THe Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association has released a new report that suggests that the Nintendo Switch alone is responsible for reversing a 10-year decline in video game sales in its home country of Japan. The report says that Japan's video game industry including packaged software, digital software, and hardware has been in a steep decline since around 2007.
In 2007, Japan's video game market sales peaked with the Nintendo DS, generating around $6.4 billion USD in sales. Last year in 2017, the Nintendo Switch helped propel the games market in Japan to over $3.5 billion USD in sales, which is a 22.7% increase over the previous year. Despite the increase, the gaming industry in Japan is still well below those 2007 numbers. So where have all the gamers gone in Japan?
The short answer is they've switched to mobile platforms. Smartphone game sales reached a staggering $11 billion USD in the country, which means the market for mobile games is more than three times larger than traditional games in Japan. If you've ever wondered why Nintendo continues to focus on mobile products like Fire Emblem: Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, here's your answer.
It'll be interesting to see how well sales for Japan do throughout the rest of 2018 to see if this trend of reversing the decline can continue. What are your predictions for Switch sales in 2018?
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