Monday
Jan152007
Japan Weighs in on Next Gen
Monday, January 15, 2007 at 4:25AM
Joe was in town, visiting over the weekend and when we get together, the discussion usually and rapidly, gravitates toward video games.
Joe made one very powerful observation regarding the current state of next generation console warfare insofar as it applies to Japan.
If you read sites like Kotaku, Joystiq, MagicBox, et al, you no doubt pay close attention to the ins and outs of the console industry and most who do would agree that Japan’s role in said industry has been loomed large for the past 20 plus years. In fact, many would say that the game industry is more or less Japan’s deal and we (the rest of the world) are merely just allowed to play along.
So what are the Japanese playing? Now that the big three of console gaming have each weighed in with their entrant into the current 5-year cycle of this round the never-ending console fan boy extravaganza, which one is most likely going to come out on top?
who's going to come out on top?
Joe’s observation, which I think is on the money, is: None. Japan has already voted with their feet and their yen on the PS3 vs. Wii vs. Xbox 360 and the winner is... The Nintendo DS. The duce you say!? Check out these sales figures for both Japanese game hardware and software sales from 2006.
Japanese Hardware Sales
Japanese Software Sales
DS Lites and DS software titles are flying off the shelves at the local Sofmap and Bic Cameras. This is a watershed moment in the video game industry in Japan. The Game Boy and all of its subsequent iterations have always been huge sellers in Japan for decades but mostly to the 15 and under crowd. The big difference between this and the Nipponese’s hunger for dual screen action is that it seems everyone is on the bandwagon for the DS.
the winnaah!
Kids, grandparents, salary men, O.L.s, a portion of nearly every demographic in Japan now owns and uses a DS or DS Lite. If you walk around Japan and ride the JR or the subway this year, you are going to see nearly anyone and everyone imaginable carrying a DS at one point or another - spurred by non-traditional game concepts like the Brain Age series, Nintendogs and even a line of digital cookbooks. Nintendo has developed the gaming industry’s analog to the iPod: The DS is not necessarily the biggest, baddest, more feature-rich portable on the market but it’s cute, well designed and it tries to be one thing and does that thing very well – it’s fun.
The final, smoking gun is here in this post from Kotaku: It’s official – the next major Dragon Quest game will be for the Nintendo DS. Not some side story or some less-than-official cannon, no! Dragon Quest IX will be for the Nintendo DS. Understanding the gravity of this announcement, coming from outside Japan’s own, perverse, gaming culture is probably a bit difficult. Imagine if you will if Square Enix, out of the blue, announced that Final Fantasy XIII was going to be only for the PSP or if Hideo Kojima announced there would in fact be a Metal Gear Solid 5 and it was a PSP or DS exclusive.
Remember – the Japanese go gaga over Dragon Quest. This is the same game series that is mandated by Japanese law to only have it’s release dates fall on weekends in order to curb the rampant amount of truancy from scads of kids ditching school to pick up the latest DQ adventure at the local mom-and-pop game shops.
Japanese freebase old Dragon Quest carts to get high
This is an industry defining moment. The message: Japan is sitting out this wave of next gen consoles and has cast their lot with Nintendo’s new wunderkind. And to think we all thought the DS was going to be another Virtual Boy.
Somewhere in heaven, Gunpei Yokoi is laughing.
* I would have included some links to some nice articles on Joystiq.com but the search function for that site is horribly broken whereas Kotaku's works. Just a little FYI.
Joe made one very powerful observation regarding the current state of next generation console warfare insofar as it applies to Japan.
If you read sites like Kotaku, Joystiq, MagicBox, et al, you no doubt pay close attention to the ins and outs of the console industry and most who do would agree that Japan’s role in said industry has been loomed large for the past 20 plus years. In fact, many would say that the game industry is more or less Japan’s deal and we (the rest of the world) are merely just allowed to play along.
So what are the Japanese playing? Now that the big three of console gaming have each weighed in with their entrant into the current 5-year cycle of this round the never-ending console fan boy extravaganza, which one is most likely going to come out on top?
who's going to come out on top?
Joe’s observation, which I think is on the money, is: None. Japan has already voted with their feet and their yen on the PS3 vs. Wii vs. Xbox 360 and the winner is... The Nintendo DS. The duce you say!? Check out these sales figures for both Japanese game hardware and software sales from 2006.
Japanese Hardware Sales
Japanese Software Sales
DS Lites and DS software titles are flying off the shelves at the local Sofmap and Bic Cameras. This is a watershed moment in the video game industry in Japan. The Game Boy and all of its subsequent iterations have always been huge sellers in Japan for decades but mostly to the 15 and under crowd. The big difference between this and the Nipponese’s hunger for dual screen action is that it seems everyone is on the bandwagon for the DS.
the winnaah!
Kids, grandparents, salary men, O.L.s, a portion of nearly every demographic in Japan now owns and uses a DS or DS Lite. If you walk around Japan and ride the JR or the subway this year, you are going to see nearly anyone and everyone imaginable carrying a DS at one point or another - spurred by non-traditional game concepts like the Brain Age series, Nintendogs and even a line of digital cookbooks. Nintendo has developed the gaming industry’s analog to the iPod: The DS is not necessarily the biggest, baddest, more feature-rich portable on the market but it’s cute, well designed and it tries to be one thing and does that thing very well – it’s fun.
The final, smoking gun is here in this post from Kotaku: It’s official – the next major Dragon Quest game will be for the Nintendo DS. Not some side story or some less-than-official cannon, no! Dragon Quest IX will be for the Nintendo DS. Understanding the gravity of this announcement, coming from outside Japan’s own, perverse, gaming culture is probably a bit difficult. Imagine if you will if Square Enix, out of the blue, announced that Final Fantasy XIII was going to be only for the PSP or if Hideo Kojima announced there would in fact be a Metal Gear Solid 5 and it was a PSP or DS exclusive.
Remember – the Japanese go gaga over Dragon Quest. This is the same game series that is mandated by Japanese law to only have it’s release dates fall on weekends in order to curb the rampant amount of truancy from scads of kids ditching school to pick up the latest DQ adventure at the local mom-and-pop game shops.
Japanese freebase old Dragon Quest carts to get high
This is an industry defining moment. The message: Japan is sitting out this wave of next gen consoles and has cast their lot with Nintendo’s new wunderkind. And to think we all thought the DS was going to be another Virtual Boy.
Somewhere in heaven, Gunpei Yokoi is laughing.
* I would have included some links to some nice articles on Joystiq.com but the search function for that site is horribly broken whereas Kotaku's works. Just a little FYI.
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