The first half of 2009 has come to a close, and with that comes the inevitable comparisons to 2008. New studies show that the gaming industry has dropped by 25% in Japan, with hardware dropping 27% and software falling 21%.
ITMedia, citing numbers from EnterBrain, shows the PS3 has done rather consistently in comparison to 2008, growing from 560,00 to 5780,000. This was driven by a strong line of software in the first half of the year, seeing the launch of both new IPs and new entries into long running franchises, like Demon's Souls, Resident Evil 5, and Street Fighter IV. The PS3's software line up was rounded off by Yakuza 3, which was the best selling console game. The Blu Ray release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children also resulted in a huge increase in PS3 sales, due to a bundle which included the film with the console.
The XBox 360 did well too, doubling from 100,000 to a 220,000 units in 2009, no doubt due to the release of the 360 exclusive RPG, Star Ocean 4. The big difference seems to be the tremendous drop in Wii hardware, which saw a 63% drop from 1.7 million consoles in 2008 to 640,000 during the same period of 2009.
Doomsayers, hold your tongue. With Monster Hunter 3 and Final Fantasy XIII due out before the end of the year, possible price drops for the Wii and PS3, and the launch of the rumored slim PS3, the industry looks like it may be in for a strong finish to 2009.
Source: http://www.ps3center.net/news/3347/game-industry-down-25-from-2008-in-japan/
Tell me what you guys think. Will it come back, or drop even more.
DISCUSSSSSSSSSSS
