• Viewpoints

Hit Habit Forecast is a regular column of the Hit Habit Makers, a group of young planners at Hakuhodo HQ that gamely stood up to say they were going to create hit habits—not hit products—as consumption shifts from purchasing things to purchasing experiences. Analyzing social media accounts and purchasing data of highly sophisticated users and conducting analysis on popular articles, etc. in a variety of media that have their fingers on the pulse of social trends, this is the bold, new challenge of forecasting hit habits that are about to break.

Hello. I’m Kozue Muto of the Hit Habit Makers.

How have you all been spending your time at home?

When I investigated how people are passing the time they spend at home, I discovered data on things that people have started or are doing more due to spending more time at home.

Source: Intage Shiru Gallery, July 17, 2020

The results show that besides viewing video sites, watching TV, and browsing the internet, scores for gaming were also high.

In this edition, I’d like to discuss “gaming in life,” the habit of adding elements of gaming into your everyday life to make it a bit more fun.

So what kinds of gaming in life are there?

Firstly, games where parents and kids learn together.

On the TV news just the other day, I saw a family happily playing games. Looking closely, the family were happily quizzing each other while playing a popular railway board game that is all the rage just now, asking questions like, “What’s the specialty of this area,” and “Where is the Prefectural Office of this Prefecture located.” The children seemed to have naturally learned even hard-to-read place names. They were learning the shapes and specialties of different places, and Japanese characters, while having fun.

The key point of gaming in life here is that games increase opportunities for families to communicate with each other in a fun way.

Next is games that let you take the first step.

I found virtual investment games for people who want to give investing a go or to start trading shares but don’t know how to go about it. People can experience trading and growing their virtual money in these games. They can practice how it feels, timing and other aspects. And since these are games, they can easily stop if they find it’s not for them.

The thing here is that people can take their first steps in something they want to do through a game.

Next is recapturing your youth through a game.

There is an old lady who, at 90 years of age, has been certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest gaming YouTuber. Her channel has some 150,000 subscribers! It seems that seeing kids engrossed in their games, she became interested in them herself. “They looked like they were enjoying themselves and I thought, ‘Why should they have all the fun.’ I reckoned that playing games would make life fun. In the beginning, I played in secret, where no one could see me,” she said, charmingly. She notes that even at age 90, playing games makes her feel young at heart.

The thing to note here is that moving your fingers and body through gaming leads to health and youthfulness.

So why is gaming in life becoming more common?

One reason is that it connects people. As mentioned in my first example, gaming can spur communication. Even people who live alone can connect with others online through their favorite games. While it’s become difficult to communicate with others as we stay at home, I think gaming in life could be effective.

I should also mention the fact that games are becoming tools. Games are no longer just for fun. I think that they are now becoming tools for realizing a purpose: from maintaining your health, to learning something, to releasing stress.

Finally, let’s consider possible business opportunities in gaming in life.

Examples of gaming in life business opportunities
■ Add a gaming element to vacuum cleaners. Attach a liquid crystal screen and develop your character every time you vacuum. It’ll be the vacuum you want to use
■ Health points (HP) are displayed on mirrors and fall when you look tired. This AI mirror would praise you with a “Go You!” when you come back looking fresh
■ Programming courses where grandparents and grandkids can create a game together
And so on.

I’ve loved that popular railway board game series since I was little, too. I became good at geography because of it and remember really looking forward to the day before the weekend or a holiday, because I’d be allowed to play it for an extended period. Why don’t you incorporate elements of gaming into your life to make it a bit more fun?

Kozue Muto

Member of the Hit Habit Makers
Integrated Planning & Creative Division
Hakuhodo Inc.

Kozue Muto is a huge travel, movie and music buff. Her most recent obsession (of several) is blending her favorite branded rice in with the regular stuff before cooking it. She walks as much as possible to ward off pandemic weight gain.