Japan games market returns to growth after 2 years

By Rob Crossley for CVG UK

Fresh hopes for the sustainability of the Japan games market emerged today with new data suggesting that its two years of contraction have come to an end.

<--![bigpic:285885]-->Sales information compiled by Enterbrain suggests that total hardware and software revenue for the first six months of 2012 reached 193.4 billion yen.

That figure, if accurate, marks a 0.7 per cent year-on-year increase from the 192 billion yen made in the first half of 2011.

Since 2009, Japan's games market has failed to escape declining total revenues, due in part to the elongated downturn period of the current generation software cycle.

While PS3 led the way in home consoles with about 700,000 sales, it was the PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS handhelds that are rejuvenating interest on the high street.

Nintendo's portable has shifted about 2.2 million units since the start of the year in Japan, while the PlayStation Vita drew in 350,000 extra sales.

However, the success was masked by the general downturn in home consoles as the market saturates and people wait on the next generation of devices.

Hardware fell from 79.81 billion yen in 2011 to 70.73 billion in 2012.

Yet a blistering first six months of games sales overturned the hardware losses. Software revenue climbed 9.4 per cent to about 123 billion yen.

Pokemon Black & White 2 alone shifted more than 1.6m units in its first two weeks alone.

Full hardware chart for the first half of 2012 follows:

• Nintendo 3DS: 2,220,000 units year to date (lifetime total 6,000,000)
• PlayStation 3: 700,000 (8,100,000)
• PSP: (500,000) (18,700,000)
• PS Vita: (350,000) (750,000)
• Nintendo Wii: (265,000) (12,400,000)
• Xbox 360: 34,000 (total 1,500,000)
• Nintendo DS: 20,000 (total 32,800,000)

Top five games for the first half of 2012:

• Pokemon Black & White 2: 1,600,000 units year to date
• One Piece Pirate Musou: 800,000
• Dragon Quest Monsters Terry's Wonderland 3D: 750,000
• Mario Kart 7: 650,000 (total 1,750,000)
• Monster Hunter 3G: 650,000 (1,500,000)

Source: http://rss.computerandvideogames.com/c/674/f/8617/s/20d81be6/l/0L0Scomputerandvideogames0N0C3559970Cjapan0Egames0Emarket0Ereturns0Eto0Egrowth0Eafter0E20Eyears0C0Dcid0FOTC0ERSS0Gattr0FCVG0EGeneral0ERSS/story01.htm

etta james funeral erin brockovich dodgeball 2012 pro bowl postsecret ufc on fox 2 supercross