Writing
One Platform, Three Regions - Published by N-Philes, Aug 6, 2005
Nintendo made jaws drop when it announced that the DS would be reaching American shores before those of its homeland. Many believed that the Japanese-centric company was finally putting greater interest into the largest videogame market while leaving the often static European market behind. Despite this, the DS differs in all three regions with Japan being the only region truly benefiting from what the platform has to offer.
North America:
Launch Date: November 21, 2004 (31 weeks on market)
Launch Titles: 6
Nintendo-published Launch Titles: 1
Current Number of titles: 30
Current Number of titles published by Nintendo: 6
Number of titles coming before September: 8
Number of titles coming from Nintendo: 4
Note: Numbers do not include Metroid Prime Hunters demo, but include three Nintendogs versions.
North American sales of the DS have been very impressive, considering how few titles are available. Nintendo itself only supported the system that they are "most proud of" with one title at launch. The number of titles available is slowly increasing – the titles, however, are of varying quality.
The majority of the games in this market are still, intrinsically, very simple. They are fun to play in short bursts, but lacking in the depth and longevity that the avid gamer is looking for. This stems from two fundamental sources: the developers' rush to get software out to support the system and the fact that most games are still tests to see what the system is capable of. Most of the titles that do not involve arcade or minigame-style gameplay are adventures that tie into movie licenses such as Madagascar, Spider-Man 2, and Robots. Disappointingly, titles like Star Wars Episode III and Urbz: Sims in the City are merely enhanced ports of their Game Boy Advance counterparts. The recent releases of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Kirby Canvas Curse are helping to change this trend.
Now that developers around the world have been playing with DS development tools for a while, more solid gameplay experiences as well as more western-style games are coming. However, those looking for fresh gaming experiences benefit most from the buzz generated by the DS in Japan. Any Japanese developer not working with the system might second-guess that decision, as sales over there have been strong. The more experimental nature of the system almost guarantees more eastern styles of gameplay to be introduced here...hopefully. A solid mix of eastern and western games combined with experimental and traditional gameplay will help the DS appeal to the widest possible audience here in North America.
Japan:
Launch Date: December 02, 2004 (29 weeks on market)
Launch Titles: 12
Nintendo-published Launch Titles: 5
Current Number of titles: 46
Current Number of titles published by Nintendo: 15
Number of titles coming before September: 16
Number of titles coming from Nintendo: 1
Note: Numbers include all Nintendogs titles
Japan, while not receiving the system first, certainly takes the lion's share of Nintendo's focus. Their goals pertaining to the DS were clear from day one: attract non-gamers to the product, and change how people play games. The titles currently available in this market reflect that goal. To accompany these titles, Nintendo has created a label of sorts: Touch! Generations. The titles under that umbrella, namely Electroplankton, Nintendogs, and DS Training for Adults, are selling not only in high volume but also with audiences that typically aren't associated with gaming: women and the 35+ crowd. With the recent releases of an interactive dictionary application and Cram School, another brain-stimulating non-game, the breadth of the DS audience will continue to widen.
This, in turn, should lead other designers to target these audiences that wouldn't otherwise matter on such a large scale. Traditional boundaries of gameplay will be transcended on the DS. A Tamagotchi game, for example, was announced when the success of Nintendogs became clear. Nintendo is banking on this permeating to the Revolution, targeting not current PS2 or Xbox users, but instead users who would otherwise not buy a gaming system and thereby increasing the number of users of that console.
Right now, only Japan is benefiting from this. Nintendogs and Electroplankton are slated for American release, but whether these titles are accepted by gamers and non-gamers alike has yet to be seen. Nintendo may continue to create Touch! Generations titles for Japanese DS users but choose not to bring the games (or the concepts) to the rest of the world. Like Donbe & Hikari, Professor Kawasima may only be known to western gamers through unlockable collectables in future Smash Bros. titles.
Either way, Japan has and will continue to have the largest and most diverse selection of titles on the DS. With many more on the way, Nintendo's dual-screened wonder may continue to reign over the land of the rising sun.
Europe:
Launch Date: March 11, 2005 (16 weeks on market)
Launch Titles: 15
Nintendo-published Launch Titles: 4
Current Number of titles: 24
Current Number of titles published by Nintendo: 6
Number of titles coming before September: 0 (10)
Number of titles coming from Nintendo: 0
Note: Numbers do not include Metroid Prime Hunters demo
Europe is always behind. They were delivered the DS months after North America and Japan, a break long enough for developers to have enough time to ensure a large launch lineup. With such an array of titles available, sales of the system were, and still are, strong. Since that day in March, however, only less than ten titles have been released. If the Nintendo UK website is to be believed, there are no new titles coming this summer (Cube-Europe has a list of ten titles DS bound before September).
Interestingly enough, Europe is the only market that Nintendo still has to itself; legal issues are keeping the PSP out of this lucrative market. It's rather unfortunate that Nintendo isn't using this to their advantage by further cementing the DS in Europe. Then again, Europe has all the Nintendo-published titles that the US has, save Kirby Canvas Curse, but has Another Code: Two Memories. Nintendo recently announced it had sold one million units of the DS in Europe.
If Nintendo plans to use a similar strategy for releasing the Revolution as it did for the DS then Europe, as has been rumored, will have a really long wait. This represents valuable time that the Revolution's competitors will be able to take advantage of, cementing themselves in the European market and leaving little room for Nintendo.
Closing Comments: Over half a year has passed since the Nintendo DS first hit store shelves. For it to be a revolution in its own right, the software must reflect the fresh and unique elements featured on the system. As far as Japan is concerned, the DS is offering them interactive entertainment like never before: games that aren't games at all, unprecedented multiplayer experiences, and an input system that's as intuitive as picking up a pen. Elsewhere, only the latter is true. One day, Nintendo will proclaim that the DS has finally become what it had envisioned it to be. With some luck and a little support, hopefully they will be addressing not just its native land, but also the world.
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