Just about every large-screen display now sold in Western Europe and North America is ‘3D enabled’. However, Blu-Ray packaged media sales remain sluggish, and take-up of 3D transmissions is – at best – modest. However, a new study from IHS-Screen Digest says that Japan’s enthusiasm for 3D Blu-Ray is “growing steadily” despite Japan’s economic climate.

While initial releases were dominated by Hollywood releases, the market is now increasingly influenced by locally-produced content.  Take-up of 3D/BD/TV-equipped homes has grown from 2.3 million at the end of 2011 to an anticipated 4.5 million by the end of this year.  The study also says that proportionally Japanese consumers will buy more 3D-Blu-Ray discs than their US counterparts, and that 3D translates as a very useful 9.3 per cent of the overall Blu-Ray market in Japan.

Hollywood releases remain important, but documentary material accounts for the greater share of local output (24 per cent of releases) with animation (18 per cent) and ‘action/horror’ taking 11 per cent for each genre.

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