iGaming Business – A total of $5.1 billion (€3.8 billion) was spent in the Japanese mobile gaming market in 2012, according to a new study by the Mobile Content Forum.

The study, which was translated by the Serkantoto.com website, found that $2.7 billion was spent on all game-related content through smartphones – a 5.4% year-on-year increase.

Of $2.4 billion splashed out through mid-range feature phones in Japan, about $2 billion was spent on social games while $410 million was spent on mobile games that are not distributed through social gaming networks.

Mobile content accounted for $8.8 billion of the total $24.4 billion market for mobile commerce and content in Japan. The size of the overall market grew by 23% year-on-year.