@Ajax

GDP and unemployment rates are better indicators of economic health than just looking at stock markets.

wow 360 doing better than predicted, ps3 getting even lower.

so 5 week xbox 360 dominance over ps3

If you want to believe the world economy is fine and bury your heads in the sand, that's fine with me. I'm not saying it's the end of the world by any means. I'd like nothing more than everything to be fine and video games to sell like crazy, in fact I'd make a lot of money if that happened. But I'm trying to be realistic about expectations and some people see that as doom and gloom.

I edited my post

  TOKYO, Sept. 12  -- Japan's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)registered an annualized 3.0 percent decrease in real terms in the April-June quarter, down from a 2.4 percent fall in the preliminary report, the Cabinet office said Friday. 

  In nominal terms, the Japanese economy went down 0.8 percent from the previous quarter, or 3.3 percent on an annualized basis, in the second quarter of 2008, the government body said. 

  GDP is the total market value of the goods and services produced domestically during a specific period of time. Real GDP figures are adjusted for changes in the value of money or assessed by purchasing power.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/12/content_9937072.htm

 =p  Looooolz.

Kinda strange, only xbox 360 seems to increase from last year. ps3 sales went to a crapper, i would find it funny if ps3 and xbox 360 switched roles in Japan.

Apparently some of you still think there won't be a recession/depression in Europe and the US.

Good luck with that... Unemployment figures are already increasing fast in some European countries. The ripple effect from the failing financial institutions is just starting.

I think this will affect video game sales in 2009, but perhaps not so much in 2008.

Lets not rush things yet. The economy may be affecting but lets not forget some several factors:

-Wii isnt down in yr to yr comparisons, and it gets Wii fit next week(will get a boost, and a much larger one in the holidays when older software starts kicking back in)

-PSP 3000 new model this week, soo people might be waiting for that dont you think?

-DS reached saturation point, and is still sellin well for a console that isnt DS-like in Japan. Lets not forget lowest point this yr.

-And btw last year the same was said abt these weeks, and we saw that Japan love them holidays, so wait and see, i get a feeling the Wii will turn the holidays inside out this yr

Exactly my point.  These are the numbers we should be looking at, not the NIkkei.  From these numbers we can see that Japan is indeed in a recession/depression and has been since April.

I'm sure if we look at the GDP further back, it will show that Japan was not in a depression for the last 20 years like Ajax said.