Games

Japanese Console Market Will Peak This Year

Both in value and in retail numbers

By Andrei Dumitrescu, Games Editor

15th of April 2008, 06:43 GMT

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Enterbrain is a company that specializes in analyzing the Japanese videogame market, both in terms of software and of hardware. Recently their analysts have confirmed that the market for videogames and videogames-related equipment has grown in 2007 by around 3.8% to a value of 6.7 billion dollars.

Now, they've released another estimate that deals

with the prospects for the next few years and the picture they are painting is not rosy. This year, the Japanese market will generate around 7 billion dollars in sales, which represents a significant increase after an already very good number in 2007. But this value of 7 billion dollars represents a peak from which the numbers will start descending, so that in 2010 the value of the sales made in the Japanese market will again reach 6.7 billion.

Most market watchers attribute the current rise in value to the continued demand for products like the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii. Their sales numbers were constantly rising throughout 2007 and haven't dropped significantly this year. But as more and more players get their hands on current-gen consoles, handhelds demand for them is likely to reach a limit and then start falling, which will lead to a general reduction of the value of hardware and game sales in 2009 and beyond.

There are a couple of moves that could keep demand up and the market from shrinking. The most obvious one is for the console producers to come up with new hardware that draws potential customers to buy more games. Another one is that moves like price drops or special bundles generate enough buzz in the market to bring on constant rising sales. The launch of high-profile game titles, like last year's Wii Fit, could also make the market stabilize around the 7 billion mark rather than start loosing value.

It's hard for analysts to predict all the possible factors that can affect the game software and game hardware market, so the descending trend following 2008 is nothing sure, but it might suggest an end for the current boom of the games industry. At least in Japan.

TAGS:

Enterbrain | Japan | Nintendo | game market | 7 billion

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