Japanese games market shrinks 24% in first half of 2009

2008 was a terrific year for Japanese gaming which saw the release of games like Monster Hunter Portable and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It's no surprise that the lack of similar blockbusters, coupled with a global recession, would cause such a dramatic fall for the Japanese game market so far in 2009. The first half of the year covered 218 billion yen of business (about $2.3 billion USD), a 24% drop from the same period last year.

New bestsellers for the Japanese audience include Mario & Luigi RPG 3 for DS, which topped the charts for the first half of the year with 650,000 units. Certainly, that's not a figure to scoff at, but 2008's first half featured four million-selling games. For whatever reason, Japanese gamers haven't latched onto new games, with Monster Hunter Portable and Wii Fit continuing to represent the bestselling games this year.

Andriasang predicts the second half of the year will look much better for the territory, as games like Dragon Quest IX (DS), Monster Hunter 3 (Wii), and Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) are bound to spur software and hardware sales.