The Nintendo DS is doing well in its home land of Japan. How well, you ask? Well enough that Nintendo claims one in every five Japanese people owns one, anyway.
Nintendo recently released a chart showing what percentage of any given market owns a variation of their megapopular handheld - whether the original DS, the DS Lite, or the new DSi. The numbers are ... actually pretty staggering, if they're to be believed. 9.5% of Americans own one of the fancy little gadgets, compared with 9.9% of Europeans (though it falls to 6.7% when counting countries outside of the EU).
The real whopper, though, is Japan. According to Nintendo's numbers, 20.5% of the nation's population owns some kind of DS. This isn't "one out of every five Japanese gamers has a DS," this is "one out of every five people in Japan has a DS." If you walked up to a random person in, say, Yokohama and asked "Do you have a DS?" the odds would be that they'd say "yes" 1/5th of the time.
That's crazy. Of course, the numbers do seem a little odd. It seems to me that this is Nintendo measuring total sales against the population of the country, so if some gamer bought the regular DS, then the DS Lite, and now the DSi, they'd count for three people alone. But even with that potential overstatement, even if every single gamer in Japan owns three versions of the DS, that's still almost a 1-in-10 chance. Which is pretty impressive in its own right.
Bah! The japanese are lame. They only make super mario and zelda games. As if we have not had enough of those already! The NES and the N64 rock though.
Hardcore_gamer: Bah! The japanese are lame. They only make super mario and zelda games. As if we have not had enough of those already! The NES and the N64 rock though.
Madworld Resident Evil Dead Rising No More Heroes
Just a couple of awesome recent japanese games.
Oh and who wouldn't want a DS? Best handheld ever!
That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Hardcore_gamer: Bah! The japanese are lame. They only make super mario and zelda games. As if we have not had enough of those already! The NES and the N64 rock though.
Madworld Resident Evil Dead Rising No More Heroes
Just a couple of awesome recent japanese games.
Oh and who wouldn't want a DS? Best handheld ever!
I just have to say the Wii Dead Rising is TERRIBLE!!!! At lest compared to the real game. I was going to buy MadWorld but I realized I was only considering it because it was a violent game on the Wii, and after hearing how short it was I didn't think it was worth it.
Hardcore_gamer: Bah! The japanese are lame. They only make super mario and zelda games. As if we have not had enough of those already! The NES and the N64 rock though.
Madworld Resident Evil Dead Rising No More Heroes
Just a couple of awesome recent japanese games.
Oh and who wouldn't want a DS? Best handheld ever!
Hardcore_gamer: Bah! The japanese are lame. They only make super mario and zelda games. As if we have not had enough of those already! The NES and the N64 rock though.
Madworld Resident Evil Dead Rising No More Heroes
Just a couple of awesome recent japanese games.
Oh and who wouldn't want a DS? Best handheld ever!
Dead Rising is not a japanese game, it was made for the xbox 360 and then ported to the wii, and as far as i know the Wii port was just a dumbed down shit version of the 360 game. Resident evil is mostly a Playstation franchise and not a Nitendo one (yes i know that sony is a japanese company but they focus more on the western market) and as far as i know the other games you mentioned were all made by western developers. I can't think of a single good game for the Wii that was made by the Japanese besides the Resident Evil games because 90% of high profile japanese made Wii games are just re-makes or shitty sequels to there milked to death franchises like Super mario and zelda. They day Nitendo will make a great Japanese made Wii game is they day my ass will grow me wings and fly me to the moon.
Hardcore_gamer: Bah! The japanese are lame. They only make super mario and zelda games. As if we have not had enough of those already! The NES and the N64 rock though.
Madworld Resident Evil Dead Rising No More Heroes
Just a couple of awesome recent japanese games.
Oh and who wouldn't want a DS? Best handheld ever!
I just have to say the Wii Dead Rising is TERRIBLE!!!! At lest compared to the real game. I was going to buy MadWorld but I realized I was only considering it because it was a violent game on the Wii, and after hearing how short it was I didn't think it was worth it.
Just pointing out that there are good to awesome games on the japanese market.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Hardcore_gamer: Bah! The japanese are lame. They only make super mario and zelda games. As if we have not had enough of those already! The NES and the N64 rock though.
Madworld Resident Evil Dead Rising No More Heroes
Just a couple of awesome recent japanese games.
Oh and who wouldn't want a DS? Best handheld ever!
Dead Rising is not a japanese game, it was made for the xbox 360 and then ported to the wii, and as far as i know the Wii port was just a dumbed down shit version of the 360 game. Resident evil is mostly a Playstation franchise and not a Nitendo one (yes i know that sony is a japanese company but they focus more on the western market) and as far as i know the other games you mentioned were all made by western developers. I can't think of a single good game for the Wii that was made by the Japanese besides the Resident Evil games because 90% of high profile japanese made Wii games are just re-makes or shitty sequels to there milked to death franchises like Super mario and zelda. They day Nitendo will make a great Japanese made Wii game is they day my ass will grow me wings and fly me to the moon.
Hint, Capcom's a japanese company.
Resident Evil and Dead Rising are both made by Capcom.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Sony fanboy?
Why would you assume that, could just as well be an xBox fanboy, or a PC fanboy...
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Sony fanboy?
Why would you assume that, could just as well be an xBox fanboy, or a PC fanboy...
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Sony fanboy?
Why would you assume that, could just as well be an xBox fanboy, or a PC fanboy...
Neither of those companies have handhelds.
They could just mean, why would you waste it on that instead of buying a PC/xBox 360/PS3.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Elite Beat Agents, Phoenix Wright, Professor Layton.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Yeah true, i forgot there was only a few identical games on the DS....widen your search please.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Sony fanboy?
No, a veteran gamer. I like games & everything Nintendo does is generally aimed at preventing games from getting better, and instead giving the market a shiny red ball/gimmick instead of actually making games better. Quality has been on the slide from the Xbox/PS2 generation. They were an improvement on PS1/N64 games, but this generation, the idea well is drying out & instead of people coming up with new ideas, money making gimmicks are just spewed out at a depressingly fantastic rate. And then people buy the gimmicks.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Sony fanboy?
No, a veteran gamer. I like games & everything Nintendo does is generally aimed at preventing games from getting better, and instead giving the market a shiny red ball/gimmick instead of actually making games better. Quality has been on the slide from the Xbox/PS2 generation. They were an improvement on PS1/N64 games, but this generation, the idea well is drying out & instead of people coming up with new ideas, money making gimmicks are just spewed out at a depressingly fantastic rate. And then people buy the gimmicks.
I disagree with you.
But whatever gets your wheel spinning, I have a feeling of that I can't make you change your mind, so this is not a discussion I will have.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Yeah true, i forgot there was only a few identical games on the DS....widen your search please.
Crappy graphics, manga styled games, pointless touch screen, and now an even more pointless camera. As for games, no I haven't played many, but that's because they all look like SNES games with pre-pubescent characters or hilariously bad storylines. Advance Wars? Try primitive ****** that's on par with civ 2 for unit idiocy. It's only tactical because the units are broken. I could go on, but what speaks loud enough about it being a gimmick & the average person not seeing quality is the low, low sales of GTA:CTW. Highest rated game on DS, low sales. Sure, it's not for hardcore gamers and I can appreciate that, but over 100mill sold & I know people who 'like it' through the "It's fun *not nearly as much as I think*" approach.
They aren't crappy. You are comparing DS graphics to Console or PC, which is like trying to compare apples to oranges. A DS is like a 20th of the size, and you're an idiot for trying to make this comparison.
Irrelevant. Yes, there are some very "Japanese" games on the DS. However, there are just as many that aren't. You're assuming that every game on the system is some stupid Jrpg.
It's far from pointless. Its one of the core features of the DS. Not all games make use of it, but many of them integrate it in some very clever ways. I suppose you think that an Xbox doesn't need a controller, or that a PC doesn't need a mouse.
As for games, no I haven't played many, but that's because they all look like SNES games with pre-pubescent characters or hilariously bad storylines.
As opposed to the cookie-cutter over buffed manly-men and bad storylines? Every system has bad games. You can't use this as an argument for why every game on the DS is a horrible piece of crap.
Mazty: Advance Wars? Try primitive ****** that's on par with civ 2 for unit idiocy. It's only tactical because the units are broken.
Yeah, successful and popular franchises like advance wars must be crap because you believe so. It's a solid title. Don't belittle it because you *think* and *feel* that the game is crap. [quote="Mazty" post="7.112672.2012101"]I could go on, but what speaks loud enough about it being a gimmick & the average person not seeing quality is the low, low sales of GTA:CTW. Highest rated game on DS, low sales.[quote] Totally man. I'm sure that since people didn't buy GTA: CTW it means that DS owners don't appreciate good games! It certainly isn't because top-down shooters are a pretty archaic genre, that most people don't enjoy now-adays! God, people are stupid for only playing the gimmicky games on the DS./Sarcasm.
The DS is hardly a gimmick, sir. It's the world's best selling handheld not because people are stupid and throw money at gimmicks, but because there are some solid games for it, and its fun to play.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Yeah true, i forgot there was only a few identical games on the DS....widen your search please.
Crappy graphics, manga styled games, pointless touch screen, and now an even more pointless camera. As for games, no I haven't played many, but that's because they all look like SNES games with pre-pubescent characters or hilariously bad storylines. Advance Wars? Try primitive ****** that's on par with civ 2 for unit idiocy. It's only tactical because the units are broken. I could go on, but what speaks loud enough about it being a gimmick & the average person not seeing quality is the low, low sales of GTA:CTW. Highest rated game on DS, low sales. Sure, it's not for hardcore gamers and I can appreciate that, but over 100mill sold & I know people who 'like it' through the "It's fun *not nearly as much as I think*" approach.
Again, I'm going to reiterate: Elite Beat Agents, Professor Layton, Phoenix Wright.
Furthermore, smaller, "casual" gaming is - perhaps unfortunately for core gamers - showing itself to be by far the smarter route for game developers especially in this economic climate. Core games take so much time and money and rarely earn it back.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
says you, it appears that the rest of the planet disagrees
They aren't crappy. You are comparing DS graphics to Console or PC, which is like trying to compare apples to oranges. A DS is like a 20th of the size, and you're an idiot for trying to make this comparison.
Irrelevant. Yes, there are some very "Japanese" games on the DS. However, there are just as many that aren't. You're assuming that every game on the system is some stupid Jrpg.
Have a look on metacritic. The average game is some mange-based retard-o fest' (male crime fighting cheerleaders...the hell?). The ones that aren't are aimed at little kids or someone who has no idea of quality e.g. Advance Wars Civilisation 2, or Masters of Orion were far better in everyway. How come then on a modern handheld they can't make better games in terms of gameplay? Oh right, the consumers aren't sure on what quality is.
It's far from pointless. Its one of the core features of the DS. Not all games make use of it, but many of them integrate it in some very clever ways. I suppose you think that an Xbox doesn't need a controller, or that a PC doesn't need a mouse.
Head over to Zero Punctuation. Apart from you can't use it at the same time as other controllers, most games have it as a minimap or some other generic use, making it a 2nd screen, not a touchscreen, defeating it's point.
I'm inclined to agree, but I haven't played around with the DS(i) but I suppose neither have you.
And that changes what the critics say how? Even nintendo have stated that it's just for 'messing around with'. Now I ask, who likes to mess around with photos of themselves and make retty borders etc? Little kids, again showing the DS to not be a quality controlled handheld as its consumers have no idea about the concept. They just like pretty things and pokemon.
As opposed to the cookie-cutter over buffed manly-men and bad storylines? Every system has bad games. You can't use this as an argument for why every game on the DS is a horrible piece of crap.
Every game is a generalisation, of course they'll be a few good ones, but not enough to warrant it's price considering a PS2 is cheaper, and an old xbox is even cheaper. If people need to do something on the move, read a book - it's better in everyway than visiting a friends virtual farm.
RomanLegacy: Yeah, successful and popular franchises like advance wars must be crap because you believe so. It's a solid title. Don't belittle it because you *think* and *feel* that the game is crap.
Think & feel? Hardly. I've played both versions on the DS and came to the conclusion with the rest of my friends that it was a terrible game with little skill & pure idiocy controlling the 'tactics' needed to win. Don't think I've never picked up or played on a DS, of course I have, otherwise this would all be speculative.
Totally man. I'm sure that since people didn't buy GTA: CTW it means that DS owners don't appreciate good games! It certainly isn't because top-down shooters are a pretty archaic genre, that most people don't enjoy now-adays! God, people are stupid for only playing the gimmicky games on the DS./Sarcasm.
The DS is hardly a gimmick, sir. It's the world's best selling handheld not because people are stupid and throw money at gimmicks, but because there are some solid games for it, and its fun to play.
Top down shooters are old, and rhythm games or 2D fighters aren't? How's your logic work on that idea? Obviously people enjoyed it if the reviews were outstanding for it.... It's the worlds best selling handheld because it'll get little Jimmy to shut the ****** up in the back of a car during the compulsory family trips, and it also is a good idea for the wife from oblivious husbands who can't give flowers & chocs for the nth year running. It's more of a comment on todays society rather than it's quality. EDIT: Yeah, seems like it is the route that companies are going down to satisfy the casual gamer, and unfortunately, quality does take a toll in those situations.
Well they come in pretty colours and there's been 3 incarnations, just because they've sold enough units for a fifth of Japan to own one, it doesn't mean they actually do. I've had 2 as has my brother, so it doesn't mean exactly what it says.
@Mazty - A PS2 or an XBox dont fit in your pocket they dont have an 8 hour battery life, you cant watch movies, listen to MP3's, read text files or cbr's (Thats comics) and play games on it as well.
I dont think you realise how limited an AI(or a humans) responses would be in the game mechanisms presented in Advance Wars. However thats still *subjective*.
I have to ask what would you consider a mature advanced title because MOO wouldnt work on a DS for a start screens too tiny. The touchscreen is fantastic for graphic adventures and shooters IMHO. The implementation for shooters is actually genius with weapon switching and use functions running off the touch.
Mazty: That really is depressing. Why would you spend over £100 on a DS? Cooking games, (non)brain-training, or more gimmicky stick play? Swine flu may actually be a blessing in disguise....
Yeah true, i forgot there was only a few identical games on the DS....widen your search please.
Crappy graphics, manga styled games, pointless touch screen, and now an even more pointless camera. As for games, no I haven't played many, but that's because they all look like SNES games with pre-pubescent characters or hilariously bad storylines. Advance Wars? Try primitive ****** that's on par with civ 2 for unit idiocy. It's only tactical because the units are broken. I could go on, but what speaks loud enough about it being a gimmick & the average person not seeing quality is the low, low sales of GTA:CTW. Highest rated game on DS, low sales. Sure, it's not for hardcore gamers and I can appreciate that, but over 100mill sold & I know people who 'like it' through the "It's fun *not nearly as much as I think*" approach.
I'd say it's for hardcore gamers! =] I count myself as a hardcore PC/360 gamer, but the DS is still a lot of fun. As you say, GTA just hasn't sold well 'cause kids own it, I still love that game, sales shouldn't matter.
Even though I disagree with it, I can understand many of the complaints about the Wii. You shouldn't bother bashing the DS though, since the handheld has an extremely solid and diverse catalog of fantastic games. Of course none of the people complaining about the DS have even bothered playing some of the better and more unique DS titles like Professor Layton, Phoenix Wright and Elite Beat Agents...
Someone buying multiple systems doesn't necessarily throw the figures off that much. Assuming they're only counting new systems sold. When I bought my DS lite I traded in my DS to pay for it. Within a week it was gone from the store I traded it in at. So someone else has it. For those who don't sell their system, it's also possible they are given to a friend or relative. Users are not always buyers.
Have a look on metacritic. The average game is some mange-based retard-o fest' (male crime fighting cheerleaders...the hell?). The ones that aren't are aimed at little kids or someone who has no idea of quality e.g. Advance Wars Civilisation 2, or Masters of Orion were far better in everyway. How come then on a modern handheld they can't make better games in terms of gameplay? Oh right, the consumers aren't sure on what quality is.
First off, you care what critics say about a game? Sure, critics are a great way to gage wether or not you should at least try out a game, but when have you ever rated the enjoyment you got from a game on a scale? In order to use this argument, you need to say that you agree with every reviewer ever, about any way they rate a game, since you're using a ratings compilation site.
Secondly, the lower rating for the DS can be explained, because yes, it ocasionaly makes shit games. The DS library is huge, and has a lot of third party devolopers, making crappy games. That doesn't mean there still aren't a whole bunch of good games, it just means there are a whole bunch of shit games as well.
And a final question, how Elitist are you? "Consumers aren't sure what quality is?" People aren't idiots who grab mindlessly at shiny things. Most of the time, people buy quality because they see a quality product, weather it be based on cost, durability, overall enjoyment. Your veiws and opions aren't always the best, despite what you may think.
Head over to Zero Punctuation. Apart from you can't use it at the same time as other controllers, most games have it as a minimap or some other generic use, making it a 2nd screen, not a touchscreen, defeating it's point.
lol at the "Yatzee said so" argument. I'm sure that its possible to make a handheld where I can use both hands to press buttons, and at the same time hold a stylus. You can't use them both because a normal person doesn't have three hands. And once again, you're generalizing. I can say that most games don't use a minimap, and have all the images fliped upside down, and it holds the same amount of truth as your statement.
And that changes what the critics say how? Even nintendo have stated that it's just for 'messing around with'. Now I ask, who likes to mess around with photos of themselves and make retty borders etc? Little kids, again showing the DS to not be a quality controlled handheld as its consumers have no idea about the concept. They just like pretty things and pokemon.
Are you trying to critizize a system for including a camera, as opposed to the other consoles which have exactly 0? What were you expecting? A 1000 dollar cannon camera?
Every game is a generalisation, of course they'll be a few good ones, but not enough to warrant it's price considering a PS2 is cheaper, and an old xbox is even cheaper. If people need to do something on the move, read a book - it's better in everyway than visiting a friends virtual farm.
So now the DS is a peice of crap because its portable? Let me reword your argument into something equaly ridiculous: If people need something to do at Home read a book - it's better in everyway than visiting a friends virtual farm.
Think & feel? Hardly. I've played both versions on the DS and came to the conclusion with the rest of my friends that it was a terrible game with little skill & pure idiocy controlling the 'tactics' needed to win. Don't think I've never picked up or played on a DS, of course I have, otherwise this would all be speculative.
Well, if you and your friends think Advance wars is terrible, thats too bad. It still doesn't mean its a bad game, and a reason why the DS sucks. Give me something more than how you *Think and feel* "that it's a terrible game with little skill and pure idiocy" and maybee then I won't point out people who feel the exact opposite. Oh right, they're the consumers who don't know what quality is. :roll:
also, appologies for assuming you haven't played a DS.
Top down shooters are old, and rhythm games or 2D fighters aren't? How's your logic work on that idea? Obviously people enjoyed it if the reviews were outstanding for it....
2D fighters and rhythm games are still popular as niche genres, that get a few quality games to pump them out a bit. My logic asks: When was the last high profile top down shooter game you heard of? Only one I can think of was GTA: CTW.
Mazty: It's the worlds best selling handheld because it'll get little Jimmy to shut the ****** up in the back of a car during the compulsory family trips, and it also is a good idea for the wife from oblivious husbands who can't give flowers & chocs for the nth year running. It's more of a comment on todays society rather than it's quality. EDIT: Yeah, seems like it is the route that companies are going down to satisfy the casual gamer, and unfortunately, quality does take a toll in those situations.
Did we change arguments? I thought you were talking about how much All DS games suck, not about the casual gaming market! Oh, but I'll bite.
The casual gaming market isn't destroying the hardcore gaming market. Causal games aren't tailored to appeal to those who play "serious" video games, rather they are aimed at those who wouldn't play games otherwise. There are still the same amount of "Hardcore" games coming out for those who want them, there is just a new, larger market next to it, which is why everyone cries that there aren't enough good games coming out.
I'll be worried when a major "hardcore" company like Bioware or Blizard join together to cancel all projects and make "Kiddy bang party 3"
Mazty, I think you would be a real riot at PAX. I dare you to go and check it out this year. Of particular note to you will be the wireless lounge, where you will find lots of grandmothers playing Cooking Mama and 8 year olds playing Pokemon.
That sentence was a lie. It's actually populated by 16-30 year olds playing a variety of games, mostly for DS. Some PSPs can be found but they are outnumbered many times. People who love to play games who are also fun to be around disagree with you. Since we are talking about games, which are about having fun, that makes you wrong.
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One in Five Japanese People Owns a DS
The Nintendo DS is doing well in its home land of Japan. How well, you ask? Well enough that Nintendo claims one in every five Japanese people owns one, anyway.
Nintendo recently released a chart showing what percentage of any given market owns a variation of their megapopular handheld - whether the original DS, the DS Lite, or the new DSi. The numbers are ... actually pretty staggering, if they're to be believed. 9.5% of Americans own one of the fancy little gadgets, compared with 9.9% of Europeans (though it falls to 6.7% when counting countries outside of the EU).
The real whopper, though, is Japan. According to Nintendo's numbers, 20.5% of the nation's population owns some kind of DS. This isn't "one out of every five Japanese gamers has a DS," this is "one out of every five people in Japan has a DS." If you walked up to a random person in, say, Yokohama and asked "Do you have a DS?" the odds would be that they'd say "yes" 1/5th of the time.
That's crazy. Of course, the numbers do seem a little odd. It seems to me that this is Nintendo measuring total sales against the population of the country, so if some gamer bought the regular DS, then the DS Lite, and now the DSi, they'd count for three people alone. But even with that potential overstatement, even if every single gamer in Japan owns three versions of the DS, that's still almost a 1-in-10 chance. Which is pretty impressive in its own right.
(Kotaku)
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