According to a research report released by Human Media on April 9, Japan’s domestic content market will reach approximately 15.86 trillion yen (approximately US$99.7 billion) in 2025, setting a record high. This figure is up 4% from the previous year and marks the sixth consecutive year of growth since 2020.
From the perspective of industry segments, online content (such as video and music streaming) and online advertising have seen the most significant growth, and together they account for more than half of the domestic content market. In addition, the Japanese console game market (physical software), which experienced a decline in 2024, will resume growth in 2025, accounting for 17% of the overall content market.
A report released by Kadokawa Game Linkage in January estimated that Japan’s domestic console game market (software and hardware combined) will grow by 138.8% year-on-year in 2025, reaching 418.13 billion yen. Since this data is only based on physical game sales and hardware sales (excluding digital versions, DLC and in-game purchases), the actual market size is likely to be larger.
The growth of the console market is naturally attributed to the launch of Switch 2. From its release in June to the end of 2025, the console has sold a total of 3.784 million units in Japan; at the same time, the original Switch also sold an additional 1.52 million units. The top-selling physical games in Japan in 2025 are "Mario Kart: World" (2.668 million copies) and "Pokémon Legend Z-A" (2.534 million copies).
What do you think of this? Have you bought a Switch 2 to play? Welcome to discuss in the comment area.