2008 Japanese game retail tallied, tumbled

post from Joystiq on 06 January 2009 01:54:00 PM. © Joystiq

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Has it really come to this? Not even a DS hardware revision could salvage another woeful year for Japanese game retailers. Despite closing on a high note, 2008 marked a 15 percent decline in retail sales from the previous year. Hardware sales accounted for the biggest drop, managing a paltry ¥250.5 billion ($2.6b) in revenue -- down 23.5 percent from 2007. Software sales fared better, falling only 7.9 percent to a total of ¥332 billion ($3.5b).

Internally, Japan is suffering through a recession, and, externally, global economic factors have crippled the country's export trade for some time. It's not just high-priced electronics that are turning off foreign consumers, though, in some cases it's the quality of goods. Exhibit A: Only one Japanese-designed game managed to crack our annual Top 10. (Hint: Not Wii Fit.)

[Image credit: goodcatmum]

2008 Japanese game retail tallied, tumbled originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments