The Japanese video game market took another fall in 2008, according to Kotaku, much like it did in 2007… and the problem doesn’t look like it’s gonna disappear any time soon.

In 2008, the video game market pulled in a total of ¥582.61 billion, down from the ¥687.95 billion brought in during 2007. More noticably, hardware sales dropped from ¥327.41 billion to ¥250.5 billion. Software sales fared better, remaining about the same as they did in 2007.

So much for the gaming industry being recessing proof.

Blizzard Entertainment has confirmed in a press release today that the new World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King sold 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale, becoming the fastest selling PC game ever.

The past record holder… ironically… was the previous expansion, The Burning Crusade.

2We’re grateful for the incredible support that players around the world have continued to show for World of Warcraft,” said Blizzard boss Mike Morhaime.

“Wrath of the Lich King contains some of the best content we’ve created for the game so far, and we look forward to seeing even more players log in to experience it in the days ahead.”

A well deserved success for an epic series.

Recent figures from popular Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu have shown that the Japanese games market is still suffering badly, with figures having fallen by 21.6% in October compared to figures from the same time last year.

Hardware sales have dropped by 29.1%, whilst software sales have fallen by 14.9 percent.

The PlayStation Portable, interestingly enough, was the strongest performer in the region, thanks to the release of the redesigned PSP 3000 on October 16, which manages to sell over 267,000 units throughout the month of October.

The DS Lite on the other hand, has seen its hardware sales fall for the month in anticipation of the release of DSi.

It’s surprising to see just how quickly the tables can turn in this industry at times.