Japan + DS = crazy popularity. Gamasutra writes: “According to a report from Japanese newspaper Kyoto Simbun, the Nintendo DS has become the fastest console or handheld ever to sell 10 million units in Japan, taking just 20 months to reach the milestone, an extremely impressive feat for the Kyoto-headquartered firm.” Will the DS ever […]
Japan + DS = crazy popularity. Gamasutra writes: “According to a report from Japanese newspaper Kyoto Simbun, the Nintendo DS has become the fastest console or handheld ever to sell 10 million units in Japan, taking just 20 months to reach the milestone, an extremely impressive feat for the Kyoto-headquartered firm.”
Will the DS ever be as successful world-wide as it is in Japan?
Share your perspective. Keep it thoughtful, welcoming and on topic.
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As successful? Not a chance. It could be rediculously successful, and still not as successful as it is in Japan. The Japanese are just crazy for DS.
I'm just now starting to see DS commercials on TV. But, I think the thing that the DS has going for it is word of mouth. I wrote off the DS when it first came out but about a year later, all I heard from my gamer friends was DS DS DS! That's why I got interested. And if I tell 2 friends, and they tell two friends, and so on and so on.Now, I'm not sure if it was the same way in Japan but from what I've read, Brain Age is what made the DS over there. So, that seems different than the slow, word of mouth build that the DS got over here.Unless the DS can get a multi-reaching, must have game (Brain Age just wasn't that game here) in the US I don't think it will be like it is in Japan.
Just a little numbers to compare… ; )It sold 10M in Japan (pop. of over 125 million). So that's 1 DS per 12.5 habitants. Wow!US pop. of 295M. So, they need to sell 23.6 million DS in the US to be as sucessfull… How many are the US at? Maybe 5M DS sold? ; )
I've been seeing a major increase of ads around my city. I saw a huge banner advertising the DS Lite and New Super Mario Bros. DS commercials have been airing quite a bit since NSMB. has been released.I'm sure they must have sold more than 5mil in North America. Because you know Canada is part of it so don't just say the US.
I'm from Canada, but I didn't want to add our population numbers to the ones I had for the US.I didn't know how much they sold in North America, I only had the 11M sold outside of Japan number.(don't you like how US residents took the term "American" for themselves?)
I'm in New York and have seen one DS poster near the trendy Meatpacking districy – very clean. a little bit cartoony, all good.I do see a fair amount of folk with them on the Subway, and a good mixture of people too (it's clear that the cool hip hop kids are getting PSPs though)."normal" people haven't really heard of the DS but I think it is starting to seep through – brainage is certainly helping with it's mainstream coverage and interest.The cooking game should do the same – if they can capitalize on the "stop being a bunch of fat bastards" news features in American media, they could be onto a winner. I mean, look at the money the Atkins diet made!
I live in Seattle and being in the Nintendo super center it is (not, even though NOA and NST are here, they always overlook us when it comes to Nintendo events)I remember all the original DS commercials from around the time it first game out, and then I remember the Metroid Prime Hunters one air here too. P.S.To all you Canadiadians out there, our continent is called North America, but our country is also called the United States of America, not just the United States. Therefore that makes us Americans, not USeans… or yankies, or whatever you call us…