世論 What Japan Thinks

With many Japanese companies paying winter bonuses at the end of week, this might be a good time to look at a recent survey reported on japan.internet.com and conducted by Cross Marketing Inc into portable games machines.

Demographics

Over the 21st and 22nd of November 2007 300 members of the Cross Marketing online monitor group successfully competed a private internet-based questionnaire. The sample was split exactly 50:50 male and female in each age group. These age groups were 20.0% in their teens, 20.0% in their twenties, 20.0% in their thirties, 20.0% in their forties, and 20.0% in their fifties.

As I’ve probably mentioned too many times already (perhaps I should make an Amazon wish list so you can all buy me a present?) I really want to get the new red and black DS Lite. I have two Japanese learning titles waiting for me at home! Perhaps this weekend…?

One of the reasons, perhaps, for the good PSP figures in Q3 is that, as one can see from Q1, a lot of people already have a DS or DS Lite, therefore wanting a PSP makes sense. However, how many of them will actually go out and spend the money is open to debate.

Finally, in Q2, I get the impression that DS Lites are now in sufficient stock almost everywhere, but perhaps with the end of year spending spree coming up, it will get difficult to get your hands on again? You may want to cross-reference these figures with a similar question asked in March this year.
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To coincide with the first anniversary of the release of Nintendo’s DS Lite handheld console in Japan on March 2nd 2006, japan.internet.com published the results of a survey conducted by JR Tokai Express Research into portable gaming, although this report focuses on the DS Lite only.

Demographics

330 people from JR Tokai Express Research’s online monitor group completed the survey conducted over four days between the 7th and 10th of March.52.4% of the sample was male, 24.2% in their twenties, 45.5% in their thirties, 21.8% in their forties, 6.7% in their fifties, and 1.8% in their sixties.

I still haven’t bought my DS sadly. I suppose I could use the excuse that it’s always sold out whenever I go to the shops, but the truth be told I’m a little scared to buy just in case I get addicted and start ignoring this blog!
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In a survey performed by infoPLANT on games machine ownership (warning: Japanese PDF), and translated in detail here, the most stunning result of the questionnaire is that the sales of the Nintendo DS seems to be driven by the older generation, as can be seen from the chart on the right.

The most likely explanation for this trend, I believe, is the brain training boom in Japan, in particular the Brain Age game and other similar titles that promise to ward off senility and keep one’s mind active, even though the celebrity advertising it on the television is merely a pretty young thing.

On a slight side note, my voice was one of the voices used to tune the recognition engine for British English for the European launch of the Brain Age titles.