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The Japanese video games market suffered an overall decline of eight per cent year-on-year in 2011, according to the latest Famitsu data.
In total the market was worth 454,380m.
Andriasang reports that the software sector fell by 14 per cent to 274,640m throughout the period, though the launch of platforms such as 3DS and PlayStation Vita helped the hardware sector to an overall gain of 2.4 per cent, reaching 179,740m.
The Nintendo 3DS was the most successful console of 2011, selling 4,135,739 units. PSP and PS3 were second and third with sales of 1,960,177 and 1,467,261 respectively.
Wii failed to hit the 1m sales mark, shifting 937,451 units in 2011. DS sold 711,204 and Vita 402,794. Xbox 360 sold just 114,075 units.
Lifetime sales for PSP in Japan now total 18,237,108. PS3 stands at 7,417,148 and the Wii at 12,167,743. Lifetime DS sales stand at 32,835,502 and Xbox 360 has hit 1,520,738.
The 3DS also bossed the annual software chart, with two 1m+ unit sellers at the top – Mario Kart 7 (1,082,391) and Super Mario 3D Land (1,042,511). Successful PSP outing Monster Hunter Portable 3rd was the third best seller, shifting 1,021,457 units.
Other top ten successes include Monster Hunter 3G on 3DS (809,322), Final Fantasy XIII-2 (697,146), Final Fantasu Type-0 (696,428) and Wii Sports Resort (612,807).
