Kotaku
Americans lurve online gaming. But what about Japanese? Nope! An online questionnaire poled 15,000 members of Japanese internet community MyVoice about their feelings towards online games. The sample was 54 percent female, 2 percent teen, 16 percent twenty-something, 37 percent thirty-something, 28 percent forty-something and 17 percent fifty-something. Over half of them were not interested in online games! That's not including the 12 percent who are totally indifferent. And when asked what their image of online games was, the most common response was "Geekish." And get this, only 1 percent of those poled use Macs to play online games. At least we have that in common!
Hit the jump for the full breakdown:
Q). How interested are you in online games?
Really interested 6.1 percent
Quite interested 20.7 percent
Can't say either way 12.4 percent
Not very interested 26.5 percent
Not interested at all 34.3 percent
Q). On what sort of device do you play online games?
Windows PC 27.3 percent
Portable games machine 14.5 percent
Home console 12.9 percent
Mobile phone 9.9 percent
Macintosh 1.1 percent
Other 0.4 percent
Don't play online games 59.9 percent
Q). How long have you been playing online games?
Less than a year 23.7 percent
One to two years 16.9 percent
Two to three years 15.6 percent
Three to four years 8.4 percent
Four to five years 5.3 percent
Five or more years 18.5 percent
No answer 11.6 percent
This and subsequent questions have over 10% no answerers, but the reason for this is not obvious.
Q). About how often do you play online games?
Almost every day 11.3 percent
Four to six days a week 7.5 percent
Two or three days a week 13.1 percent
Once a week 16.9 percent
Less than that 39.1 percent
No answer 12.1 percent
Q). What kinds of online games do you play?
Puzzle game 36.1 percent
Table game 34.6 percent
Card game 28.2 percent
Action game 11.3 percent
Simulation game 10.7 percent
Sports game 9.6 percent
Shooting game 4.5 percent
Race game 3.9 percent
War game 3.2 percent
Other 10.8 percent
No answer 12.6 percent
Q). What image do you have of online games?
Geekish 25.6 percent
Easy to get into 23.1 percent
Expensive to play 21.6 percent
For young people 20.8 percent
Lots of bad-mannered players 17.2 percent
Fun intercourse between players 14.5 percent
Complicated instructions and difficult to understand 13.4 percent
Lots of trouble between players 13.2 percent
Can design my own avatar 11.4 percent
Lots of system trouble 10.1 percent
Beautiful graphics 7.8 percent
Insufficient user support 6.6 percent
Lots of things to do so won't get bored 6.4 percent
Difficult to register 6.2 percent
None of the above 14.9 percent
No answer 3.6 percent
Online Gaming [MyVoice via What Japan Thinks] [Pic]
Comments
Which half?
Lots of bad-mannered players 17.2 percent
if this poll was done in the us, the number 1 reason for people not playing online would be this.
i mean seriously, 10 years giving me lip on live, just aint happenin brudda
They still don't like a real challenge then. For anything a computer can do a human can be many times more devious.
lol, playing JRPGs isn't geekish??
Seriousry the top or bottom half?
A decade ago, apart from the demographic spread, this is largely what an American poll would have looked like.
Know what Japan needs? The Xbox.
@baysideSxoc:
They still don't like a real challenge then. For anything a computer can do a human can be many times more devious.
Not if you're playing against me. *runs into hail of gunfire*
I don't lurve online play. I don't even lahk it.
Yeah, maybe I have a Japanese soul or something, because I feel the same way as the people in the Survey about almost all Online Games. I'm not against them, but most of the time they don't give me significantly more enjoyment that offline equivalents.
So yeah, next time Nintendo or anybody else ships a Japan-centered game without online play, can we all collectively remember this please and not WHINE constantly about it?
That guy in the picture is totally eyefucking whoever is holding the camera.
On topic, though, too bad to hear that this is the case as I think online gaming can be good fun in right circumstance. However, I do not think that Japan is even a decent market to bother making an online PC game for. PC platform penetration aside, their taste in games just doesn't fit that bill.
Or maybe they just need an MMO 'man-cleaning' game? :)
Ah yes. The fun intercourse part is my favourite too! HAY LTS CYBUR!
Really? Not even X-box Live? I would have thought Japanese people'd love having American teen boys (and/or your standard, garden variety prats) squealing obscenities (and/or acting off-colour) in their ear for hours on end and then having to pay for said service.
Huh...guess I didn't know you as well as I thought, Japan.
Pie chart or gtfo
@Moonshadow101:
I think its a lot more cultural than that.
Sending someone a game invite while they're playing in Japan is considered rude.
And this is probably one of the biggest reasons why the 360 is doing badly in Japan. Xbox live is the 360s biggest strong point. If you were to take that out of the system, does the 360 still seem as good as the PS3 or the Wii.
Friend invites are rude? Apparently they don't like it when random people message them, either. It's a habit of mine - if your gamertag makes me laugh or your score impresses me, I send a message.
I had some nuts convos early with Japanese guys after beating them on RR6 over live... I couldn't speak japanese, they couldn't speak english it was much fun.
@dunetiger : apples are red:
Its sort of seen as "interrupting their game experience" or the like.
Part of this cultural difference is why they don't give a damn about Nintendo's piss-poor online service.
"Fun intercourse between players 14.5 percent"
I'd say. Online gaming makes for the BEST intercourse.
@baysideSxoc:
Maybe they rather be moved by story line w/ a character with personality instead of going around shooting characters that basically looks the same as everybody else and does the same thing over and over again just so they can say that "hah, I'm better than another human being".
@koji:
Everybody that plays video games in Japan has either played a Dragon Quest or a Final Phantasy. Hey, it's socially expected that you've played either one. ^_-
So no, it's not geekish to play RPGs, not in Japan.
'Geekish 25.6 percent' and 54 % of those polled were girls?
no wonder so many people ragged, the demographic polled would have said the exact same thing about offline gaming too.
I still give online gaming a big 'meh' myself. Until co-op story mode becomes standard that is. I don't dig player vs player...cause I suck. Games like Crackdown and Gears of War are what I need. More like that.
Otherwise, I'm fine just playing with myself. And playing videogames alone too.
I do think if they make more co-op games in Japan folks might get a bit more involved in online play possibly.
Since people are already saturated with way too many MMOs here.
So why are they all buying the Wii?
Maybe I should move there then? I almost despise playing online.
@Sollus: Or you could, you know, not play online?
Population density means its easier for them to get comp in arcades, an option Americans don't have really.
So they aren't that interested in competitive play perhaps? I know Virtua Fighter 5 has its own competition, but in general maybe they aren't that much for heads on competition.
@Dir_en_grey:
Who said it had to be multiplayer shooters :p any multiplayer game against other humans is more challenging. Could even be chess or uno.
I like JRPGs but they are sodding easy, and as for being moved and engaged in the story i don't think many games are at that level Mass Effect maybe ome of the choices involved you in there. The end of Call of Duty 4 perhaps.
Playing lost odyssey now but it doesn't really engage me much. A lot of the stuff in it comes across as cheesy rather than emotionally evocative. Some of the dreams have a nice narrative but thats about it.
I suppose that somedays i CBA with online though, sometimes you just want to sit downn and enjoy the single player.
@Dir_en_grey: Comparing single player experiences(offline) and online competitive gaming is much like comparing apples and oranges. None are empirically better, but satiate different tastes.
Does not caring about online gaming make me Japanese?
You've got to remember that 99% of everyone in Japan is a gamer, and all of the hardcores will go to the local arcades for competition. The rest of the gamer population are reasonable adults who are staying up all night playing Dragon Quest. This is not an exaggeration.
I agree with the Japanese once again. Online gaming is really quite dull for the most part and only interesting once in a while, usually unintentionally.
For me, a game is an animated, participatory version of reading a book. I want to do it alone and at my own pace. Online gaming eschews that story driven approach to gaming in favour of a more open ended approach. That just doesn't interest me one bit.
Its kinda odd that the Japanese would avoid the thing that they consider geeky as it is usually the other way around.
I still feel kinda "meh" about Online Gaming. I have Xbox live but mostly for content updates,voice chat,XBLA, and the occasional demo. There are certain games where I don't mind it but it's never been a selling point to me on any game, and I've never had one instance where I've been disappointed that it wasn't included. I do play the occasional game online but I can't say it's an essential part of the experience. Maybe when Koei brings their MMOs out here or puts online multi-player into Dynasty Warriors I'll change my tune.
@mpmaley:
Eh? The wii is NOT synonymous with online gaming
@meandering_drivel: I think the females polled are female GAMERS brightspark. More girls play games and are involved in the industry over there too.
Well, online gaming can be quite fun but Xbox Live is not my kind of thing. Being beat over and over again while being insulted continuously on a shooting game is not exactly my definition of fun. And I'm not even taking into account that I would have to pay for it.
That doesn't mean I don't ever want to play online. I was a very active PSO player on Dreamcast. Maybe that was fun because communication was very well possible but quite limited. This leads me to believe that Mario Kart Wii will probably be quite enjoyable online. The DS version is nice but takes very long to start a game.
Tetris DS is my favourite online game at the moment, believe it or not. You don't get insulted, the game is incredibly fun against real opponents and the matching system is great since you always play people more or less your skill. It's a damn shame it takes so long to find an opponent and start a game.
Apart from those games, most online gaming hasn't interested me at all. It's very limited on my Mac, on PC it's very geekish and difficult, on PS2 it was a hassle and didn't work that well, most online wii games are not that interesting. Need I go on?
I prefer a good single player game than a ok game with decent multiplayer. online gaming is just a small bonus for me
@TrekVogel:
I agree mate. People are lamenting the lack of 'chat' (in this case I think the lack of possibility for smacktalk) in the upcoming MarioKart Wii but I'm quite glad I don't have to listen to some knob's annoying voice or his annoying friends online whilst playing.
If it isn't smacktalk being bandied around it's some sort of weird snobbery eg. 'Look at the weapon he's using, haw haw haw', 'You're standing in such a n00b place bllaaaaahhhhh'.
Bah. Don't trust people on this. Videogames are fun, but coop or multiplayer is much more fun. Is better to fight with or against a human, than against a AI. You can have some coop/mp on localhost, but the better MP/COOP is online.
@new_pornographer:
I can't agree with you more. I used to like XBOX Live when it first came out but once it became overcrowded with a bunch of pre-teens from God-Knows-Where Alabama who seem to think that calling you a 'faggot' is a good way of communicating with others. Maybe I'm just getting old? Who knows. I just gave up on it and got rid of my 360 all together. I play my PS 3 online a bit for some old school MK 2 and my DS for some Mario Kart. It's refreshing not being able to hear others' voices on my end.
@new_pornographer: and you'd be wrong.
'poled 15,000 members of Japanese internet community MyVoice about their feelings towards online games.'
Had they merely asked gamers about their feelings towards offline games in the same survey, we'd have a better idea of what people in this poll felt about both types of gaming.
To be fair though, the mac doesn't really have any games. I kid (sort of).
I am with the 75.4% of people in the comments, for the most part online gaming is totally meh. Though I have really been enjoying a bit of guitar hero 3 online, except when someone decides to play at a difficulty level lower than they should be, hits 99-100% of the notes and it is impossible to win unless you are god-like at guitar hero. Which happens at least 1 in every 3 games. So that ruins it somewhat.
@Sparky13: While I agree with you 99%, lately I've been playing some Jump Ultimate Stars with my friends and it's really annoying that we can't talk to each other at certain points. I'd like the option to talk, as I'd love to talk to my friends about strategy, potential new rules, limitations, or just general stuff that I can't normally do without calling them. When I get knocked off the board, I'd love to say "Nice!" or otherwise compliment them - but I can't. I can only reflect back on it for about a minute in-between bouts. Also I don't really have time to ask them if I should change decks, stages, rules, etc. because of the timer before the round starts (a necessary addition for random online play, I admit).
I could talk to them in person, except we all live 2-4 hours away from each other so it's not really practical and costs a crapton of money in gas.
@meandering_drivel:
If 15,000 members had been 'polled' then I'm sure that means people who wanted to take part in such a poll or survey returned their answers, whilst others left in lanquishing in their inbox. Hence Gamers sent it back.
If Myspace sent me a poll on 'Favourite practices used when farming/breeding domestic sheep' (or equally alien subject matter) I wouldn't have anything to say about it. Hence not being polled.
I'm not much of a competitive online gamer, but a few times a week I really enjoy it. Nothing beats that rush- the intimidation, the adrenaline... But I get too competitive and pissed off if I get too into it, so I keep it to a minimum.
MMOs are too consuming, I keep away from that stuff entirely.
I guess rubbing boys in a DS isnt considered geekish in Japan.
I'm not too bothered about online gaming myself. 'Cause of the people... and more, of the people.
It's just, to me, a necessity to have a basic form of it to buy cool stuff from console stores and whatnot.