Japanese “Gaming Elite” Consists of Smelly 360-loving Dakimakura Huggers

Speaking to an audience at the recent CEDEC 2010 in Japan, veteran Japanese game creator Masanobu Endo, responsible for titles such as Druaga and Grobda, stated the Japanese market can be divided into the “gaming elite” and “light gamers.” Here’s a breakdown of the creatures in their natural habitat:

Game Elite:
Has played eighties games
Remembers pleasures of pixel perfect control
Likes high risk/high return trade offs
If a PC gamer, likes FPS and RTS, also MMO
Prefers Xbox 360 for consoles
Prefers PSP for handhelds
Often single
Lacks endurance for Wii sports games

Light Gamer:
May be female
Often young
Has little time for games
Email is more important to them than games
Won’t install

So in summary, if you’re planning on releasing a game in Japan you have two potential markets. A) you have fat creepy otakus in Japan who enjoy ‘virtual’ loving and dakimakuras that prefer the Xbox 360 and PSP and B) everyone else. With the recent decline in game sales in Japan, it can be stated that Japan is predominated by the “light gamer.” Which brings up this question, which one are you?

[Source: Famitsu]