Video games in Japan
Video games are a major industry in Japan, and the country is considered one of the most influential in video gaming. Japanese game development is often identified with the golden age of video games and the country is home to many notable video game companies such as Nintendo, Sega, Taito, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Square Enix, Konami, NEC, SNK and formerly Sony Computer Entertainment. Japan is currently the third largest video game market in the world after China and the United States.
The space is known for the catalogs of several major publishers, all of whom have competed in the video game console and video arcade markets at various points. Released in 1965, Periscope was a major arcade hit in Japan, preceding several decades of success in the arcade industry there. Nintendo, a former hanafuda playing card vendor, rose to prominence during the 1980s with the release of the home video game console called the Famicom or "Family Computer", which became a major hit as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) internationally. Sony, already one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers, entered the market in 1994 with the Sony PlayStation, one of the first home consoles to feature 3D graphics, almost immediately establishing itself as a major publisher in the space. Shigeru Miyamoto remains internationally renowned as a "father of video gaming" and is the only game developer so far to receive Japan's highest civilian honor for artists, the 文化功労者 (bunka kōrōsha) or Person of Cultural Merit.
Arcade culture is a major influence among young Japanese, with Akihabara Electric Town being a major nexus of so-called otaku culture in Japan, which overlaps with video gaming heavily. Japanese video game franchises such as Super Mario, Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Smash Bros., Kirby, Metal Gear, Devil May Cry, Animal Crossing, Kingdom Hearts, Persona, Resident Evil, Dark Souls, Monster Hunter and many others have gained critical acclaim and continue to garner a large international following. The Japanese role-playing game is a major game genre innovated by Japan and remains popular both domestically and internationally, with titles like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest selling millions. In 2018, the country had an estimate of 67.6 million players in its game market.