A Japanese survey may predict a troubling future for Square Enix and its Final Fantasy games

GEM Partners recently surveyed 180,000 Japanese gamers, revealing age and gender splits. The overall average age of 30 years isn't noteworthy, but there are some surprises. In particular, some of the oldest respondents support Square Enix titles. These include Final Fantasy games, which aren't appealing to younger consumers.

According to the survey, the typical age of a Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy player is 42. The franchises debuted in 1986-87, so it's not shocking that they have a veteran fan base. Still, Square Enix remains invested in both, with remasters and brand-new entries planned. At the same time, the publisher admitted in 2025 that it wasn't meeting all its sales goals.

A similar story unfolded in 2023, when Square Enix commented on Final Fantasy 16, the most recent mainline addition to the series. A later financial briefing confirmed that the action RPG didn't attract as broad an audience as some of its predecessors. Square Enix games, like the Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, found support from nostalgic gamers. However, they didn't lower the average age of players surveyed in Japan.

There is plenty of other data in the GEM Partners report worth analyzing. As discussed by the Kultur website, novice gamers gravitated to multiplayer titles on mobile devices. The MOBA game Brawl Stars led the way, with players averaging 18 years old.

Of course, Switch and Switch 2 games have a tremendous following in Japan. Nintendo has a reputation for being family-friendly and tempting younger and older audiences. Splatoon players average 27 years old, while gamers who enjoy the Mario and Pokémon series are in their early 30s. The results demonstrate that Nintendo has catered to multiple demographics.