PS5/Xbox Popularity Dwindles As Mobile/Switch/PC Emerge As Platforms Of Choice For Japanese Youth

The popularity of the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles continues to dwindle in Japan, as Mobile, Nintendo Switch, and PC emerge as platforms of choice for the

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Sounds accurate

[Cacabunga]

Still hardware sales going strong for switch and PS5.

[Christopher]

Been like this for a decade now. Not really big news here.

[S2Killinit]

Exactly what I thought. Everyone knows that handheld is Japan’s preferred gaming. Everyone uses the train system and uses that time to game. This is not news at all.

Ps: currently in Japan.

[notachance]

also if you live in an apartment it's just way more comfortable to game on a compact device instead of on a big screen just because of the space needed, anything handheld will be popular there provided they have good games on it and with desktop pc at least you can sit near the screen.

ps: I used to live in a tokyo apartment for about 1 year

[PrinceOfAnger]

I think same thing with china they prefer pc/mobile mostly

[purple101]

that's strange indeed, in the uk results for last year pc gaming down 11% console gaming up 12%.

digital sales up 5.6%
Boxed sales ALSO up, 5%

[jwillj2k4]

Lookin like the PS9 is just gonna be an image on a mesh cover top over a server rack.

[ravens52]

Lol

[LoveSpuds]

Lies, damn lies and statistics!!

Mobile gaming being dominant in Asia is hardly news these days, but there are stats showing PS5 is the fastest selling PS console ever in Japan, (2.7 million in 2023) so I am not sure that it's quite the doom and gloom story that the author wants to suggest

[MrNinosan]

No, it's not the fastest selling ever.
It sold 2.6 million i Japan, which is the highest number in a year for a Playstation console since 2004 with the PS2.
From 2004 and before, PS sold more than 2.6 million almost every year.

However, it's still amazing that PS5 actually sold that well in Japan, after 20 years of shit sales.

[Angyobangyo]

False, it's the fastest selling since the PS2.

[LoveSpuds]

Apologies, I'd mis-remembed the headline I'd read a while back. Anyway, the point remains, I don't thing its all doo and gloom for PlayStation in Japan as this story is trying to suggest.

[gold_drake]

nothing new. we know this.

japanese people get their gaming done on their way to school or work. switch and mobile are perfect for this.

[VincentVanBro]

PC and Switch are an incredible combo

[Sgt_Slaughter]

100% agree, whether it's docked and a tower or a Deck and using the Switch on-the-go. The combo is all I ever need now that lots of PS/Xbox games aren't exclusive to their consoles anymore.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I've got the same mentality, little to no exclusives on Xbox/PS consoles anymore, so it's better to have the PC and Switch, both of which can also be used as portable handhelds when I walk away from a monitor/tv screen.
I can't even justify buying a PS5 these days.

[Firebird360]

Maybe I'm just old now but for the life of me I can't understand ftp mobile games or gaming on a cellphone.
Switch I love, steam deck I love, ps5 I love.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I just can't get into mobile games, I've tried, but never spent a lot of time on them or finished one, plus, a lot of them, especially the English versions, die an early death.

[LoveSpuds]

I can't get into mobile gaming either and I have tried a few times, I owned a PSP, I own a Vita and I take my Switch on holiday for travelling etc. Even with these great devices, mobile gaming just never grabs me.

[Elda]

I'm American & it's not my choice. I'm enjoying playing my PS5 & most of the exclusives that are released on the home console.

[Good-Smurf]

Any gamer been to Japan knew this been happening for years now.
Good thing in my country we still have time and space in our lives to play something at our home without feeling like our lifestyle demand the need for portable gaming devices, but many here did enjoy gaming on smartphones.
I just can't seem to play most games on the go on tiny screens I just couldn't do it for some reason.

[anast]

Youth trends dictate the gamingscape. This why the games suck. As time goes on we get dumber and dumber, so the kids get dumber and dumber, which makes all art and entertainment sh$%%er and sh$%%er.

[SonOfOsiris]

Switch epic win

[Trilithon]

my switch days are coming to an end but i cant wait to scoop up a switch 2 when they get released...

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

If it can play Switch 1 games like rumoured, getting the Switch 2 will be even more appealing for me.

[Kekewei]

This is actually sad , most of youth in east Asian countries can't afford time spending in living room or own a TV room, life pressure is much more stressful, same reason why new lowest birth rating hit Japan Korea China again and again.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

>China

That one has its own unique can of worms, most notably the fact that it was caused by their own government.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Reduces population using "one child policy", people stop having babies, so they remove it, no one wants to have babies now despite limiting them to only 3 children. I'm pretty sure economic conditions also play a big role in that one too, especially since 1st world countries are starting to experience Asia's low birthrate problem (except they get around it with imigration).

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Not surprised Xbox has been in the gutter since the 360 days, and for some reason, Sony is slowly following suit with the PS5. Meanwhile, Nintendo is putting out great games and has a huge library of exclusives compared to the other two. And Steam sales make it easy to build up a stupidly big collection cheaply, it also helps that the Steam Deck is a thing so that caters to Japan's preference for portability.

[fsfsxii]

Nintendo has been selling you the same garbage collection since the dawn of time, on a hardware that costs pennies to make and you idiots lap it up 🤣🤣🤣

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

Their games output is still better than Xbox/Sony this generation, Sony really fell down this gen, can't believe this is where we're at. Nintendo has their own issues, but If that's how you want to be about Nintendo, it makes Xbox/Sony look even worse than how I framed them in the post above.

[fsfsxii]

Not hard to have a steady output of recycled material on shit hardware thats barely able to run anything. Sony is breaking barriers and advancing the medium, nintendo is the definition if complacency

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I'd rather have more games (and despite "recycling", they're still more varied and interesting/fun), at least Nintendo is putting out more exclusives, Sony has barely outputted anything exclusive this gen despite how good the hardware is. The point you're trying to make is just proving my point on how far Sony has fallen compared to last gen (PS4 and earlier).

Nah, I'll stick with my Switch/PC/Steam Deck and get all the games.

[gigoran8]

This isn't new. Mobile gaming has dominated gaming in Japan for several generations of consoles.

[lucasnooker]

I’m not really surprised. There’s less and less great games on the big consoles now. Too infrequent. The other systems have better libraries despite them being older titles that don’t push the boundaries of technology