PS3, Revolution and DS Score Big in Japanese Survey

Based on a recent survey conducted by Japan\’s top gaming magazine Famitsu, the PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and Nintendo Revolution are going to be the big stories for the year 2006. The magazine gathered the opinions 113 retailers and 47 game developers on a variety of game related issues. The Online version of Famitsu, Famitsu.com, gathered the opinion of 370 regular gamers.

Gamers and developers selected the PlayStation 3 to be the biggest game-related product for 2006, with Nintendo DS coming in second for both groups. For third place, gamers selected Revolution while developers picked a general category involving network services such as Nintendo\’s WiFi Connection. Retailers, meanwhile, went with the DS over the PlayStation 3. Revolution came in fourth amongst retailers.

With PS3 and Revolution ranking so highly, it should come as no surprise that both next generation systems are eagerly anticipated. PS3 was selected as most anticipated next generation system by 56.9% of retailers, 53.7% of developers and 46.3% of gamers. Revolution came in at, respectively, 43.9% and 41.4% amongst developers and retailers, but just narrowly missed the PS3 amongst gamers, 45.8% of whom selected it as their most anticipated system. Xbox 360 got the leftovers, to the tune of just 1.7% of retailers, 2.4% of developers and 7.9% of gamers.

Ignore the Gamespot source, it is a bug with this build of our new content management system. The IGN article is the correct source. Full article after the jump. Based on a recent survey conducted by Japan\’s top gaming magazine Famitsu, the PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and Nintendo Revolution are going to be the big stories for the year 2006. The magazine gathered the opinions 113 retailers and 47 game developers on a variety of game related issues. The Online version of Famitsu, Famitsu.com, gathered the opinion of 370 regular gamers.

Gamers and developers selected the PlayStation 3 to be the biggest game-related product for 2006, with Nintendo DS coming in second for both groups. For third place, gamers selected Revolution while developers picked a general category involving network services such as Nintendo\’s WiFi Connection. Retailers, meanwhile, went with the DS over the PlayStation 3. Revolution came in fourth amongst retailers.

With PS3 and Revolution ranking so highly, it should come as no surprise that both next generation systems are eagerly anticipated. PS3 was selected as most anticipated next generation system by 56.9% of retailers, 53.7% of developers and 46.3% of gamers. Revolution came in at, respectively, 43.9% and 41.4% amongst developers and retailers, but just narrowly missed the PS3 amongst gamers, 45.8% of whom selected it as their most anticipated system. Xbox 360 got the leftovers, to the tune of just 1.7% of retailers, 2.4% of developers and 7.9% of gamers.

Despite the release of the next generation systems, retailers and developers expect bigger things overall from a decidedly low-tech system. The DS was selected by 49.9% of developers and 38.3% of retailers to take the lead in the game hardware market for 2006. Retailers placed PS3 second at 31.5% and Revolution third at 12.3% while developers gave PS3 second with a low 16.7%, followed by Revolution in third with 10.0%. Amongst retailers, Xbox 360 and PSP tied at the bottom with a low 1.4% a piece. Developers expected more of the PSP, giving it 5.0% of the vote, but didn\’t seem all that confident in the Xbox 360, which got just 1.7% of the vote.

More telling in this last category, since they\’re the ones doing the buying, are the opinions of gamers. PS3 looks to be the hottest item for 2006, scoring 40.3% of the gamer vote. It was followed by DS at 32.6%, PS2 at 11.8% and Revolution at 11.5%. Xbox 360 came in at just 2.5%, but was far above PSP\’s 0.3%.

The magazine also got some opinions on expected price and release date for the PlayStation 3 and Revolution. For the PS3, most retailers and developers are expecting a price around the 40,000 yen mark, placing the system around the original price of the PS2. Gamers selected the 50,000 yen mark in greatest number. A few are expecting a 15,000 yen price for Sony\’s new system!

Revolution is expected to cost quite a bit lower. The most popular choice amongst gamers, retailers and developers was the 25,000 yen price point, followed closely by 30,000 yen and 20,000 yen.

In terms of release date, December was the most popular choice amongst developers and retailers for the PS3. Users were split pretty evenly between May and July as top choices. A good percentage of retailers also selected May and July, while a good number of developers selected September.

December was a popular selection for the Revolution\’s launch amongst developers, with November coming in second. Both gamers and retailers selected November first followed by December. A good number of developers and makers expect the Revolution to not make it out until 2007.