The yen continues to be at a historic low level, with the yen struggling to break below 150 yen to the dollar. This trend of yen depreciation, which started around February 2022, has already been going on for more than two years, and many people have probably gotten used to the term yen depreciation.
The reason for the yen’s depreciation is the U.S. government’s interest rate hike policy, so there is also the aspect of the dollar’s appreciation, but the yen has also remained weak against other currencies, and the yen is cheap against various currencies.
There are concerns about Japan’s national strength as the weaker yen reduces the value of yen-denominated assets from an international perspective, but there are also positive aspects such as an increase in the number of tourists visiting Japan and the revitalization of the export industry, so it is not a general problem. There are some things that can’t be called bad.
So, what kind of impact will this weak yen have on the gaming industry, especially indie game developers?
First of all, game developers who only release games in Japan will have little impact. If your sales are made only in yen, exchange rate fluctuations are almost irrelevant.
Indirect price increases have an impact, but this is not limited to the gaming industry.
Game developers whose income primarily comes from commissioned work may be slightly affected. If the performance of a game manufacturer or other consignee is affected by exchange rate fluctuations, that impact may also extend to individual consignees.
However, this depends on whether or not the trustee is profiting from exchange rate fluctuations. In other words, there are cases where there are positive effects and cases where there are negative effects.
However, recently there has been talk that the number of projects entrusted to individuals by large game manufacturers has been decreasing, and the situation may be a bit harsh for individual game developers who mainly rely on outsourced work due to exchange rate fluctuations.
Now, for game developers who are developing games overseas or taking on projects from overseas, the weaker yen will have a big positive impact.
For example, if sales increase in dollars because the yen is cheap, the amount in yen will increase even if the dollar amount remains the same.
The weak yen is a great opportunity for individual developers who publish games that have a large number of overseas users.
On the other side, a weaker yen means higher costs of international travel. For example, I often travel to Taiwan and Vietnam, and I am acutely aware that my travel expenses have increased considerably due to the weak yen.
Of course, local prices are high, but the weak yen is also having a big impact, so I’m thinking about reducing the frequency of my business trips.
One way to market your game overseas is to exhibit at overseas game events, but for small-scale indie game developers, the increased cost of traveling overseas due to the weaker yen is a big problem.
During periods of weak yen, I think many indie games focus on online marketing rather than exhibiting at real events overseas where it is difficult to see direct results.
In any business, marketing costs are generally incurred before sales, so in that sense, the weaker yen is an opportunity for small-scale game businesses to increase sales, but the increase in marketing costs also puts them in a difficult situation. There is a situation.
After the coronavirus pandemic, game marketing has shifted more offline.
For Japan’s indie game industry, the weak yen is also likely to encourage the shift of activities offline.
Offline-based marketing itself is not a bad thing. In fact, it can be said that it is compatible with the game business.
However, there are few new, random encounters and discoveries offline, and I think this method is for people who already have some knowledge of it.
Even now in 2024, there is great value in going to the location and talking with local fans and businesses.
I believe that an end to the weak yen and an appropriate rise in prices in Japan are desirable for the overseas expansion of Japanese games.
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