Less than 4% plan to get Nintendo’s DSi in Japan

Nintendo’s DSi is officially out in Japan, but how is it doing? While we haven’t received official word, Dengeki Online suggested that Japanese gamers remain skeptical about the handheld. According to Casual Gaming, game website Dengeki Online conducted a survey to determine interest in the DSi.

The survey discovered that only 3.6% of respondents plan to purchase the Nintendo handheld upon its release. However, 29% said they might buy the DSi at some point in the future, but were going to wait for the time being. Interestingly, 26% were undecided and 40.7% have no plans of buying the DSi at all.

Kotaku, another game blog, provided additional details on the Dengeki survey:

“When asked which color DSi they preferred (black or white), a 53.4 percent majority said black, 45.9 percent said white and 0.7 did not answer. The participants in the poll, Dengeki points out, were 81.4 percent male and 18.6 percent female. The average age was 26.28 years old.”

Unfortunately, the DSi’s inflated price isn’t making things easier for Nintendo—not that the game maker can do anything about it, except maybe ramp up production to meet the demand. But consider this: if gamers in Japan aren’t currently rushing to the store to get the DSi, why are the prices inflated in the first place?

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