Is there a point at which there are enough of a particular handheld sold, that it adds a great value to the handheld for future customers, spurring greater growth?
What I mean is this: the console is common enough that you're likely to have enough friends/meet enough people to play local multiplayer with people often enough, to make it a very good reason to own the console. For example, when I was in University alot of us had DS's, and some had Mario Kart. Because people were often playing Mario Kart, more people bought it and also more people bought DS's.
I think a similar thing may have happened in Japan with the PSP, especially when you consider that the three top selling games on PSP in Japan are Monster Hunter, Monster Hunter and Monster Hunter(an extremely popular multiplayer game that spurred growth in the system).
Now that I'm not in University, alot less people around me have DS's. So there's not as much reason for the people I know to buy one. The rate of DS's per capita is also much lower than DS's or probably even PSP's in Japan.
Am I on to something? Could there be a point where there are enough DS's in Europe and the US that it spurs Japan-like growth in the system? A year after DS released in Japan 1 in 20 people owned the system. Now it's closer to 1 in 4. Here in Europe we're only reaching the 1 in 20 point now, and in the US it's probably a bit less than 1 in 10.
The uptick for the PSP in Japan also started when 1 in 20 people had the system, and it's risen to 1 in 10 since then.
A game I'm developing with some friends:
www.xnagg.com/zombieasteroids/publish.htm
It is largely a technical exercise but feedback is appreciated.
