What happens to a gamer when stricken with disinterest? They tend to play less games but often play less games more. And they tend to gravitate towards the PC. As for me, I just play a few PC games on and off.
However, PC gaming is not well represented in Japan. So where is Japanese disinterest to go?
It goes to the next best thing: dumbed down PC game machines called Sony PlayStations. In the United States, the dumbed down PC game machine of choice is, of course, the Xbox 360. The machines do not matter, it is that when console gaming refuses to be console gaming, disinterest gravitates to the PC world of gaming (be it on PCs or dumbed down PC consoles).
Every time I look at the 3DS, I say, “This is not for me!” And then I have a sudden urge to check out the PSP (which I never had before). There are handheld PCs (like the iPhone and iPad) but their games are nothing more than souped up flash games. I wonder if my sudden interest in the PSP mirrors the sudden rise in PSP sales in Japan. As disinterest built up with the DS (and especially the 3DS), the PSP took off.
Note this parallels how the PlayStation took off when Nintendo went 3d in home consoles (Nintendo 64).
Sony never grows its market (aside from selling to global markets that were not yet available). But Sony and Nintendo seem to share a see-saw of interest. When disinterest arises in Nintendo’s direction, Sony ascends.
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