In 2013, the top-selling used title was Square Enix’s release of Dragon Quest VII for the Nintendo 3DS. With sales 1.5 times that of the second-place title, it was far and away the top seller for the year. Strong sales immediately following release and continuing until half a year after the title hit shelves were no doubt main factors in the title’s huge lead.

The titles claiming the top three spots were Dragon Quest VII, Atlas’s Shin Megami Tensei 4, and Square Enix’s Bravely Default, respectively, indicative of the 3DS’s reign over hardware sales [in Japan]. Capcom’s Monster Hunter 4 continues to have strong sales, maintaining the series’ place as a perennial favorite.

Standing out among sequels and spin-offs was Atlas’s Dragon’s Crown for the PlayStation 3. Following release, Dragon’s Crown immediately jumped to the top of the sales charts, breathing a bit of fresh air into a market glutted with sequels and, in the process, garnering attention that has lead to strong secondary market sales.

The PlayStation Vita also made a strong showing in 2013. The parade of hit titles started with Senran Kagura SHINOVI VERSUS: The Girls’ Certification (Marvelous AQL), Toukiden (Tecmo Koei), Dragon’s Crown, and Dangan Ronpa 1&2: Reload, and continued with God Eater 2 (Bandai Namco Games), making 2013 the year the Vita really took off. With the influx of new Vita owners, titles like Persona 4: The Golden (Atlas) which had been released in the previous year saw a resurgence in sales. On the other hand, the WiiU experienced a drought of popular new titles. Hopefully 2014 will be the year the console hits its stride.

2013 was also the year the PlayStation 4 was released. When importing the North American version of the PlayStation 4, there was a worldwide shortage in units which lead to difficulties in laying in stock of the device, so that we had to put them on sale for 79,800 yen per unit. Even at that price, they immediately sold out, indicative of the huge expectations Japanese consumers have for the device.

On the other hand, in April the sales tax is going to shoot up to 8 percent. It’s to be expected this will influence consumer’s buying behavior. Also, with comparatively low costs, trading card games are expanding sales. Spillover from the consumer games market can be seen here. Given how tough circumstance are right now, it’s likely some stores will have to contract the scale of their operations.