Nintendo Switch Sales Save Japan from 10-Year Video Game Decline, According to Recent Statistics
Posted on July 31 2018 by Kristen G. Rosario
The Nintendo Switch has become a massive success since its release over a year ago. This console/ handheld hybrid has already done well and looks to have a hearty life cycle if the Big N treats it right. And according to a recent report, this system has even done something unexpected: saved Japan’s gaming world.
According to a statistical report from the Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA), the game console market in Japan had seen a decline in sales since 2007 (the same year that the Nintendo DS lite was at its peak). Video game console sales were at a total of ¥711,800,000,000 ($6.4 billion USD) that year, but they would go downhill from there.
It wasn’t until 2017 that Japan’s 10-year console decline ceased. Last year, the overall video game market in Japan hit ¥386,700,000,000 ($3.5 billion USD) in sales. And what saved Japan’s gaming market, according to CESA, was in large part the Nintendo Switch.
Another fun fact is that the country’s market for smartphone games is three times the sales overall compared to their game console market. Perhaps the rebound caused by the Switch will help console gaming catch up to Japan’s smartphone market too.
What do you think of this news? Did you know that Japan’s gaming market was in a decline? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Yahoo! Japan (via Nintendo Soup)
Kristen G. Rosario is an Editor who joined Zelda Dungeon back in September of 2015. His current goal is to become a full-time video game journalist, hoping to eventually gain a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. While he pursues that dream, he not only takes care of his adorable dachshund Angel, but also helps run a YouTube channel with his brother. The Zelda series is a quest he hasn’t fully completed yet, but hopes to get there one day.
