Features of the Formation and Development of the Video Game Industry in Japan in the Last Quarter of the XX-XXI Centuries

Abstract

The specifics of the historical development of the Japanese gaming industry are considered. A periodization of the history of the gaming industry in Japan is proposed, a description of its main stages is presented: the emergence in the 1970s, access to foreign markets in the 1980s, stagnation and crisis of the 1990-2000s, the global triumph of the 2010s. It is proved that it was accelerated economic development and a high standard of living that allowed Japan to switch to the consumption of such a product as video games. The complex of historical, economic and sociocultural factors that provided Japanese companies with competitive advantages in the global video game market was identified and analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the impact of information and communication technologies on these processes. The role of the American factor in the formation and development of the gaming industry in Japan, as well as in the promotion of Japanese gaming products to foreign markets is disclosed. The constructive potential of the Japanese practice of intersectoral cooperation of game industry companies with large industrial giants and with representatives of the art sphere is shown. It is noted that the involvement in the gaming industry of highly qualified specialists from the entertainment industry (anime and manga) allowed shifting the emphasis from the technological aspects of video games to their content, genre diversity and plot content. The authors come to the conclusion that the historical experience of the gaming industry in Japan indicates the significant role of this industry in the economic and social development of modern states.