The Japanese video games market actually GREW in the last 12 months

The Japanese video games market grew by 1.2 per cent year-on-year for the 12 months ending March 31^st.
No, that is not a typo. It’s the first annual growth the Japanese industry has reported in five years.
Tech In Asia reports that the region’s games market hit $4.6bn in the period. Software sells were still down, however, falling by 1.2 per cent to $2.8bn. It was a better story for hardware, though, which grew a whopping five per cent to $1.8bn.
Certainly the likes of 3DS and to a lesser extent the Vita and PS3 have enjoyed a boom period over the last 12 months.
The numbers are a welcome surprise and could offer hope to the struggling western markets.
Although UK and North American data is not available for the 12 months ending March 31^st, the UK market reported a saddening 17.4 per cent decline in 2012 while the US saw sales slide by nine per cent in the same period.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/the-j...months/0113806