As handily summarized by Chris Kohler in the Game|Life blog, one group of media analysts predicts that the Nintendo DS will penetrate 89% of Japanese households by 2011. Staggering, I know. But given that they still have supply problems in Japan, I can’t guess that they are way off base.
When last I was in Japan around Tokyo Game Show, DS supply seemed to be short in Tokyo but not in Shizuoka or the Nagoya area. One of the friends I met actually bought a DS while we were hanging out together. Or two if you count my ex-wife’s mother; we are still friendly. More surprising, however, was the sheer amount of non-gaming software available at the time; since then, I’m sure the number has multiplied by several factors. Yes, the Nintendo DS plays games, but more importantly, it is becoming established as a viable software platform.
I spoke recently with my girlfriend about this, and she wondered aloud, “Why would someone buy a Nintendo DS to use software when home computers are nearly ubiquitous?”
“Cost and portability,” I answered immediately. “Not everyone has a mobile computer, and the Nintendo DS is quite suited to simple software applications controlled by a pointing device. Though there is a fabled notebook computer that is priced around $100, I haven’t seen it and I bet you haven’t either. Most people, on the other hand, can spend $129 without thinking. I could buy another DS right now if I didn’t already have two of them and not think twice about it.”
More so than America, Japan has a culture that widely accepts electronic gadgetry and video gaming, and that isn’t just speaking of the male populace. Because of this, it isn’t a farfetched idea to use the Nintendo DS as an educational tool or sell yoga, cooking, and make-up software.
The good news is that Nintendo’s two major consoles selling like crack-laced hotcakes, and there is a chance that the DS may enjoy Japanese-like success riding on the coattails of the Wii in western countries. Should this happen, we can probably expect a lot more non-gaming software outside of Japan. That means more people buying. That means more DSes in the wild. And that means more great games.
