Since Nintendo Co. began selling its "family computer" in 1983, the company and other manufacturers have sold millions of home video-game machines, including portable versions, not to mention several hundred million units of software.
But due to diversified leisure time, the long-lasting recession and a declining birthrate, machine sales have peaked and software is not selling fast enough to offset development costs, industry sources say.
The manufacturers have been forced to review their conventional growth model, in which new software drives demand for hardware. They are now trying to depart from convention by producing items that can link to audiovisual equipment or by cultivating markets overseas.