Japanese Market Drops By 18%

According to data provided by the Computer Entertainment Software Association (CESA) the size of the Japanese video games market fell to 501 billion yen ($4.47b) in 2002, from 613 billion yen ($5.52b) the previous year. The drop was quoted at a press conference during the Tokyo Game Show, in which companies such as Square Enix, Sega and Capcom claimed that online games could offer a means to turn the market around. The online market in Japan grew by more than 300% to 6 billion yen ($54m) in 2002 and is set to rise to 23 billion yen ($207m) this year, according to the Digital Content Association of Japan.