I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one, but a recent survey conducted by Nikkei has shown that Nintendo Switch is more popular than Nintendo among Japanese teenagers. The intention of the survey was to figure out which brands are the most powerful in Japan, with a split between individuals under 20 and another of all ages. In the under 20 survey, Nintendo Switch ranked number two while Nintendo ranked number three. What?
While clearly not a scientific study, Nikkei surveyed 37,000 Japanese citizens and looked at over 1,000 different brands across companies, products, and services. The number one most popular brand for under 20s was YouTube, which isn’t that surprising. Both Switch and Nintendo beat out the likes of Pokémon, Amazon, and Disney, though, which is huge. It seems Japanese teens really love their video games.
When expanded to all ages, the survey reads very differently. Nintendo isn’t in the top 10 at all, though either is Disney, Pokémon, or Amazon. Instead, alcohol and soft drink manufacturer/distributor Suntory ranks as number one with YouTube coming in second. I guess you need to have a stiff drink as an adult to tolerate YouTube. While not shown in the graphic, Nintendo comes in at 12th in the all ages chart with the Switch dropping all the way to 59th.
All of this shows that while Nintendo is recognized by pretty much everyone in Japan, it ranks much higher among children… which is pretty much how the company has always been perceived. One can’t say that Nintendo’s consoles are exclusively for kids anymore, but the company does an incredible job at appealing to younger players. I don’t think anything will ever change that.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
