Japanese Game Sales to Peak This Year, says Enterbrain

The research firm believes that 2008 will be a great year (over $7 billion), but by 2010 the traditional game industry in Japan will decline as console demand lessens.

According to Famitsu publisher and research firm Enterbrain, the Japanese video game market is expected to reach 710.4 billion yen (about $7.05 billion) in 2008, up from 677 billion yen in 2007, but then fall back to 671.1 billion yen ($6.66 billion) in 2010, Japan Today reported over the weekend.

Enterbrain said that the market is likely to decline in the next few years as demand for popular consoles such as the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 lessens. The ubiquitous DS handheld is already selling at a slower pace, as evidenced by Media Create data.

While Enterbrain expects the console gaming market to contract, the firm actually predicts the opposite for the online game sector. The market for online games in Japan is expected to continue growing and to reach 320.5 billion yen in 2010. This would bring the combined market in Japan for game consoles and online games to 991.6 billion yen ($9.85 billion).

via gamedaily

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