Aug 15 (newsonjapan.com) - In October 1958, William Higinbotham reportedly created the world's first video game. Since then, however, the global gaming industry has changed drastically. While there are many factors behind the sector's indisputable growth, Japan's influence can't be understated.
Throughout the years, Japan has produced some of the industry's most iconic titles, including Pac-Man, for example. Although the sector has continued to develop, and other significant players have emerged in seeking to further progress the market, the East Asian country provided the foundations for forward-thinking developments. So, let's take a look at how Japan has influenced the global gaming industry.
Considerably Impacting Film and Television Productions
Although Japan wasn't the first contributor in video game creation, the country embraced the market and its potential far more than anyone else throughout the late 20th century. Following that, Japan established itself as the industry's dominant player. Even though this market-leading era would begin to diminish during the early 2000s, according to CNN, Japan's gaming culture has had an unprecedented impact on diverse entertainment industries.
Aside from popular titles taking the video game sector by storm, their mainstream appeal created the perfect opportunity to explore gaming crossovers. Fundamentally, highly-regarded developments, such as Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda, were just two of many titles that received an animated television spin-off. Moreover, in showcasing the popularity of these crossovers, Pokémon Journey: The Series has been running since 1997. Over the course of its 23-year spell on television, there have been 1,131 episodes of the Japanese anime show, which has spanned across a total of 23 seasons, according to IMDb.
Additionally, because of the franchise's global appeal, it has also been at the heart of numerous cinematic productions. These big-screen creations have included Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Pokémon The Movie 2000, Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai, and many more. Other offerings such as Mortal Kombat have also enjoyed cinematic success, with Day Translations stating that the live-action version of the game grossed at $70 million in 1995.
Continuing to Lead the Way
In spite of the country's progressive gaming decline, Japan was still a top-three player regarding generated video game revenue in 2019, as per Knoema. As a result, Japan's status as a significant player within the industry is still there for all to see. This is evident by the sales of both Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. Within three days of their release, the video games sold a record-breaking 1.37 million copies in Japan.
Strangely, the end of Japan's era as the leading contributor to the gaming industry signalled a progressive step forward for the sector. In some ways, the country's success at the back end of the 20th century has been the catalyst in altering the outlook of worldwide gaming. Since the 2000s, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and One have become popular consoles of the modern era. However, statistics from IGN show that Japan leads the way with the top seven most-sold consoles of all time, with the PlayStation 2 topping the list with 159 million sales.
Within contemporary society, Asian gaming is making something of a comeback. Along with the popularity of the Nintendo Switch, the continent's themes are becoming central to online casino developments. At some of the online casinos available that offer lobbies of fresh titles and exciting promotions, prospective gamers will find Asian-themed titles. For example, at Pokie Spins, which provides both cash and free spin sign-up bonuses, users can play Moon Sisters Hold and Win, a ten-payline slot with a traditionally Asian atmosphere.
The Chance to Regain Its Perch at Gaming's Summit
While there are no guarantees that any country will enjoy an era of dominance quite like Japan's in future years, the opportunity is there for it to reassert its long-term influence. Forward-thinking developments, like the Nintendo Switch, illustrate that Japanese developers remain aware of consumer demands and are able to cater to modern-day needs. As a result, there's nothing to say that progression won't continue for a sustained period of time.
