Apr 1 2014
Japan’s Tax Increase: Game Industry Impact?
Japan just got its first national consumption tax increase in 17 years. Last time this happened, it set off a nearly decade-long recession. This time around, the game industry has a cheap competitor to worry about: phones. Back in 1997, you were lucky if your phone did anything other than make calls; today, that might be one of its least-used features. While many view mobile games as inferior, the mass market has spoken: the mobile game audience is getting bigger and spending more money every year, while the console and gaming handheld sectors are struggling to keep up with their glory days. I wrote about all this and more at Game Revolution. Read on: Japan’s Tax Hike Bad News for Game Industry?