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Cellphone novel downloads outstrip paper books in Japan

When we reported last year on the rapid spread in Japan of novels designed to be read on cellphones we could hardly have guessed that they would be outselling print publications within a few months, but that’s exactly what has happened in the first half of 2007.

According to literary website Japanese Writers’ House two minor-league publishers have just celebrated selling more than the long-established behemoths that have always dominated Japanese publishing.

Goma Books and Maho i-Land together sold more than three million keitai (mobile phone) novels in the first half of the year, comfortably beating the paper equivalents from the big boys.

The biggest seller has been a work entitled The Red Thread, which has sold over one million digital copies in six months. The runner-up - If You Could - has been downloaded 400,000 times in the same period.

Considering that each phone novel can cost anywhere between $1 and $8, it’s easy to see how quickly the numbers stack up and also to predict that Goma Books and Maho i-Land will need to start looking over their shoulders for a few monstrous shadows ready to spoil their day in the sun.

(Crossposted to Tech.co.uk)

01:34 AM J Mark Lytle • Permalink
Internet | Japan | Wireless
Tagged with: novels publishing
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• I’m more than interested in this venture. I’d love to see my books read overseas.

  Posted by Gabby on 07/11/18 at 09:44 PM

• You can also get hundreds of free english language classic novels for your java enabled cell phone from http://www.booksinmyphone.com you can install directly ‘over the air’ from the mobile version of their site or download and install via a PC.

  Posted by avagee on 07/12/29 at 11:52 PM