Nintendo certainly seems poised to win big with it’s Wii console as it’s beginning to look like PS3’s high price tag is going to be a big problem for the console just about everywhere. IGN.com reports that even Japanese gamers think it’s too high:
Responding to the question of which hardware has their greatest interest, 68.8% said Wii. PS3 grabbed 21.0%, ahead of Xbox 360’s 7.2% and the DS’s 3.0%. All hardware, current generation and next, was included in the survey.
A bit more directly, Famitsu asked survey takers which hardware they expect to win the next generation race. The Wii won this vote at 73.0%, with PS3 coming in second at 22.6% and Xbox 360 getting 4.4%.
Survey takers were also questioned on the PS3’s price. In Japan, the base model costs 62,790 yen, a ways up from the PS2’s original launch price of 37,800 yen, and sure enough, 88.4% of responders felt that this was too high. Only 10.9% felt that it was a reasonable price, while 0.7% punks said that it was too low.
If Sony holds firm to the announced pricing then Nintendo may end up making a big comeback. It’s also interesting to note that Microsoft still has a problem attracting much interest in the Japanese market. Sony’s going to need a killer app if it hopes to retain the top spot.
Generally speaking, I blame the fact that Microsoft’s games lack swords the size of small villages, punches that can level a city block, and horrible drawn out dialogue centered around shabby plots. When will they learn what the japanese look for in games and movies?