Japanese Game Industry Expected to See 15% Decline in '08

Famitsu publisher Enterbrain is expected to release official data next week, but the firm is already predicting a fairly significant decline for the Japanese video game market for the last year. Total sales are expected to come in around 582.61 billion yen ($6.2 billion), down more than 100 million yen (more than 15 percent) compared to 2007's 687.95 billion yen.

Hardware sales in particular are expected to drop by about 80 billion yen while software sales are predicted to decrease by about 30 billion yen. 

The Nintendo DS is expected to lead hardware sales with an estimated four million units sold for the year, followed closely by Sony's PSP with 3.5 million units. The Wii sold roughly three million compared to the PS3's 990,000 and the Xbox 360's 318,000.

Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G is predicted to top all software and strong performances are also predicted for Pokemon Platinum, Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Thanks to MCV for the tip