An international market report has revealed that the worlds three largest game markets Japan, the US and the UK have experienced markedly contrasting rates of growth and decline for the third calendar-quarter.
The Top Global Markets Report which aggregates data from the NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track as well as Enterbrain reveals that the UK videogame market rose 15 percent over the same period last year. For the same July-September period, the US held a steady 8 percent growth over last years results while Japan saw its market tumble 21 percent.
The report has provided point-of-sale data for video game software sales in all three markets.
The UK
The UK experienced the largest aggregate growth of the three markets, climbing 15 percent from last year. Though the growth rate for Q3 2009 is positive, it has decelerated from last years Q3 climb of 34 percent.
Growth in the UK has come in spite of handheld software sales, with console software enjoying 26 percent gain and portable software dropping 1 percent.
Taking into consideration the marked differences between the 3 territories, the UK market in particular is gearing up for a best-ever Q4 performance overall, even under the well-documented financial climate, says Dorian Bloch, Business Group Director of GfK Chart-Track.
We fully expect UK consumers to drive sales for the full year to unprecedented heights, especially considering the line-up of exciting single and multi-format new franchises currently hitting the market, not to mention the evergreen portfolio of Nintendo-published Wii & DS titles which have done such a great job of expanding the market to a far more mainstream consumer.
The US
In contrast to the UKs skewed handheld/home console market growth, the US experienced a more measured market rise for the third quarter. Console software grew 6 percent while portable software climbed 10 percent.
Yet the most promising and exclusive aspect of the US markets performance was that its rate of growth continued to climb. Total third-quarter growth climbed to eight percent, up on last years five percent.
In the U.S., third quarter total industry unit sales grew 8 percent versus 2007, even as the economy showed accelerating signs of recession, says Anita Frazier, industry analyst for the NPD Group. As would be expected at this point in the console lifecycle, games sales are starting to take the spotlight even as the average retail prices of games increased slightly. Heading into the critical fourth quarter, the U.S. games industry is on solid ground.
Japan
A weakening Japanese software market was quantified with an alarming 21 percent drop from last year. This fall was largely attributed to a 33 percent decline in TV console software sales. And while this drop was expected to be balanced by handheld sales, the Top Global Markets Report shows that the portable market also fell, 13 percent.
Ricky K Tanimoto, Global Marketing Analyst for Enterbrain, tried to put the uneasy results into perspective: Japan did experience sales declines in both software categories, but it is important to keep in mind that not only is Japan a more mature market than the U.S. and UK, but 2007 was a banner year for the Japanese software market, with the titles released in the third quarter of 2008 not being as highly anticipated as those released during the same time period in 2007.
In regards to expectations for the remainder of the calendar year, we estimate overall video game sales in Japan this holiday season will not be greatly affected by the world financial crisis, especially in the portable space. Portable software sales are particularly strong, and new portable hardware systems like Sonys PSP-3000 and Nintendos DSi will prove to be driving market forces in Japan throughout the 2008 holiday season.
I was all confuzzled. Now I'm bemused.
