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The shipment value of the trading card game market in Japan reached almost *** billion Japanese yen in the fiscal year 2022, growing by over ** percent compared to the previous year. Trading card games (TCGs), also known as collectible card games (CCGs), are the pillar supporting the analog game market and a popular form of collectibles in Japan, with various popular media franchises competing in a heated market.

The Japanese trading card game scenery

Japan is home to major publishers of TCGs that have taken off globally as well, including the Pokémon Company, Konami, and Bushiroad. Long-running series from the ‘90s including the "Pokémon Trading Card Game", published by The Pokémon Company, and "Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG", published by Konami dominate the scenery and top the monthly sales of TCG series in Japan. Bushiroad Inc. is a major publisher that has successfully published new series around the 2010s based on in-house intellectual properties and licensing agreements. Popular tabletop series are commonly promoted together with the release of anime series and a digital card game port, integrating the card games into the larger narrative of major media franchises.

Digital card games – widening the net of duels

The digital card game market is unique in Japan. Initially developed to challenge the traditional tabletop segment of the market by allowing fast matches online with other players throughout the country or even the world, it ended up being complementary to major tabletop series. Publishers commonly include codes in physical products that can be redeemed in the online game versions, further tying in the digital ports into the franchise’s experience. Apart from its place in mobile gaming, a smaller but unique segment of the market are arcade-style games, which use physical card sets and combine them with the digital gameplay experience of arcade machines.