Who's ready for more depressing news? This time it's not more lay-offs, but the state of the Japanese gaming industry. So maybe this is only depressing for those in Japan's gaming industry.
With the rapid rise of Western game makers, Japan's market share has been falling for the past three years. According to the latest data, Japan's market share has dropped 20 percent.
Comparing 2007 to 2004, the market share for both North American and European developers have approximately doubled. However, the amount of money made from Japanese titles shipped abroad has increased significantly from 2005 — in 2006, there was a 43 percent increase, and in 2007, there was a 54.3 percent increase.
Those increases are most likely the result of the DS and Wii's success abroad. Check out our previous coverage of Japanese market shrinkage.
日本のゲーム業界、大ピンチ…世界シェア２０％程度に落ち込む [痛いニュース]