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Digitimes Research: Japan CE market sees decreased DSLR sales, focus on VR, takeoff of drone demand in 3Q16

Hana Hu, DIGITIMES Research, Taipei

The Japan CE (consumer electronics) market in the third quarter of 2016 was characterized by declining sales of DSLR cameras, focus of the 2016 Tokyo Game Show (TGS, September 15-18) on VR games and devices, takeoff of demand for drones and popularity of Amazon Prime Music, according to Digitimes Research.

According to Japan-based BCN, DSLR camera sales volume and value in the Japan market in June 2016 shrank 35.4% and 39.3%, respectively, on year, Digitimes Research indicated. Canon and Nikon were the two largest DSLR camera vendors in June.

614 exhibitors from 37 countries showcased 1,523 games, including about 110 VR games, at the 2016 TGS. Futuretown, a Taiwan-based developer of VR content, exhibited 5D Totalmotion, a jointly developed VR entertainment platform consisting of motion and sensation simulating hardware base and matched modular devices for experiencing VR games with fidelity. Totalmotion currently supports HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and China-developed 3Galsses VR devices and will launch in early 2017.

Canon's subsidiary Canon Marketing Japan and Toshiba have cooperated with Japan-based drone developer Prodrone and Japan-based GPS device developer Alpine Electronics, respectively, to promote sales of drones. According to Japan-based Seed Planning, Japan's drone market value will reach JPY63.4 billion (US$614 million) in 2020, 16.7 times the amount in 2015.

According to surveys by Japan-based Impress, Japan's streaming music market recorded total sales value of JPY4.99 billion during the first half of 2016, and 36.2% of sampled consumers preferred Amazon Prime Music, followed by LINE Music with 17.7%, Apple Music with 10.7% and d Hits with 8.9%.

Content from this article was part of a complete Digitimes Research Chinese-language report that has not yet been translated into English. If you are interested in an English version of the report or wish to receive more information about the report, click here to contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Digitimes Research also provides quarterly tracking services for market sectors such as China Smartphone, China Smartphone AP, Taiwan ICT and Taiwan FPD. Click here for more information about Digitimes Research Tracking services.