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Statistics published by the Institute for Publication Science (IPS) in Japan show digital sales of individual manga volumes (tankoubon) exceeded print sales in 2017, marking the first time that the tankobon market has shifted in favor of digital.
While overall manga sales decreased to ¥433.0 billion in 2017, down 2.8% from ¥445.4 billion in 2016 (charted), digital tankobon sales increased by 17.2%, from ¥146.0 billion to ¥171.1 billion. It should be noted that combined print sales of tankoubon and manga magazines, totaling ¥258.3 billion, still dwarfed combined digital sales due to the massive gap between print and digital magazines. Print magazine sales totaled ¥91.7 billion in 2017, compared to ¥3.6 billion in digital.
It is unlikely digital magazine sales will surpass print sales soon, but the combined digital market could surpass print as it trends upward. Total digital sales have nearly doubled since 2014, while total print sales fell for the 16th consecutive year. The IPS believes this past year's decline was due to the completion of many popular print titles, as well as niche genres like boys' love and teen love being more readily available online.
The top ten manga in total print volumes sold in 2017 was consistent with 2016. Only Ansatsu Kyoushitsu dropped out in 2017 due to its conclusion, with Magi taking its place and rounding out the top ten. However, overall sales fell by 3,262,676 total volumes in the top ten. Some manga with consistent tankobon print releases, such as Nanatsu no Taizai and Haikyuu!!, saw plummeting sales that could be attributed to neither series having an anime adaptation air in 2017.
Further analysis on a case-by-case basis is unlikely to prove 2017 an anomaly, as evidence from sales in other industries indicate this is the product of a widespread jump to digital. Sales of print publications, in general, fell 6.9% in 2017, marking their 13th consecutive year in decline, while e-book sales increased 16%. The number of combined DVD and Blu-ray units sold also dropped by 10% as streaming continues to gain popularity.
Source: AJPEA, ITmedia, Anime! Anime! Biz
Thanks to keragamming for the news tip.
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