Enterbrain has published a report on the Japanese gaming market that said the industry has seen a 45 percent growth since 1987. The industry raised 300 billion yen ($2.67 billion) during the NES era of 1987. In 2004, the industry reached 436.1 billion yen ($3.89 billion) in hardware and software sales.
However, the Japanese gaming industry peaked in 1997 with the release of the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn which both helped the industry grow to nearly 660.3 billion yen ($5.889 billion) in sales. Sales in Japan have declined by 34 percent during the past seven years.
Nevertheless, current numbers indicate the Japanese gaming industry may be growing once again due to the introduction of the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. Gaming sales in Japan for the first six months of 2005 totaled 207.1 billion yen ($1.845 billion), a 3.6 percent rise from the same period last year. Sales of game hardware were down 11.5 percent to 73 billion yen ($651 million) while software sales were up 50.7 percent to 134.1 billion yen ($1.195 billion). The release of the next-generation consoles including the Nintendo Revolution over the next two years is expected to assure the Japanese industry's future growth.
However, the Japanese gaming industry peaked in 1997 with the release of the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn which both helped the industry grow to nearly 660.3 billion yen ($5.889 billion) in sales. Sales in Japan have declined by 34 percent during the past seven years.
Nevertheless, current numbers indicate the Japanese gaming industry may be growing once again due to the introduction of the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. Gaming sales in Japan for the first six months of 2005 totaled 207.1 billion yen ($1.845 billion), a 3.6 percent rise from the same period last year. Sales of game hardware were down 11.5 percent to 73 billion yen ($651 million) while software sales were up 50.7 percent to 134.1 billion yen ($1.195 billion). The release of the next-generation consoles including the Nintendo Revolution over the next two years is expected to assure the Japanese industry's future growth.