Japan’s domestic content market reached a record high in 2025, valued at around 15.86 trillion yen (over $99.7 billion USD). That is a 4% increase from the previous year, and it marks the sixth year in a row of growth since 2020, according to research published by Human Media on April 9, as reported by GameBiz.

Online content (like video and music streaming) and online advertising led the way, with their combined value making up more than half of the entire domestic market. Console games also had a strong showing after a rough year prior.

Japan’s physical console game market had declined in 2024, but it returned to growth in 2025, making up 17% of the overall content market. A January report from Kadokawa Game Linkage put the domestic console game market (covering both software and hardware) at 418.13 billion yen, a 138.8% increase year-on-year. It is worth noting that those figures only cover physical game and hardware sales, and do not include digital purchases, DLC, or in-game transactions. The real market value was likely even higher.

Much of the console market’s growth can be tied to the Nintendo Switch 2, which launched in June 2025. The console sold 3.784 million units in Japan by the end of the year. The original Switch also continued to move units, adding another 1.52 million in sales during the same period. On the software side, Mario Kart World topped the charts with 2.668 million physical copies sold in Japan, followed closely by Pokemon Legends: Z-A at 2.534 million units.