The fluctuating Japanese video game industry: Performance on the Western market and effects on Japan’s Soft Power

The Japanese video game industry used to be a leading force in the world. During the 90’s and the early 2000’s, Japanese video games dominated the international market. Recently, however, during the end of the last decade and the start of the current decade, Japanese video games experienced a huge dip in their sales. Japan has been attempting to use the ‘Soft Power’, the concept of influence generated by its popular culture overseas, to its advantage. The link between the Japanese video game industry and the concept of Soft Power have not been sufficiently examined as of now, hence why it was the focus of this study. The aim of this study was to come to an understanding of why these fluctuations in the market occurred, as well as look for the potential influence of Japanese video games and their popularity overseas on Japan’s Soft Power. By asking questions, in the form of a survey, to experts from the Dutch video game industry, the objective was to come to new insights on the...Show moreThe Japanese video game industry used to be a leading force in the world. During the 90’s and the early 2000’s, Japanese video games dominated the international market. Recently, however, during the end of the last decade and the start of the current decade, Japanese video games experienced a huge dip in their sales. Japan has been attempting to use the ‘Soft Power’, the concept of influence generated by its popular culture overseas, to its advantage. The link between the Japanese video game industry and the concept of Soft Power have not been sufficiently examined as of now, hence why it was the focus of this study. The aim of this study was to come to an understanding of why these fluctuations in the market occurred, as well as look for the potential influence of Japanese video games and their popularity overseas on Japan’s Soft Power. By asking questions, in the form of a survey, to experts from the Dutch video game industry, the objective was to come to new insights on the matter and open up possibilities for further research. Results from the survey showed that previously underrepresented factors contributed to the fall in popularity of Japanese video games in the West. Elements like ease of use, lingual nuances, as well as intrinsic differences in preferences of the Japanese domestic audience and the Western audience, were identified. The link between the performance of Japanese video games overseas and Japan’s Soft Power was also confirmed. Respondents acknowledge the capability of Japanese video games to influence the consumer’s image of Japan, albeit not always in a purely positive way. Arguments were also raised that the Japan portrayed in video games is often not the real Japan. This holds true, but in order to make a target audience think more positively about Japan, the ‘real’ Japan does not need to be represented accurately. Thus, it can be argued that popularity of Japanese video games overseas does indeed correlate to an increase in Japan’s Soft Power.Show less

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The fluctuating Japanese video game industry: Performance on the Western market and effects on Japan’s Soft Power