
Sony and Nintendo can try to differentiate their target markets, but the reality is that their upcoming consoles will still compete against one another. That's obvious, but if recent Japanese anticipation polls say anything, it's that Japanese gamers prefer to wait for the strong PlayStation brand until a "significant PS3 price-drop." In the interim, they could be swooping up Wiis if the console's motion controls and virtual console deliver.
Put on by Otona Fami (a Famitsu publication), the poll solicited the opinions of gamers, retailers, and developers, with gamers having the lowest interest in the PS3 at 16.7% (pictured) and developers with the highest level of interest at 27.3%. Expected launch sales aside, it looks like the Japanese still haven't warmed up to the idea of at least a long-term $500-600 PlayStation console.
[Thanks, pandlcg]
[Update: now with infographics!]













(Page 1) Reader Comments
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Haha just kidding you silly sony fanboys ;)
But no seriously, just let me sell my liver and then I'll get my PS3!!! Muhahah
I'll stick with my xbox 360!
/rant
/Xbox 360 Fanboy...and damn proud!
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So if Sony lose in their own backyard, it won't be reassuring elsewhere in the world either.
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Joystiq, was just a critical of the 360, do you remember the lists of complaints they did.
Given that these are all valid concerns it does not make it bashing or biased. The fact that the PS3 is expensive and that leads to concerns. This is nothing more than evidence that the consumers and developers are in the same boat, and worried about the future of the console.
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You do that if you want. I'll just keep on working my job and saving my money.
"5. Wiitards, hahahahaha. The only thing retarded is paying 600 dollars for a videogame system because you think it makes you look cool!"
It isn't retarded to pay $600 for the most powerful and versatile console of the three.
What is retarded is buying a console now and buying an HD-DVD upgrade, which will probably be required for games in the future. Can you say "Sega CD"?
#9: "All the while Wii and 360 is selling millions. Ah well, who cares. I'm fortunately not a Sony fanboy. Because. Sony. Sucks."
360 selling millions in Japan? You are a funny, funny, man.
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Competetion will force Sony to lower their prices anyway. There's also a possibility that they're just leading us on to give it artificial value.
"My goodness, it's only $399! They said that it'd be $599! WHAT A DEAL for all the technology that they've been talking about!" They've been using this trick forever.
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And sega cd, still kicks much ass. I was playing "Kris Kross make my video" with pc genesis emulation last weekend. Maybe some "Sewer Shark" this weekend
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Big surprise. /shrug
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600 bucks is definitely a steep price for a console. It'll have to be ridiculously sweet to the point of me crying if Sony wants me to buy it. But I'm not afraid of crying... :)
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Granted, this is "Japan which doesn't matter lol," but still, most developers are Japanese. A lot of developer support there makes a serious difference in how the gen shapes up. This seriously looks like the Wii might replicate or at least emulate the DS's success.
I'm not worried about the future of the PS3. It will still have great support and titles (Final Fantasy XIII guarantees it will do at least ok). Still, I think we might be looking at a power shift among the console makers. I'm interested to see if any of the games coming for the 360 make a difference in Japan, since that's the area it critically needs to do better in.
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The interesting spin at the end is the reference to the 360. Even though its reported failure rate was 2-3%, there was a huge outcry over it. If Sony can't even manufacture enough consoles to meet demand and they have the same kind of failures the 360 had, it will be the double whammy that shuts them down for good.
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Personally I would rather buy a quality DVD player that can upscale the not-so-expensive versions of movies so that they look good on my expensive TV (not that I have an expensive TV).
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Maybe I'm the only one who caught your Sony-fanboy spin on things by saying "360 selling millions IN JAPAN?" Could you maybe show me where the original poster said it would sell millions in Japan? All I seem to see is he said it would sell millions. But that's ok. You represent the rest of the pro-Sony group very well...and sound just like the company executives the way you twist everything around. "PS3 will be the best-selling system ever, the most popular, and will be played by everyone!" (switch to very small legal print here [PS3 best-selling claim refering to my own self only as I traded in everything else just to purchase it..claim of most popular also tied to said fact that it is my only system. Played by everyone claim refers soley to myself..because I live alone...in my parent's basement..because I spent my rent money on buying two launch titles for the PS3 which I will play as soon as I save up enough money to replace the controller that broke on launch day. All statements subject to change and in no way reflect the thoughts of an intelligent individual. I support Sony because they are most expensive and therefore best, plus I love to be called an idiot and have my money stolen by a bunch of corporate liars. M$ suxxorz!!!!11 Teh wii iz teh stoopid nayme!!!111one! Teh Sony iz teh Roxxorz!!11...can I borrow a dollar?])
Sony fanboys...a dime a dozen and always more than willing to make themselves look...well..not smart. Although, defending someone who has publicly declared you stupid, blind, and incapable of making smart decisions on your own kinda goes hand in hand with that, does it not?
Just pointing things out.
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And that also means the most "versatile" console, the PS3 would be the equivallent of the NEO-GEO.
Analogies are fun but seldom are they applicable.
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That's not these polls aren't accurate, with polls you could always randomly have ended up with the perfect results, but the low sample size means that trusting these results is not a good idea. From the results it's likely that Wii is preferred, but who knows if it is overwhelmingly preferred as the poll suggests, or less so.
Since we don't know the sample size for the female groups, it's impossible to say how accurate those results are. But you can imagine how small a subsection "Female Housewives" is of a large base, and it raises misgivings about those results as well.
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In JAPAN, where PS2 is king (where isn't it?), there will certainly be some support for the PS3. But the cost, like everywhere else, will deter huge sales early on. My opinion is that 3rd party developers will start to jump ship once they realize the market is playing the other consoles, and PS3 will lose the ultimate advantage the PS2 had, the largest game library.
The Wii stands to make a killing in Japan. The 360 isn't selling well, and the PS3 will likely have some problems selling to everyone outside the early adopter group. Plus, Japanese gamers tend to be into quirky games and gameplay, so the Wii speaks directly to them.
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I think the thing is, if the price of games are the same between the PS3 and the 360, then Sony need not worry. The system price is a one shot deal, but it's the games that always ends up being the "catch" that grabs you by the balls in any deal.
On that token, the PS3's real competition is the PS2 itself since it's still a very popular system with a bunch of great (cheap) games.
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And then you have those polls where a whole company is represented. How do we know that they research firm didn't just talk to one person at each firm and by coincidence, most of them were Pro-Nintendo? Unless a firm is going to publicly announce a preference, those numbers are meaningless. One person opinions cannot represent an entire firm.
All this report really tells us is that there is more hype and interest in the Wii, like any of us here really didn't know that already. While we have seen demos and a select minority have actually played games on both systems, the decisions their subjects made are really only based upon what limited knowledge we have. As launch plans and lineups are cemented, you would probably see some shifting in this report. Bottom line: the report is only an indicator and really shouldn't be used to make arguments for/against either Sony or Nintendo (or Microsoft for that matter) to determine which manufacturer will grab the lion's share of the market in Japan.
I do find it interesting to see such high numbers of women interested in either console, but I'm no expert on Japanese culture. It makes me wonder if Japan has a higher percentage of girls who play games than we have here in the States. Anyone from Japan or lived there long enough to give an opinion?
I'm also trying to wrap my head around the Housewives and Business Women sections. Is their interest for themselves, or for their kids? For good or bad, Nintendo has a cleaner image than the other players. (And please no one use the 'kiddie' word, we've had that debate too many times.) I have a feeling that if you polled US career women or stay-at-home moms, you'd probably see a higher number for Nintendo just because it's a company they 'trust' more.
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Umm, PS2 HD addon and Network addon? duh.
And your crazy if you think any games will be released exclusively on HD-DVD for the 360.
-Rask
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-As a console, which will likely fail due to the high price point, along the lines of "OMFGWTFBBQ 600$ FOR A GAME!!"
-As a DVD player, which will again, fail, because Sony is releasing the Blu-ray standalone around that time, the console is 600 dollars (a good DVD player could be purchased for
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-As a DVD player, which will again, fail, because Sony is releasing the Blu-ray standalone around that time, the console is 600 dollars (a good DVD player could be purchased for
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#25, I caught that one too. When all else fails, change the subject, right? Sony Logic at its worst (finest?). If thats the kind of gamer associated with PS3, count me out.
Point is, as has been said to death already here, Joystiq is reporting the facts, just as they did with their long-running series of complaints about the 360. Guess what, they also ran a positive bunch of posts in thay series about the 360 as well. But who cares about facts when you can just make shit up, right?
I guess it's all a moot point anyway, because with Sony fanboys like Tony and crew, who the hell needs to bash the PS3 anymore when they do well enough on their own.
BAck to the article, the difference between the Wii hype and the Sony hype is that Sony made their hype happen with fake screenshots, exaggerated claims, and huge spec numbers. It was all internally generated by a slick PR machine (although with all the missteps these days, I guess it's nto so slick anymore).
With Nintendo, all the hype was generated by the hardware and software demos, and subsequently by the fans themselves. It had to be, because everyone and their dog had written Nintendo off. Nintendo couldn't have mounted a Sony Logic PR campaign even if they wanted to. They had to get in the trenches and actually show off working hardware to the third party guys and win them back man by man. They provided at E3 and the crowds showed it. When was the last time people ran to a booth, risking bodily harm???
Some people still try and bash Nintendo, but they're in the minority these days, just like the 12 gamers that remain loyal to the PS3. Get a clue.
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-As a DVD player, which will again, fail, because Sony is releasing the Blu-ray standalone around that time, the console is 600 dollars (a good DVD player could be purchased for less than 100 dollars.
-As a computer/media center. Most likely candidate, they've hinted at it alredy. PLAYstation3 is a bad name for something whose game playing capacity isn't going to be the selling point.
It just seems like something likely to fail.
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to the
$249 Jaguar
$149 32X upgrade
$129 Genesis
$129 SNES
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Funny how everyone is making a big deal of the price. But the only thing saving the ps3 launch is the pricepoint and the features the console offfers(to consumer and developer). The higher the price the better for sony unless they magicaly pull an extra 2-3 milion of ps3s out of their a$$. The people buying the first round of consoles will pay it regardless. make it 999 and first batch would still sell out. What it really comes down to is what happens post the rush.
If they still sell the console for the same price point a year later then thers some serious issues.
Personaly I'm not buying it until it hits at least its 3rd revision.
If you really want something to complain about how about 360s same price point. 1/2 the feaatures in a box for only 100$ less.
I dont care for BD for film. But i do care for the HD being default for next gen disc being default. I dont want my developers limiting feautures because theyre not sure if the audience has the equipment. And for those of you who dont think it i guarantee at least 1/3 of all post e3 07 games will requiere a 360 HD.
ps
if ps3 still has the same pricepoint 1 year later i'll be one of the first in line to complain. I know how to save my money to get what i want price is mostly a mute point to me. But after a year is when you begint o worry about general adoption and developers concearns.
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And I quote wikipedia:
"49 million Super NES units were sold worldwide [3], beating the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis (35 million units). However, Nintendo was unable to recapture the market share of the Nintendo Entertainment System (60 million units)."
Know your roots!
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I like to think it's freudian.
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So is the neither Xbox 360 or did they not include that in the poll?
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