Japanese console market down as mobile gaming takes over

Japan’s console market saw a significant dip in earnings last year, a new annual report on the region finds.

Analyst Dr. Serkan Toto posted a copy of the Japanese Computer Entetainment Supplier’s Association’s release, showing console-related sales were down 16 per cent – a drop from $4.8bn in 2012 to $4bn in 2013.

Breaking that down further, hardware sales saw a year-on-year dive of $400m, while software sales dipped $400m as well. PS3 made up 21.8 per cent of hardware and software sales, while Vita grabbed 11.7 per cent of the pie as well. DS/3DS sales made up a whopping 46.7 per cent of the market.

Note that those figures don’t include PS4 or Xbox One numbers, since both released (or are releasing, in Microsoft’s case) after 2013. Still, Xbox One sales aren’t expected to turn any tides for the general market and PS4 has yet to become the same draw that the PS3 was at its peak in the territory.

It wasn’t all bad news. Mobile gaming is more than making up for the console decline, as it brought in $5.1bn last year combined with featurephone gaming purchases. The sector was worth just $370m in 2011.