 |
So, our gaming population expansion strategy has brought about disruptive changes in Japan. I'd now like to talk about what has been happening in Europe and in the U.S. |
 |
 |
Between Japan and the western world, game market environments were largely different and, about two years ago when Nintendo had just launched DS, how people observed each market varied greatly. For example, in Europe and the U.S. where Gamer Drift was not happening, they though Gamer Drift was unique phenomena found only in Japan. Those who predicted the expansion of DS, which is the game machine to challenge creators' creativities and unique ideas, could not be in the majority in Europe and Americas which were focusing more upon photo-realism in gaming. Accordingly, the general view towards nintendogs and our brain training software was that there won't be big market for such software in Europe and the U.S. |
|
 |
However, the North American market, which used to grow continuously and significantly, showed a decrease last year in its software market, and publishers reported less profitability as a result. Because of this, people in this industry around the world now appear to think that Gamer Drift is not confined to Japan. |
|
 |
Nintendogs was the first Touch Generations title in Europe and the U.S., and Nintendogs has become more popular abroad than in Japan. More than one year has passed since the launch, but Nintendogs is selling constantly both in Europe and the U.S. still now. The cumulative sell-thru in the U.S. topped 3 million. In Europe, it topped 4.4 million, and will reach 5 million by the end of this year. The global sales of this software already topped 10 million. |
|
 |
The brain training software that has most significantly altered the Japanese DS market was launched in Europe and the U.S. in the spring of this year. In Europe, already more than 1 million copies have sold through, and sales are likely to reach 1.5 million units by the end of this year. We are also expecting the North American sales to top 1 million by the end of this year. Also, just like it did in Japan, we know that this software is driving the sales of hardware abroad. The global sell-thru figure of this software is expected to top 10 million by the end of this year, too. |
|
 |
This graph is based upon NPD data and shows the cumulative sales transitions of DS and PSP. Since DS Lite was launched this summer, coupled with the user expansion software, DS sales have increased. |
|
 |
When we focus upon the sales trend of this year alone, it is more obvious that DS, after gaining the momentum in June, is continuing strong sales.
Even though the most recent data is missing from this graph, approximately 420,000 units of DS were sold through during the Thanksgiving week. Except for Wii that has just been launched, this sell-thru figure largely outnumbers that of PS2 and Xbox360. This DS sell-thru number is more than twice that of one year ago. It is almost certain that DS is going to be the biggest selling hardware this year.
|
|
