2015 was the Japanese games industry’s worst year on record

Sales hit historic 26-year low

According to Famitsu’s annual report (via VG24/7), the Japanese games industry was worth ¥321 billion – that’s a 13 percent drop from the previous year.

Although these figures do not take into account digital sales (which, let’s face it, surely must be increasing year-on-year — particularly with the rise of the mobile game market), console sales fell 8.5 percent and software sales dropped 16 percent, making this the least profitable year in 26 years.

In regards to traditional sales, last year’s leader was Monster Hunter X, which has sold 2.4 million copies since its launch in November, 2015 — an interesting tidbit, given Nintendo otherwise dominates the sales chart. 

Here, take a look at these numbers, stat fans.

Japanese top 10 bestselling software 2015

• 1. Monster Hunter X (Capcom) 3DS – 2,441,977
• 2. Yo-Kai Watch Busters: Akaneko-dan / Shiroinu-tai (Level 5) 3DS – 1,965,202
• 3. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (Nintendo) 3DS – 1,282,880
• 4. Splatoon (Nintendo) Wii U – 1,064,897
• 5. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (Square Enix) 3DS – 864,865
• 6. Super Mario Maker (Nintendo) Wii U – 674,194
• 7. Monster Strike (Mixi) 3DS – 636,709
• 8. Yokai Watch 2: Shinuchi (Level 5) – 3DS – 625,223
• 9. Rhythm Heaven: The Best+ (Nintendo) 3DS – 607,343
• 10. Fire Emblem Fates: White Kingdom/Black Kingdom (Birthright / Conquest) (Nintendo) 3DS – 538,669

Hardware sales Japan 2015

• 1. Nintendo 3DS (including 3DS, 3DS LL, New 3DS, New 3DS LL) 2,189,900
• 2. PS4 1,205,163
• 3. PS Vita (including Vita TV) 959,342
• 4. PS3 188,207
• 5. Wii U 82,304
• 6. Xbox One 18,093

Brace yourself for a devil’s advocate question: given the drop in sales across the board… could this mean that Konami’s recent, er, business decisions were understandable/right/correct? (lol). Well, it may go some way to explaining why so many Japanese devs are going under, right?