MCV predicts that the UK games market will eclipse Japan's games market in 2009 if current economic trends continue.
I’m not sure anyone should be predicting money matters right now besides real economists, but the guys over at MCV sure sound convincing with their statistics. By their figuring, the Japanese market is shrinking at a rate of about 15 percent a year. In comparison, the UK market has grown 18.5 percent — I’m guessing they mean in the same timeframe as the Japanese market shrinking.
The only hard numbers that have a year attached to them are projected market values for 2009. The US market dominates at £17.7 billion (approx. $25 billion), the UK is calling it at £4.77 billion ($6.8 billion), and Japan is “on track for” £3.86 billion ($5.5 billion). Dollar signs make much more sense to me than percentages.
Of course all of this is hinged on the idea that market trends will remain consistent over the next fiscal year. I say like hell they will – but here’s hoping.