Japanese console game market experiences growth for the first time in 11 years

The Japanese video game console market has grown for the first time in 11 years, experiencing a spike in sales during 2017.

The increase in sales is attributed to the Nintendo Switch's speedy hardware sales, which have surpassed 10 million units sold worldwide since its March 2017 debut. 

As Kotaku reports, in 2016 Japanese hardware sales were 117.05 billion yen ($1.05 billion), while in 2017 they flourished to 202.37 billion yen ($1.81 billion). Software sales also increased since 2016, going from 182.4 billion yen ($1.63 billion) to 189.3 billion yen ($1.69 billion) the following year. 

Japanese gaming markets last saw growth in 2006 when the Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo Wii, and PS3 were launched, Kotaku also notes.