survey of 300 Japanese game users found 75.6% play manually most or all of the time, while 65.7% have felt emptiness during auto-play. The survey also showed 67.7% would choose a 3-minute manual quest over a 10-minute auto quest with the same rewards, and 42.3% consider games over 90% auto to be more like viewing apps.
Lighthouse Studio, operator of the game media Kamige攻略, released survey results on June 29 showing that manual play remains dominant among Japanese game users. Of 300 respondents, 41.3% said they play manually more often and 34.3% said almost entirely manually, totaling 75.6%. Only 20% said they use auto or idle functions more, and 4.4% use them almost exclusively.
The survey also found that 65.7% have experienced emptiness during auto-play, with 18.7% feeling it often. When given a choice between a 3-minute manual quest and a 10-minute fully auto quest with identical rewards, 67.7% chose the manual option. For games that are over 90% automated, 42.3% of respondents said they consider them more like viewing apps than games.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- GameBusiness.jp ゲームユーザーの75.6%が「手動操作」主流、オート中に約66%が虚無感─Lighthouse Studio調査