Japanese console market grows for the first time in three years

The Japanese console market has seen an increase in sales revenue for the first time in three years, and that's down to the Switch. 

According to Famitsu figures, translated and broken down by Japanese games industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto, combined console hardware and software sales from December 26, 2016 to June 25, 2017, totaled 153.2 billion yen ($1.35 billion).

That's a year-over-year increase of 14.8 percent, and marks the first revenue rise in three years for the Japanese console market (during that six month time period, at least). 

As explained by Toto, in recent years consoles have struggled to keep up with the booming popularity of mobile games. And in 2016, Famitsu reported an overall drop-off in console hardware and software sales. 

With that in mind, the Japanese publication is unsurprisingly attributing the market's sudden turnaround in fortunes to Nintendo's console-handheld hybrid. 

The system has already sold over 1 million units in Japan, despite only launching on March 3, and it's solid debut performance has clearly been a boon to the region's console market. 

Whether or not the Switch can maintain that momentum remains to be seen, and the device's immediate success will depend on Nintendo's ability to manufacture enough hardware to meet consumer demand.