Some excerpts from the WSJ about the Nintendo DS (by Yukari Iwatani Kane):

"Behind the fastest-selling portable videogame player in Japan is an unusual shift in the culture of gadgets: People are clamoring for it not just for games, but also to keep a household budget, play the guitar, and study the Buddhist scripture Heart Sutra. Since its introduction in 2004, the DS, which responds to writing and speech, has spurred software makers to fill the Japanese market with an eclectic array of reference guides, digital books and study tools. (...) Of the 500-odd DS software titles released or in the works so far, only about 200 are traditional videogames. (...) More than 60% of the DS units were bought by people who don't think of themselves as videogame users, Enterbrain said."

And the difference of strategy between Nintendo and Sony:

"Nintendo's big rival, Sony, isn't following the DS into books and references. Sony is trying to attract new game users to its PlayStation Portable machines with easy-to-play games such as virtual tennis. It says it will continue to focus on games that show off its high-quality screen and advanced technology."

Why do I blog this? some interesting figures and arguments about the success of the DS to be used in some future work about gaming foresight. 200/500 is an intriguing ratio... definitely not followed by Sony.