Sony, Nintendo, CAPCOM, Konami, and SEGA are among games companies whose share price jumped around 10 points today, following the largest drop in the Nikkei 225 index in 37 years on Monday. Prices across the board appeared to normalize, according to observers, as a brief market correction concluded.
The Nikkei 225 opened at almost 11% up on Tuesday after a deep plunge in prices on Monday. The drop in prices had fueled speculation of a crisis within the Japanese gaming industry, but ultimately the Nikkei would close at 10.2% higher than it did the previous day.
Image Credit: Reuters
The resurgence followed the rise in the value of the Yen, as the Bank of Japan raised interest rates from its 0.1% baseline rate to 0.25%. Following this, the Japanese stock exchange appeared to fall significantly before rallying today.
However, the same rallying effect hasn’t yet been seen in European and American markets, where tech stocks remain around 10% down on their position last week.
Thankfully, the Japanese game market appears to have avoided what many financial speculators had heralded as an overall market crash. Which in many ways, makes sense.
The Japanese games industry, on its surface, appears to be doing well. Japan currently has good hardware and software sales, strong franchises from all its major developers and publishers, and a global demand for its products.
Contrast this with other weak periods in Japan’s gaming history, such as between 2004-2010 where the industry struggled with the switch to HD, an awkward shift to mobile and handheld platforms, and competition from large western game franchises.
Still, a volatile market is always cause for concern, especially when it comes to gaming, an industry that has had its fair share of layoffs and financial cutbacks in recent years.
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