The winner of Next Gen: Portables

[Master of 7s]

Comparing trends in Japan to trends in America is an inherently stupid excerise.

Two completely different cultures, two completely different mindsets.

Japan is a small island nation with the population of California, but about half the land mass. I would think that such a lack of space would lead to a strong feeling of claustrophobia and a need to get out.

The Japanese are obviously more social and mobile than we are because they have to be. In a cramped, busy enviroment like Tokyo or Akibahara people would likely go nuts if they stayed indoors for any extended period of time so they go out, probably only going home to sleep.

In such an enviroment it would only make sense that arcades and internet cafés (social enviroments) and portable gaming (mobile enviroments) would be the norm and things like online gaming aren't as important since no ones at home.

Online gaming is important for Americans and other western nations because we are so spread out. In Japan you can't swing a dead monkey without hitting somebody.

[Bacon McShig]

Am sorry ,but I can't agree with you.

Goddammit, is remnant back again?

[Drewbacca]

I dunno, maybe if cell phone gaming really takes off, but PSP and DS won't do much to wrest the title from consoles. America's not safe enough for people to justify brandishing a $150+ piece of electronics in public.

Ipods sell pretty well.

[Bacon McShig]

Hm, yes, perhaps I approached that wrong; I guess the real roadblock is the perception of gaming, it's still considered pretty infantile on the whole. It's only widely accepted as okay when used as a subfunction of a device with more sophisticated primary functionality, like a cell phone or a PDA.