DS Claims EU Dominance

Gamasutra reports that, at least in the EU, the Nintendo DS has the portable war pretty much locked up for the time being. 200,000 units of the DS Lite were sold in the ten days after its launch. From the article: "According to Nintendo of Europe, the Nintendo DS has now secured the lead in the handheld market in Europe, with sales of the format exceeding 5 million. No sales figures from Sony are available to compare directly, with only a "shipped" figure of almost 6 million for all territories bar North America and Japan." Interestingly, 136,500 units were sold in the United States in just the first two days after the handheld console's launch.

Comments

UK

[BenjyD]

The DS even seems to be winning in the UK (source), where Nintendo has never done as well as on mainland Europe. It's been interesting watching the size of the DS section in shops grow, mostly at the expense of UMDs.

Re:UK

[Dasaan]

I noticed this myself just this weekend when I went to buy Brain Training for my DS. I've also noticed that a few shops are starting to move their DS section towards the front of the shop where originally they were trying to pimp the PSP.

Bo knows gaming

[spyrochaete]

I have to say that I'm impressed in general with video game consumers. The most successful products are the consoles that treat their customers right. PS2 creamed the other consoles of its generation due to great games, an outstanding gamepad, an out-of-the-box DVD movie player, a low price, and backward compatibility. Even though the PS2 has the crappiest hardware of the 3 consoles it's still far and away the best seller.

It's especially fascinating to see Nintendo out-Sony Sony! The DS has great games with tiny load times, innovative display and control schemes, a low price, and backward compatibility. It's the big seller by an enormous margin even though the graphics pale in comparison to the very pretty PSP, which has loads of (severely locked-down) additional features, but I think people are much more comfortable carrying a clamshell portable game system than a scratch-prone beauty queen.

There are so many markets where the biggest names get the biggest sales, regardless of quality (fear not, I won't start my iPod rant). However, in the gaming world I feel fairly safe going with the crowd.

Big kudos to Nintendo for the DS. They've earned all the fanfare.

Re:Bo knows gaming

[vga_init]

I would like to add to your comment that I have noticed the gaming industry is one of the most heavily-scrutinized industries by its consumers. This is a good thing.

To give you an idea of what I'm talk about, think about the automotive industry for a moment. It's a huge industry, and it's got a wide group of consumers, each of whom have their own understandings about the machine and those who make and sell them. Most people know very little about the real functionality and merit of the vehicles themselves, but usually make their purchasing decisions based on price (some people want shiny, expensive, things) and product loyalty. Honestly, how many people do you know are familiar not only with autos themselves, but understand the dynamics of the industry as a whole (including politics, alignment, strategies, past products, current products, future products) and can speculate the significance of each morsel? It amazes me to sit and watch a bunch of people my age (youngsters--20 and under) sit and analyze the video game industry. Some people are on a first name basis with numerous individuals in the industry, from business men to engineers!

I've seen people do this to sports and music, and I guess it's natural with video games because it is also a great form of entertainment and treasured pastime. It's too bad people can't be this concerned about politics. :)

Region-free=good

[Rob T Firefly]

In other regionally-divided platforms, the European gamers often seem to get a raw deal, waiting ridiculous amounts of time for their version of things to be released. I think the fact that DS is region-free really helped cement them a top position in a market that's tired of waiting for stuff to find its way over there.

Re:Region-free=good

[nutshell42]

I think the fact that DS is region-free really helped cement them a top position in a market that's tired of waiting for stuff to find its way over there.

The only real competitor of the DS is the PSP which is region-free, too (well, for games, but the DS is no movie player). So I really don't see how that would make a difference; I doubt many people replace their PS2/GCN/Xbox with a handheld because it's region-free.

The first real test to your theory will be the next-gen consoles because the PS3 is region-free (well, for games...) while the 360 isn't; iirc the Wii will be region-free, too, but I'm not sure.

Re:Kill Whitey

[iainl]

On the other hand, my white PSP doesn't show nearly as many marks as my brother's black one. His black DS Lite is a fingerprint magnet, too. So you may well be just fine, and indeed better off with a while Lite.

Re:DS in US

[Transplant]

...usually its 5 minutes here and there but thats whats great about the DS, for those without hours of time to dedicate to gaming there is plenty to offer.

The one DS feature which I rarely see mentioned (but lends itself to the "5 minute" gaming crowd like you or me) is the automatic pause and low-power mode that occurs when you close the clamshell. It makes it so much easier to get through an otherwise epic game when you know you can just close the clamshell and come back to it 24 hours later without worrying about the battery being drained.